Thomas Alexander Crerar (17 June 1876 – 11 April 1975) was a western

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician and a leader of the short-lived

Progressive Party of Canada The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the ...

. He was born in

Molesworth, Ontario Molesworth is a small community in the town of Huron East, Ontario, Huron East and North Perth, in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Molesworth was founded in 1852 by John Mitchell and his family, who operated a general store that served the influx o ...

, and moved to

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 ...

at a young age.

Early career

Crerar rose to prominence as leader of the Manitoba Grain Growers' Association in the 1910s. Although he had no experience as an elected official, he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture in Robert Laird Borden's Union government on October 12, 1917, to provide a show of national unity during the

First World War 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 ...

. He was easily elected 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 ...

for Marquette in the election of 1917. On June 6, 1919, Crerar resigned from his position in protest against the high

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 ...

policies of the Conservative-dominated government. He was strongly in favor 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 ...

with the

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, which would have benefited the western farmers.

Progressive Party of Canada

In 1920, he was selected as leader of the Progressive Party. In the 1921 election, he led the party to a landslide victory in western Canada, giving them 65 seats in the House of Commons. Crerar failed to hold the party together, however. He resigned as leader in 1922, and the party collapsed shortly thereafter.

Private sector work

Crerar spent some time in the private sector before returning to politics in 1929, as a member of

William Lyon 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 ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. Although once again not holding a seat in parliament, he was appointed Minister of Railways and Canals (Canada) on December 30, 1929, and won a by-election in Brandon on February 5, 1930. King's government was defeated in the general election that followed, however, and Crerar was personally defeated in his riding.

Return to politics

He returned to parliament in the 1935 election, as the member for the northern

riding of Churchill. He was once again appointed to King's cabinet, serving 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 ...

, Minister of Mines,

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs from October 23, 1935, to November 30, 1936. On December 1, 1936, he was removed from most of his responsibilities and became simply

Minister of Mines and Resources The position of Minister of Mines and Resources was a cabinet portfolio in Canada from 1936 to 1950. The mines portfolio had previously been that of the Minister of Mines, which was a portfolio adjunct to other ministries such as Inland Revenue ...

, holding the position until April 17, 1945. Crerar was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

on April 18, 1945, and remained a Senator until his retirement on May 31, 1966. In 1962, Crerar considered it an "error" to give voting rights to Inuit and advocated revoking this right for Inuit in the eastern Arctic to vote. In 1973, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He died in 1975.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crerar, Thomas 1876 births 1975 deaths Canadian senators from Manitoba Companions of the Order of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Liberal-Unionist MPs in Canada Ministers of railways and canals of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Party of Canada MPs Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Ministers of the interior of Canada Canadian people of World War II 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada