Progressives (Canada)
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The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the
Progressive Party of Saskatchewan The Progressive Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial section of the Progressive Party of Canada, and was active from the beginning of the 1920s to the mid-1930s. The Progressives were an agrarian social democratic political movement. Dedicated ...
, and the
Progressive Party of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party in Manitoba between 1920 and 1932, which was the year of its dissolution. It developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically activ ...
, which formed the government of that province. The Progressive Party was part of the farmers' political movement that included federal and provincial Progressive and United Farmers' parties. The United Farmers movement in Canada rose to prominence after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. With the failure of the wartime Union government to alter a
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
structure that hurt farmers, various farmers movements across Canada became more radical and entered the political arena. The United Farmers movement was tied to the federal Progressive Party of Canada and formed provincial governments in
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
and
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
. It rejected the
National Policy The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. ...
of the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
, and felt that the Liberals were not strong enough proponents of
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
and were too strongly tied to business interests. Generally, farmers groups formed alliances with Labour and
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
groups though, in power, they became closer to the Liberals causing ruptures in several provinces between United Farmer governments and their organizations.


Origins

The origins of the Progressive Party can be traced to the politics of compromise under
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Sir
Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...
. The most important issue to farmers in western Canada at the time was free trade with the
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. The National Policy implemented by Prime Minister Sir
John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...
in the 1890s forced farmers to pay higher prices for equipment and to sell their produce for less. After World War I, however, neither of the major political parties supported free trade. At the turn of the century, voters in Western Canada began to consider an influx of radical political ideas. From the United States came
Progressivism Progressivism is a Left-right political spectrum, left-leaning political philosophy and Reformism, reform political movement, movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has unive ...
and the
Non-Partisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer (party), organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan ...
. From
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, the new immigrants brought
Fabian socialism The Fabian Society () is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. Th ...
. This mix of ideology and discontent led to discussion of forming an independent party, especially in the "
Grain Growers' Guide ''The Grain Growers' Guide'' (later called the ''Country Guide'') was a newspaper published by the Grain Growers' Grain Company (GGGC) in Western Canada for grain farmers between 1908 and 1936. It reflected the views of the grain growers' associati ...
", a magazine of the day. The first organizations of agricultural protest were farmers’ organizations:
Manitoba Grain Growers' Association The Manitoba Grain Growers' Association (MGGA) was a farmer's association that was active in Manitoba, Canada, in the first two decades of the 20th century. It provided a voice for farmers in their struggle with grain dealers and the railways, and ...
,
Alberta Farmers' Association The Alberta Farmers' Association (AFA) was a farmer's association that was active in Alberta, Canada from 1905 to 1909. It was formed from the Alberta branch of the Territorial Grain Growers' Association (TGGA) when Alberta became a province in 190 ...
, and the
United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
. The first big activity was the farmers' march on Ottawa in 1911. After World War I, farmers' organizations across Canada became more politically active and entered electoral politics on the provincial level. The
United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...
ran in the 1919 provincial election and, surprisingly, won. The emergence of the UFO exemplified the scope of farmer politics. It was not just western opposition to the tariff and eastern economic power, It was an occupational or class movement with a realistic chance at federal political influence. Over 1919 and 1920 several federal
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
s were won by "United Farmers" candidates. In June 1919,
Thomas Crerar Thomas Alexander Crerar (17 June 1876 – 11 April 1975) was a western Canadian politician and a leader of the short-lived Progressive Party of Canada. He was born in Molesworth, Ontario, and moved to Manitoba at a young age. Early career C ...
,
Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
in the Unionist government of
Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...
, quit the Borden cabinet because Minister of Finance Thomas White introduced a budget that failed to sufficiently reduce the tariff. Saskatchewan farmer leader and independent MP John Archibald Maharg withdrew his support from the government and joined Crerar, as did eight other Unionist MPs from the west. This loosely-organized caucus proved to be the beginnings of the Progressive Party. Owing to the movement's outgrowth from a variety of provincial farmers' organizations, agrarian leaders were divided on an appropriate federal political strategy. Henry Wise Wood, president of the United Farmers of Alberta, opposed turning the farmers' political movement into a formal Third Party. His political experience in the U.S., rooted in observation of the Populists of the 1890s, led him to believe that the social friction caused by such a third party would lead to the destruction, through splintering of the farmers movements in general. Wood argued the Canadian farmers' movement should remain a grassroots democratic organization, or "economic solidarity group". Philosophically, he advocated for cooperative democracy against the autocratic and corrupting tendencies of competitive party politics. Wood's theory of group government was considered revolutionary at the time, with critics accusing his collectivism as introducing "Sovietism" to Westminster responsible government. The struggle between Wood's "group government" faction, and agrarian leaders including Crerar who advocated a more traditional party-centric approach to federal politics, troubled the party throughout its existence. In their first formal caucus meeting on March 3, 1920, Crerar and eleven allied MPs established the National Progressive Party of Canada with Crerar as its first leader. The name of party was referred by Michael Clark two days later in the House of Commons. Nevertheless, Crerar was unable to secure support among members of the Canadian Council of Agriculture for the establishment of significant party structure; thus, the party had no formal national organization, with the Canadian Council of Agriculture itself providing a minimal degree of structure. Crerar formally served as parliamentary leader of the Progressives until the provincial organizations accepted his endorsement as national leader by the Canadian Council of Agriculture in 1921. The new party won 58 of the 235 seats in the 1921 general election, despite the lack of national party structure. Owing to the anti-party character of the Progressives, individual candidates' campaigns were strictly independent of the national organization, and no financial, organizational, or strategic support was provided under a policy of "constituency autonomy". Support for reforming the National Policy was a common denominator, but even this was not universal within the party. Given the autonomy of individual members and lack of formal party organization, some argue that the Progressives are better termed a "movement" rather than a party.


Elected to office

The Progressive Party is commonly perceived as a western protest party, but in fact more Progressive MPs were elected in Ontario (with a sitting provincial farmers' government) than in Alberta in the 1921 election. The party had strong support among western voters, although they were few when compared to the number of seats in Ontario. All the MPs from Alberta were either United Farmers of Alberta candidates who were allied to the Progressives (and included in the totals recorded above) or Labour – no Conservatives or Liberals were elected in that province that election. Ten UFA MPs were elected, the other two seats in the province were taken by Labour candidates. Alberta had elected a UFA government prior to the 1921 federal election. The Progressives won 24 of the 81 seats in
Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...
from Ontario; however, the party viewed this as a disappointing result. Despite finishing second in seat count, there were not enough Progressive and farmer MPs to safely secure the balance of power against the narrow
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
minority government. The Progressives received significant support in the Maritime provinces, but obtained only one seat in
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
. It also got five seats in
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. In addition to their power in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, farmers' parties were significant presences in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
and New Brunswick, but this failed to translate into seats in the House of Commons. The Progressives were divided over what to do following the 1921 election. A significant group of ex-Liberals, including Crerar, supported forming a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with the Liberals. This was resisted by
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
interests in the Liberal Party and by radical Progressives, including the UFA MPs. These followers of Wood wished to remain a decentralized party with each individual member simply representing his constituents, supporting the Liberal government in what it did in their mind right and opposing it in what it did wrong. The two groups agreed to refuse the position of
Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
, normally accorded to the party with the second-largest number of seats, and this was passed on to the third-largest party, the Conservative Party.


Demise

Crerar attempted to introduce certain attributes of a standard party to the Progressives, including
Parliamentary Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...
s and a national party organization. These efforts were resisted, however, and in 1922, Crerar resigned as leader. He was replaced by
Robert Forke Robert Forke, (April 6, 1860 – February 2, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Brandon in 1921. In 1922, he replaced Thomas Crerar as leader of the Progressive Party of Canada. Forke served as a ...
, another ex-Liberal who agreed with Crerar on most issues. The Progressives proved unsuccessful in Parliament and lost much of their moderate support in eastern Canada. While in the 1921 election Crerar had toured across the country, Forke abandoned everything east of Manitoba. As well, the UFA MPs, other farmer MPs and the three Labour MPs in the House of Commons ( J. S. Woodsworth, William Irvine and Joseph Shaw) joined together in the
Ginger Group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...
, breaking from Forke's leadership. In the 1925 election, the Progressives lost almost all of their Ontario members, but were still moderately successful in the west, holding many of their seats in Alberta. This left the party dominated by the radical
United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
MPs. Forke resigned as Progressive house leader on June 30, 1926, one day after
Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
resigned as Prime Minister. Forke and most of the Manitoba Progressives made a deal with the Liberal Party and ran as
Liberal-Progressive Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics there was no Liberal-Progressive Party, as such. The term generally referred to candidates endorsed by Lib ...
s in the 1926 election prompted by the fall of the interim Conservative government of
Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen ( ; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and ...
. The Liberals formed a stable
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
following the 1926 election with the support of the eight elected Liberal-Progressive MPs. Forke entered the
Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
as
Minister of Immigration and Colonization Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
. The Alberta UFA MPs dropped the Progressive label. Identifying themselves as parliamentary representatives of the
United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
, 11 UFA MPs were elected in the 1926 election and nine in 1930 – most of whom were members of the radical
Ginger Group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...
faction of left wing Progressive, Labour and United Farmer MPs. Most sitting UFA MPs joined the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...
party, and all the UFA MPs were defeated at the polls in the election of 1935 by the
Social Credit Party of Canada The Social Credit Party of Canada (), colloquially known as the Socreds, was a populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadian social credit movement. Origins ...
political landslide. In addition to Alberta electing nine UFA MPs in 1930, three MPs were elected as Progressives in the 1930 election. The three include
Milton Neil Campbell Milton Neil Campbell (January 21, 1881 – November 11, 1965) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Mackenzie from 1921 to 1933, in the House of Commons of Canada. He resigned from the House of Commons in 1933 to a ...
and
Archibald M. Carmichael Archibald M. Carmichael (4 January 1882 – 30 August 1959) was a Canadian farmer, minister, teacher and politician. Carmichael was a Progressive party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Smithdale, Ontario. Carmicha ...
of Saskatchewan and
Agnes Macphail Agnes Campbell Macphail (March 24, 1890 – February 13, 1954) was a Canadian politician and the first woman elected to Canada's House of Commons. She served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1921 to 1940; from 1 ...
of Ontario (who was known as a proponent of the United Farmers of Ontario). Macphail successfully ran for re-election as a
United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...
Labour candidate in the 1935 election but was defeated running under the same banner in 1940.


Legacy

After the collapse of the party, most Progressive voters returned to the Liberal Party. The Liberals had always viewed the Progressives as simply "Liberals in a hurry", and for a large group of the party's supporters, this was true. The most important example of this return to the Liberals is T. A. Crerar, who served with the Liberals for decades, first as a cabinet minister and then as a
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
. The more radical of the progressives split two ways. The
Ginger Group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...
was a faction formed in 1924 by radical Progressives and were later joined by several Labour and independent MPs. They would eventually form the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...
(the forerunner of the modern
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
). Others, especially the radical populists, would later turn towards
Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...
ideology, forming a definite line of western protest that continued to run through the
Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...
to the present day
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...
. The CCF and Social Credit had their roots in the United Farmers movement, from which a large number of MLAs were elected in New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
and Manitoba, and which formed governments in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba. In Manitoba, the United Farmers of Manitoba changed their name to the
Progressive Party of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party in Manitoba between 1920 and 1932, which was the year of its dissolution. It developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically activ ...
after coming to power in 1922. The Conservative Party received the least of the Progressive's spoils, inheriting little more than the name, in 1942. Its first leader after amalgamation was
John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...
, who was then serving as the Progressive Premier of Manitoba. More important than these effects on individual parties, the Progressive Party also had a great effect on Canada's governmental system — it was the most successful early example of a third party in Canada. Despite
Duverger's law In political science, Duverger's law ( ) holds that in political systems with single-member districts and the first-past-the-post voting system, as in, for example, the United States and Britain, only 2 powerful political parties tend to control ...
of political science, the Canadian Parliament has always had a third, and sometimes a fourth or even fifth, party present ever since. The Progressives thus served both as a model and a
cautionary tale A cautionary tale or moral tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a Risk, danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is ...
for those that followed after.


Party leaders

*
Thomas Crerar Thomas Alexander Crerar (17 June 1876 – 11 April 1975) was a western Canadian politician and a leader of the short-lived Progressive Party of Canada. He was born in Molesworth, Ontario, and moved to Manitoba at a young age. Early career C ...
1920–1922 *
Robert Forke Robert Forke, (April 6, 1860 – February 2, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Brandon in 1921. In 1922, he replaced Thomas Crerar as leader of the Progressive Party of Canada. Forke served as a ...
1922–1926


Election results

The above table does not include MPs elected as United Farmers, Labour, Independent, Independent Progressive or other designations who may have been part of the Progressive Party caucus. (see
United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
) Progressive MP
Agnes Macphail Agnes Campbell Macphail (March 24, 1890 – February 13, 1954) was a Canadian politician and the first woman elected to Canada's House of Commons. She served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1921 to 1940; from 1 ...
was re-elected in the 1935 federal election as a
United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...
Labour candidate but was defeated running under the same banner in the 1940 federal election.


Combined Progressive/United Farmer/Labour results


1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...


1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

Notes: * not applicable – the party was not recognized in the previous election **
Robert Henry Halbert Robert Henry Halbert (October 31, 1870 – October 11, 1943) was a Canadian agrarian activist and politician. He was president of the United Farmers of Ontario from 1915 to 1918 and was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a 1919 by-electi ...
was elected as UFO in 1921, ran for re-election as a Progressive in 1925 but was defeated.


1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

Notes: * not applicable – the party was not recognized in the previous election x – less than 0.005% of the popular vote


1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

Note: * The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election. ** Beniah Bowman was elected as a UFO MP in 1926 and ran for re-election as a Liberal in 1930 and was defeated.


1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

Notes: * The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election. ** Progressive MP
Agnes Macphail Agnes Campbell Macphail (March 24, 1890 – February 13, 1954) was a Canadian politician and the first woman elected to Canada's House of Commons. She served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1921 to 1940; from 1 ...
ran for re-election as a UFO-Labour candidate in 1930 and was successful. *** The three Labour and Independent Labour MPs, J. S. Woodsworth,
Abraham Albert Heaps Abraham Albert Heaps (1885–1954), known as A. A. Heaps, was a Canadian politician and labour leader. A strong labourite, he served as MP for Winnipeg North from 1925 to 1940. Born on 24 December 1885 in Leeds, England, Heaps emigrated ...
and
Angus MacInnis Angus MacInnis (September 2, 1884 – March 3, 1964) was a Canadian socialist politician and parliamentarian. MacInnis, a trade unionist who had first served for five years as a Vancouver Alderman, was then elected to the House of Commons of Can ...
successfully ran for re-election as Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates. A fourth Labour MP,
Humphrey Mitchell Humphrey Mitchell, (September 9, 1894 – August 1, 1950) was a Canadian politician and trade unionist. Life and career A land surveyor employed with Hamilton Hydro, Mitchell was active with the union movement in the city. Upon the deat ...
, who entered parliament in a 1931 by-election refused to join the CCF and ran for re-election as a Labour candidate but was defeated. He later joined the Liberals. **** Of the 9 United Farmers of Alberta MPs, 8 ran for re-election as CCFers and were defeated, the ninth ran as a Conservative and was also defeated. ***** Of the 3 Progressive MPs elected in 1930, one, Agnes Macphail, ran in 1935 as a UFO-Labour candidate and was re-elected, a second,
Milton Neil Campbell Milton Neil Campbell (January 21, 1881 – November 11, 1965) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Mackenzie from 1921 to 1933, in the House of Commons of Canada. He resigned from the House of Commons in 1933 to a ...
, resigned in 1933 to become vice-chairman of the
Tariff Board of Canada A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...
and was succeeded in a by-election by a Liberal, and the third,
Archibald M. Carmichael Archibald M. Carmichael (4 January 1882 – 30 August 1959) was a Canadian farmer, minister, teacher and politician. Carmichael was a Progressive party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Smithdale, Ontario. Carmicha ...
, did not seek re-election in 1935 x – less than 0.005% of the popular vote


Historiography

The study of the Progressive Party is almost wholly dominated by one author, W. L. Morton, whose 1950 book, ''The Progressive Party in Canada'', won a
Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...
, and had been the principal text on the Progressive Party ever since. A great number of more recently published works on western politics cite only Morton's book in their discussion of the Progressive Party. Morton, a
Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a Centre-right politics, centre-right or Paternalistic conservatism, paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition. It is most predominant in Canada; however, it is also found in the ...
, wrote in the context of a seemingly spreading Social Credit movement. Morton's book was the first in a series exploring the origins of the Social Credit movement.


Provincial parties


Newfoundland

Though not part of the ''United Farmers'' movement, or indeed a movement of farmers at all, the
Fisherman's Protective Union The Fishermen's Protective Union (sometimes called the Fisherman's Protective Union, the FPU, The Union or the Union Party) was a workers' organisation and political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The development of the FPU mirrored tha ...
of
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
provides an interesting case that parallels that of the ''United Farmers''. However Newfoundland was not part of Canada until 1949.


Nova Scotia

The United Farmers of Nova Scotia was formed in January 1920 at meetings that followed the annual convention of the Nova Scotia Farmers' Association. At an April meeting, 300 farmers approved the UFNA's constitution and the publication of a newspaper, ''United Farmer's Guide''. The movement nominated 16 candidates and elected 7 in the 1920 general election. Aligning with the
Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...
they formed the
official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
with 11 MLAs (elected with a 30.9% of the popular vote). Daniel G. McKenzie, a successful farmer and former school-teacher from Malagash, was appointed party and opposition leader. The party began to lose its momentum in the fall when one of its founders, Major Hugh Dickson, was defeated in the Colchester by-election. In 1921,
Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party (officially the Liberal Association of Nova Scotia) is a Centrist politics, centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently hol ...
Premier
George Henry Murray George Henry Murray (June 7, 1861 – January 6, 1929) was a Nova Scotia politician who served as the eighth premier of Nova Scotia for 26 years and 188 days, the longest unbroken tenure for a head of government in Canadian history. Early lif ...
discredited the party in the eyes of the public when he offered to divide the government's budget surplus among members of the legislature. All but one United Farmer MLA accepted Murray's largesse. Later that session another scandal rocked the party when it was revealed that MacKenzie had secretly accepted a government salary of $500. A series of defections followed and by 1925 the United Farmers of Nova Scotia had virtually ceased to exist.


New Brunswick

The 1920 provincial election elected nine United Farmers and two
Farmer-Labour There have been various groups in Canada that have nominated candidates under the label Labour Party or Independent Labour Party, or other variations from the 1870s until the 1960s. These were usually local or provincial groups using the Labour Pa ...
MLAs who sat together and allowed the incumbent Liberals to maintain confidence in a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
situation. None of them were re-elected in the 1925 election and no other UF candidates were elected at subsequent elections.


Ontario

In
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, the
United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...
formed government as a result of the 1919 provincial election with E. C. Drury as
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
. After the government's defeat in
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
and the formal decision of the UFO to withdraw from electoral politics, most remaining UFO
Members of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...
(MLAs) took to calling themselves "Progressives". In the 1934 provincial election the remaining Progressive MLAs under
Harry Nixon Harry Corwin Nixon (April 1, 1891 – October 22, 1961) was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th premier of Ontario in 1943. He is both the longest-serving member in the history of the Ontario legislature and the shortest-serving premier o ...
ran as Liberal-Progressives in an alliance with the
Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...
led by former UFO member
Mitch Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, becoming premier at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the ...
. The Liberal-Progressives subsequently joined the Liberal Party.


Manitoba

The
Progressive Party of Manitoba The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party in Manitoba between 1920 and 1932, which was the year of its dissolution. It developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM), an agrarian movement that became politically activ ...
had merged with the
Manitoba Liberal Party The Manitoba Liberal Party () is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870. History Origins and early development (to 1883) Originally, there were no off ...
in the 1920s to form a Liberal-Progressive party there. Despite this, in 1942, Manitoba Premier
John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...
, a Progressive, was persuaded to become the leader of the national Conservative Party. As a condition of his accepting the leadership, the party's name was changed to
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...
. The Progressive Party of Canada, however, refused to disband, and ran its own candidates in the subsequent federal election against Bracken's Tories. The party's electoral fortunes continued to decline, and most Progressives ended up joining either the Liberal Party or the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...
(CCF), rather than the renamed Progressive Conservatives.


Saskatchewan

The
Progressive Party of Saskatchewan The Progressive Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial section of the Progressive Party of Canada, and was active from the beginning of the 1920s to the mid-1930s. The Progressives were an agrarian social democratic political movement. Dedicated ...
ran seven candidates and elected six members to the Saskatchewan legislature in the 1921 general election despite the absence of a provincial organization due to the reluctance of the
Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association The Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association (SGGA) was a farmer's association that was active in Saskatchewan, Canada in the early 20th century. It was a successor to the Territorial Grain Growers' Association, and was formed in 1906 after Saskatch ...
to break with the
Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Progress Party (SPP) is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was founded in 1905 as the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan, and retained that name until members voted to change it in 2023. Until 20 ...
. The Liberals had a tradition of consulting the SGGA about farm policy and of appointing prominent farm activists to cabinet such as
Charles Dunning Charles Avery Dunning (July 31, 1885 – October 1, 1958) was the third premier of Saskatchewan. Born in England, he emigrated to Canada at the age of 16. By the age of 36, he was premier. He had a successful career as a farmer, business ...
and
John Maharg John Archibald Maharg (February 2, 1872 – November 23, 1944) was a Saskatchewan politician. Born in Orangeville, Ontario, Maharg moved west and settled near Moose Jaw in 1890 where he became a grain farmer and cattle breeder. He helped organiz ...
. A political crisis ensued the Liberal government in late 1921 in which Premier
William Melville Martin William Melville Martin (August 23, 1876 – June 22, 1970) served as the second premier of Saskatchewan from 1916 to 1922. In 1916, although not a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Martin was elected leader of the Saskatch ...
angered the SGGA by campaigning for the federal
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...
against the Progressive Party of Canada in the 1921 federal election. Agriculture Minister Maharg, a former SGGA president, resigned from the Cabinet in protest and
crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...
to sit as an Independent and become
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
. Martin himself was forced to step down and the federal Progressives won 15 of 16 Saskatchewan seats in the federal election. The SGGA subsequently authorized the creation of local political action committees across the province but were unable to build on the 1921 federal breakthrough and only ran 6 of a possible 63 candidates in the next two provincial elections. In the 1925 provincial election the Progressives again won six seats and formed the
official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
. They were reduced to third party status and five seats in the 1929 provincial election with the Liberals reduced to
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
status due to a strong showing by a revived
Conservative Party of Saskatchewan The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan is a conservative political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Founded in 1905 by former Northwest Territories Premier Frederick Haultain, the party was first known as the Provincial ...
. The Progressives joined with the Conservatives to force the Liberals from office on September 6, 1929 and formed a
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
allowing the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
leader James T. M. Anderson to take power as premier; one Progressive, Reginald Stipe, was appointed to Anderson's cabinet as
minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...
. By the next election the Progressives had disappeared.Coneghan, Damian
Progressive Party
, ''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan''
While the Progressives moved to the right, more radical farmers gravitated to the
United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section) The United Farmers of Canada was a radical farmers organization. It was established in 1926 as the United Farmers of Canada (Saskatchewan Section) as a merger of the Farmers' Union of Canada and the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association.MacPh ...
which was formed in 1926 by members of the Farmers' Union of Canada and the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association. As a result of the
Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...
farm crisis during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
the UFC (SS) became politicised and adopted a socialist platform. In 1930, in response to the Progressive-Conservative coalition, the UFC (SS) under the leadership of
George Hara Williams George Hara Williams (November 17, 1894 – September 12, 1945) was a Canadian farmer activist and politician.Dale-Burnett, LisaWilliams, George (1894–1945), ''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, accessed February 12, 2008 Biography Born in Binsca ...
decided to form a new political party. In 1932 it joined with the
Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...
in the province to form the
Farmer-Labour Group There have been various groups in Canada that have nominated candidates under the label Labour Party or Independent Labour Party, or other variations from the 1870s until the 1960s. These were usually local or provincial groups using the Labour Pa ...
. Progressive MLA Jacob Benson joined the new party to become its first MLA. In the 1934 provincial election, the FLG returned five MLAs to the legislature and subsequently became the Saskatchewan section of the
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social-democraticThese sources describe the CCF as ...
.


Alberta

The
United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...
formed was the governing party in Alberta from 1921 until its defeat in 1935. It also elected a number of MPs to the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
who sat initially as Progressive Party MPs but were re-elected as UFA MPs beginning in 1926 due to a split in the Progressive movement.


See also

* List of Progressive/United Farmer MPs * United Farmers *
United Farmers of Quebec The United Farmers of Quebec (''Fermiers unis de Québec'') were founded in 1918 as part of the broader United Farmers movement in of Canada. The genesis of the organization was in protests resulting from the Conscription Crisis of 1917 against ...
*
Fisherman's Protective Union The Fishermen's Protective Union (sometimes called the Fisherman's Protective Union, the FPU, The Union or the Union Party) was a workers' organisation and political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The development of the FPU mirrored tha ...
a similar movement in
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
* Labour Party *
Non-Partisan League The Nonpartisan League (NPL) was a left-wing political party founded in 1915 in North Dakota by Arthur C. Townley, a former organizer (party), organizer for the Socialist Party of America. On behalf of small farmers and merchants, the Nonpartisan ...
*
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...
*
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
*
List of political parties in Canada This article lists political party, political parties in Canada. Federal parties In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial ...
*
Farmers' movement The farmers' movement was, in American political history, the general name for a movement between 1867 and 1896. In this movement, there were three periods, popularly known as the Grange, Alliance and Populist movements. The Grange The Grang ...


References


External links


The Prairie Roots of Canada's Political 'Third Parties'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Progressive Party Of Canada 1920 establishments in Canada Agrarian parties in Canada Defunct agrarian political parties Defunct political parties in Canada Federal political parties in Canada Political movements in Canada Political parties established in 1920 Progressivism in Canada Social democratic parties in Canada United Farmers