The Viscount Bennett | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bennettc. 1930–1935 | |
| 11th Prime Minister of Canada | |
| In office August 7, 1930 – October 23, 1935 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Governors General | The Viscount Willingdon The Earl of Bessborough |
| Preceded by | W.L. Mackenzie King |
| Succeeded by | W.L. Mackenzie King |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office October 23, 1935 – July 6, 1938 | |
| Preceded by | W.L. Mackenzie King |
| Succeeded by | Robert Manion |
| In office October 12, 1927 – August 7, 1930 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh Guthrie |
| Succeeded by | W.L. Mackenzie King |
| Leader of theConservative Party | |
| In office October 12, 1927 – July 7, 1938 | |
| Preceded by | Hugh Guthrie (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Robert Manion |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office August 7, 1930 – February 2, 1932 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Charles Avery Dunning |
| Succeeded by | Edgar Nelson Rhodes |
| In office July 13 – September 25, 1926 | |
| Prime Minister | Arthur Meighen |
| Preceded by | Henry Lumley Drayton (acting) |
| Succeeded by | James Robb |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office October 4 – December 28, 1921 | |
| Prime Minister | Arthur Meighen |
| Preceded by | Charles Doherty |
| Succeeded by | Lomer Gouin |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office June 12, 1941 – June 26, 1947 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage established |
| Succeeded by | None |
| Member of Parliament forCalgary West | |
| In office October 29, 1925 – January 28, 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Tweed Shaw |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Cunnington |
| Member of Parliament forCalgary | |
| In office September 21, 1911 – December 16, 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Maitland Stewart McCarthy |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Member of theLegislative Assembly of Alberta forCalgary | |
| In office March 22, 1909 – 1911 | |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Tweedie |
| Leader of theAlberta Conservative Party | |
| In office 1909–1910 | |
| Preceded by | Albert Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Edward Michener |
| In office 1905–1905 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Albert Robertson |
| Member of theLegislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories forWest Calgary | |
| In office November 4, 1898 – 1905 | |
| Preceded by | Oswald Critchley |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Bedford Bennett (1870-07-03)July 3, 1870 Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | June 26, 1947(1947-06-26) (aged 76) Mickleham, Surrey, England |
| Resting place | St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham |
| Citizenship |
|
| Political party | Conservative |
| Education | Dalhousie University (LL.B., 1893) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
R. B Bennett giving his farewell speech to Britain following the1930 Imperial Conference | |
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11thprime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935.
Bennett was born inHopewell Hill, New Brunswick, and grew up nearby inHopewell Cape. He studied law atDalhousie University, graduating in 1893, and in 1897 moved toCalgary to establish a law firm in partnership withJames Lougheed. Bennett became very rich due to the law practice, various investments, and taking on leadership roles in multiple organizations; he was one of the wealthiest Canadians during his time. On the political side, Bennett served in theLegislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1898 until 1905, when he briefly held the post as the inaugural leader of theAlberta Conservative Party. He later served in theAlberta Legislature from 1909 to 1911, resigning uponhis election to theHouse of Commons. Bennett declined to run for reelection in1917 but briefly served asminister of justice underArthur Meighen in 1921. He returned to the Commons in1925 and served briefly asminister of finance in Meighen's second government in 1926. Meighen resigned the Conservative Party's leadership after his defeat in the1926 election, with Bennett elected as his replacement in1927. Thus, Bennett becameleader of the Opposition.
Bennett became prime minister after the1930 election, where the Conservatives won amajority government overWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King'sLiberal Party. Bennett's premiership was marked primarily by theGreat Depression. He and his party initially tried to combat the crisis withlaissez-faire policies, but these were largely ineffective. He was also unsuccessful in establishing animperial preferencefree trade agreement. Over time, Bennett's government became increasingly interventionist, attempting to replicate the popular "New Deal" enacted byFranklin Roosevelt in theUnited States. This about-face prompted a split within Conservative ranks and was regarded by the general public as evidence of incompetence. Still, he left lasting legacies in the form of theCanadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) and theBank of Canada.
Bennett suffered a landslide defeat in the1935 election, with King returning to power. Bennett remained leader of the Conservative Party until 1938 when he retired to England. He was created Viscount Bennett, the only Canadian prime minister to be honoured with elevation to thepeerage. Bennett isranked as a below-average prime minister among historians and the public.
Bennett was born on July 3, 1870, when his mother, Henrietta Stiles, was visiting her parents' home inHopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada. He was the eldest of six children and grew up nearby at theBay of Fundy home of his father, Henry John Bennett, inHopewell Cape, theshire town ofAlbert County.[1] Bennett's father descended from English ancestors who had emigrated toConnecticut in the 17th century.[2] His great-great-grandfather, Zadock Bennett, migrated fromNew London, Connecticut, toNova Scotiac. 1760, before theAmerican Revolution, as one of theNew England Planters who took the lands forcibly removed from the deportedAcadians during theGreat Upheaval.[1]
The Bennetts had previously been a relatively prosperous family, operating a shipyard in Hopewell Cape, but the change to steam-powered vessels in the mid-19th century meant the gradual winding down of their business. However, the household was a literate one, subscribing to three newspapers. One of the largest and last ships launched by the Bennett shipyard (in 1869) was theSirJohn A. Macdonald. In the 1870s depression, the shipbuilding business of Henry John Bennett appeared insufficient to support his family and some believed he was an ineffective businessman. Henry John had now become a merchant, blacksmith, and farmer. R.B. Bennett's early days inculcated a lifelong habit of thrift. The driving force in his family was his mother. She was a WesleyanMethodist and passed this faith and theProtestant ethic on to her son. Bennett's father does not appear to have been a good provider for his family, though the reason is unclear. He operated a general store for a while and tried to develop somegypsum deposits.[1]
Educated in the local school, Bennett was a very good student but something of a loner. In addition to hisProtestant faith, Bennett grew up with an abiding love of theBritish Empire, then at its apogee. A small legacy his mother received opened the doors for him to attend thenormal school inFredericton, where he trained to be a teacher; he then taught for several years at Irishtown, north ofMoncton, saving his money for law school.[3] At age 18, Bennett became principal of a school inDouglastown, New Brunswick.[1]
Bennett enrolled atDalhousie University in 1890, graduating in 1893 with a law degree and very high standing. He worked his way through with a job as assistant in the library and participated in debating and moot court activities. WhenJames Lougheed needed a junior for hisCalgary law office, Bennett was recommended by the dean, Dr.Richard Chapman Weldon.[1][4]
Bennett was then a partner in theChatham, New Brunswick, law firm of Tweedie and Bennett. Max Aitken (later to becomeLord Beaverbrook) was his office boy. Aitken persuaded Bennett to run foralderman in the first Town Council of Chatham.[1] Aitken managed Bennett's campaign[5] and Bennett was elected by 19 votes out of 691 cast.[1]
Despite his election to the Chatham Town Council, Bennett's days in the town were numbered. In 1897, he moved toCalgary,North-West Territories. He negotiated to become the law partner ofJames Lougheed, Calgary's richest man and most successful lawyer. By 1905, Bennett was buying and selling land and was successful at it due to the law firm's retainer being theCanadian Pacific Railway. Bennett also invested in the oil company, Calgary Petroleum Products Company, and became director and solicitor. He also worked with Aitken to produce the Alberta Pacific Grain Company,Canada Cement, and Calgary Power. Bennett's reputation grew.[1] Bennett described himself as ateetotaler (although he was known to occasionally drink alcohol when the press was not around).[6]
Bennett was elected to theLegislative Assembly of the North-West Territories in the1898 general election, representing the riding ofWest Calgary.[1] Aitken managed this campaign too.[5] Bennett was re-elected to a second term in office in1902 as an Independent in the North-West Territories legislature.[1] He gained the nickname "Bonfire Bennett" due to his extemporaneous, quick, and persuasive speaking manner.[7]
In 1905, whenAlberta was carved out of the Territories and made aprovince, Bennett became the first leader of theAlberta Conservative Party, though lost in a landslide inthat year's election to theLiberals. In 1909, he won a seat in the provinciallegislature.[1]
In 1908 Bennett was one of five people appointed to the first Library Board for the city of Calgary and was instrumental in establishing theCalgary Public Library.[8] In 1910, Bennett became a director of Calgary Power Ltd. (now formallyTransAlta Corporation) and just a year later he became president. His leadership projects completed included the first storage reservoir atLake Minnewanka, a second transmission line to Calgary, and the construction of theKananaskis Falls hydro station. At that time, he was also the director of Rocky Mountains Cement Company and Security Trust.[9]
Bennett's corporate law firm included notable clients such as theCanadian Pacific Railway andHudson's Bay Company. He worked with his childhood friend,Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on many successful ventures, including stock purchases, land speculation, and the buying and merging of small companies. Before he was 40, Bennett was a multi-millionaire who lived in the CalgaryFairmont Palliser Hotel. Though a lifelong bachelor, he dated women. In terms of personality, Bennett was accused of arrogance and of having a volatile temper.[1][10] Bennett's wealth helped him become a philanthropist; he donated to schools, hospitals, charities, and individuals in need.[7] He became richer when he started gaining control of the match company,E. B. Eddy Company, between 1906 and 1918. His growing control of the company occurred due to his longtime friendship with Jennie Grahl Hunter Eddy, who trusted Bennett with the company after her husband,Ezra Butler Eddy, died in 1906. By 1926, Bennett gained full control of the company.[1][11] Bennett was one of the richest Canadians at that time. He helped put many poor, struggling young men through university.[12]
Bennett was elected to theHouse of Commons in the1911 federal election as aConservative candidate. Bennett did not always follow party policy; in one instance in 1914, he spoke against theRobert Borden-led Conservative government's bill to provide financial support to theCanadian Northern Railway.[1]
At age 44, Bennett tried to enlist in the Canadian military onceWorld War I broke out, but was turned down as being medically unfit, perhaps because he had lost two of his toes. In July 1915, Bennett became Borden's assistant toLondon; in this job, Bennett's responsibility was to find out how Canada could help Britain with its military and civilian needs. In 1916, Bennett was appointed director general of theNational Service Board, which was in charge of identifying the number of potential recruits in the country.[1]
While Bennett supportedconscription, he opposed Borden's proposal for aUnion Government that would include both Conservatives and pro-conscriptionLiberals, fearing that this would ultimately hurt the Conservative Party. While he campaigned for Conservative candidates in the1917 federal election he did not stand for re-election himself.[1]
In February 1918, Borden appointed Alberta LiberalWilliam Harmer to theSenate to satisfy the Unionist coalition agreements. Bennett was reportedly furious at this move, believing that Borden broke a promise to appoint him to the Senate. Bennett wrote Borden a resentful 20-page letter. Borden never replied.[1]
Borden's successor,Arthur Meighen, appointed Bennettminister of justice on September 21, 1921. Inthe federal election two and a half months later, Bennett ran for the riding ofCalgary West but lost by 16 votes. In this election, the Conservatives sunk to third place.[1]
Bennett developed an extensive legal practice in Calgary. In 1922, he started the partnership Bennett, Hannah & Sanford, which would eventually becomeBennett Jones LLP.[13] In 1929–30, he served as national President of theCanadian Bar Association.[14] By the mid-1920s, Bennett was on the board of theRoyal Bank of Canada (RBC). He was also a director ofMetropolitan Life Insurance of New York.[1]
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After Meighen, who was attempting to become prime minister again, offered Bennett to be minister of justice, Bennett ran for and won the seat of Calgary West in the1925 federal election. The Conservatives won the most seats but didn't have amajority. They didn't necessarily form government due to Liberal prime ministerWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King negotiating support from theProgressive Party. However, in the summer of 1926, the Conservatives were invited to form government byLord Byng. Byng refused King's request todissolve parliament and call an election, and thus King resigned. On July 2, the Meighen government was defeated in amotion of non-confidence by one vote, triggeringan election scheduled for September 14.[1] At the time of the confidence vote, Bennett was in Alberta campaigning on behalfthe province's Conservative Party forthe provincial election and thus was unable to vote against the motion. Meighen greatly regretted his absence and later wrote, "If Mr. Bennett had been there... King would never have talked the diabolical and dishonest rot in which he indulged. He was a lot more careful when Bennett was across the floor...".[15]
In the election, the Liberals decisively won. In Meighen's short-lived government, Bennett served asminister of finance along with numerous acting portfolios. After this defeat, Meighen stepped down as Tory leader, triggeringa leadership convention scheduled for October 1927. Bennett put himself forward as a candidate, but had little expectation of winning, believing along with most observers that the convention would either vote to reinstate Meighen, or confirminterim leaderHugh Guthrie as his permanent successor. In the event, Meighen lacked the support to attempt a comeback, while Guthrie's chances were ruined by a poorly received speech that alienated the Quebec delegates, allowing Bennett to emerge as a compromise candidate and win the leadership on the second ballot. In his acceptance speech, Bennett talked about how he became rich through hard work. Upon being elected leader, Bennett resigned his company directorships.[1]
When Bennett became leader, the Conservative Party had no money. The party could not rely on support from newspapers as there were only 11 dailies considered Conservative. By February 1930, 27 full-time employees were using modern office equipment to spread the Conservative message across provinces. Bennett and senior party members donated $2,500 a month each to fund this enterprise and some provincial enterprises. By May 1930, Bennett had personally donated $500,000 (equivalent to $9,000,000 in 2023) to the party; one-fifth of that went toQuebec, where the Conservatives had been wiped out for the past four elections due to them imposingconscription in 1917.[1]
As Opposition leader, Bennett faced off against Liberal prime ministerWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King in Commons debates and took some time to acquire enough experience to hold his own with King. In 1930, King blundered badly when he made overly partisan statements in response to criticism over his handling of the economic downturn, which was hitting Canada very hard. King's worst error was in stating that he "would not give Tory provincial governments a five-cent piece!" This serious mistake, which drew wide press coverage, gave Bennett his needed opening to attack King, which he did successfully inthat year's election campaign.[1][16] On election day, July 28, Bennett led the Conservatives to amajority government. Although he was the first prime minister representing a constituency in Alberta, his party only won four of the province's sixteen seats. The Conservatives also had their best result in Quebec since the1911 federal election, going from 4 to 24 MPs.[1]
Bennett appointed himself as bothfinance minister andexternal Affairs minister after his victory, forming a government in the17th Canadian Parliament.[1] He worked an exhausting schedule throughout his years as prime minister, often more than 14 hours per day, and dominated his government. He lived in a suite in theChâteau Laurier hotel, a short walk from Parliament Hill.[12] When responding to letters from citizens talking about the struggles they were facing, Bennett wrote back with personal notes and tucked cash into the envelopes.[7]
Bennett had the misfortune of taking office during theGreat Depression. He supportedtariffs due to his belief that they would create markets for Canadian products. Bennett's government then passed theUnemployment Relief Act that provided $20 million forpublic works at the federal and local levels. In 1931, Bennett's government increased tariffs and passed theUnemployment and Farm Relief Act to invest in further public works and direct relief; similar acts would be passed each year until he left office in 1935.[1]
The Conservative Party's pro-business and pro-banking inclinations provided little relief to the millions of increasingly desperate and agitated unemployed. Despite the economic crisis, "laissez-faire" persisted as the guiding economic principle of Conservative Party ideology; similar attitudes dominated worldwide as well during this era. Government relief to the unemployed was considered a disincentive to individual initiative and was therefore only granted in the most minimal amounts and attached to work programs. An additional concern of the federal government was that large numbers of disaffected unemployed men concentrating in urban centres created a volatile situation. As an "alternative to bloodshed on the streets", the stop-gap solution for unemployment chosen by the Bennett government was to establish military-run and -styled relief camps in remote areas throughout the country, where single unemployed men toiled for twenty cents a day.[17][18] Any relief beyond this was left to provincial and municipal governments, many of which were either insolvent or on the brink of bankruptcy, and which railed against the inaction of other levels of government. Partisan differences began to sharpen on the question of government intervention in the economy, since lower levels of government were largely in Liberal hands, and protest movements were beginning to send their own parties into the political mainstream, notably theCooperative Commonwealth Federation andWilliam Aberhart'sSocial Credit Party inAlberta.[1]
At the1930 Imperial Conference inLondon,England, Bennett unsuccessfully argued for animperial preferencefree trade agreement. The proposal stunned the British government, despite them being pro-free trade. British newspaperThe Observer asked, "Empire or not?" TheStatute of Westminster in 1931 gave Canada and otherdominions' autonomy in foreign affairs. Despite Bennett declaring, "We no longer live in a political Empire", he favoured "a new economic Empire"; he still wanted the imperial preferential trade arrangement. Britain introducing a general tariff of 10 percent gave Bennett hope.[1]
Bennett hosted the 1932Imperial Economic Conference inOttawa; this was the first time Canada had hosted the meetings. It was attended by the leaders of the independent dominions of the British Empire (which later became theCommonwealth of Nations).[12] On July 21, when the conference opened, Bennett gave his opening speech that suggested that Britain might have free entry into Canada for any products that would "not injuriously affect Canadian enterprise." The conference did not result in an imperial preference free trade agreement but did result inbilateral treaties. The bilateral treaty between Canada and Britain saw Canadian wheat, apples, and other natural products get British preferences while the British got Canadian preferences for certain metal products and textiles not made in Canada; Canada benefited from the treaty more than Britain and in a few years, Canadian exports to Britain were up 60 percent while British exports to Canada were up 5 percent.[1]
A nickname that would stick with Bennett for the remainder of his political career, "Iron Heel Bennett",[19][20] came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded toJack London's socialistnovel:
What do they offer you in exchange for the present order? Socialism, Communism, dictatorship. They are sowing the seeds of unrest everywhere. Right in this city such propaganda is being carried on and in the little out of the way places as well. And we know that throughout Canada this propaganda is being put forward by organizations from foreign lands that seek to destroy our institutions. And we ask that every man and woman put the iron heel of ruthlessness against a thing of that kind.[21]
Reacting to fears of communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversialSection 98 of theCriminal Code. Enacted in the aftermath of theWinnipeg general strike, Section 98 dispensed with thepresumption of innocence in outlawing potential threats to the state: specifically, anyone belonging to an organization that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government. Even if the accused had never committed an act of violence or personally supported such an action, they could be incarcerated merely for attending meetings of such an organization, publicly speaking in its defence, or distributing its literature.[22][23] Despite the broad power authorized under section 98, it targeted specifically theCommunist Party of Canada. Eight of the top party leaders, includingTim Buck, were arrested on 11 August 1931 and convicted under section 98.[24]
By 1933, unemployment was at 27 percent and over 1.5 million Canadians were dependent on direct relief. In 1934, Bennett's government passed thePublic Works Construction Act. This launched a federal building program worth $40 million and aimed at generating employment opportunities. In 1935, another public works bill was passed; the bill provided another $18 million for construction projects.[1] Bennett's government created labour camps for unemployed single men; at the camps, they lived in bunkhouses and were paid 20 cents a day in return for a 44-hour week of toil.[25]
Having survived Section 98, and benefiting from the public sympathy wrought by persecution, Communist Party members set out to organize workers in the relief camps set up by theUnemployment and Farm Relief Act. Camp workers laboured on a variety of infrastructure projects, including municipal airports, roads, and park facilities, along with a number of other make-work schemes. Conditions in the camps were poor, not only because of the low pay, but also the lack of recreational facilities, isolation from family and friends, poor quality food, and the use ofmilitary discipline. Communists thus had ample grounds on which to organize camp workers, although the workers were there of their own volition.[26] TheRelief Camp Workers' Union was formed and affiliated with theWorkers' Unity League, the trade union umbrella of the Communist Party. Camp workers in BC struck on 4 April 1935, and, after two months of protesting in Vancouver, began theOn-to-Ottawa Trek to bring their grievances to Bennett's doorstep. The prime minister and his minister of justice,Hugh Guthrie, treated the trek as an attempted insurrection and ordered it to be stopped. TheRoyal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) read theRiot Act to a crowd of 3,000 strikers and their supporters inRegina on 1 July 1935, resulting in two deaths and dozens of injured.[1]
In 1934, Bennett's government passed theFarmers' Creditors Arrangement Act to make farm loans easier to acquire[7] and allow families to remain on their farms rather than lose them to foreclosure. That same year, his government passed theNatural Products Marketing Act; in a bid to obtain better prices, a federal board with powers to arrange more orderly marketing was established.[1][27] In 1935, Bennett's government passed thePrairie Farm Rehabilitation Act which established an enterprise that would eventually teach 100,000 farmers how to recover southernSaskatchewan from theDust Bowl.[1]
In 1935, through theCanadian Wheat Board Act, Bennett's government established theCanadian Wheat Board to market the wheat crop[1] and to ensure an efficient sale of grain under difficult conditions.[28] The act requiredWestern Canadian farmers to sell all wheat and barley produced for human consumption to the Wheat Board.[29]
In 1932, Bennett's government launched theCanadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) that regulated radio broadcasting to promote more Canadian content; the commission also established a publicly-owned national radio network that told Canadian stories to Canadians. In 1936, it became theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).[1][7][27]
Chartered banks in Canada controlled interest rates, the value of theCanadian dollar in the global market, and the amount of money in circulation; they also printed their own Canadian currency. In 1933, Bennett's government created theRoyal Commission on Banking and Currency; the commission would result in the creation of theBank of Canada in 1935 through the 1934Bank of Canada Act, despite opposition from the chartered banks. The bank gained the powers from the chartered banks and gained the legal mandate to control Canada'smonetary policy without interference from the federal government.[1][7]
In January 1934, Bennett told the provinces that they were "wasteful and extravagant", and even told Quebec and Ontario that they were wealthy enough to manage their own problems.[27] One year later, he had changed his tune. Following the lead ofPresidentRoosevelt'sNew Deal in the United States, Bennett, under the advice ofWilliam Duncan Herridge, who was Canada'sEnvoy to the United States, the government eventually began to follow the Americans' lead. In a series of live radio speeches to the nation in January 1935, Bennett introduced a Canadian version of the "New Deal", involving unprecedented public spending and federal intervention in the economy.Progressive income taxation, aminimum wage, a maximum number of working hours per week,unemployment insurance,health insurance, an expandedpension program, and grants to farmers were all included in the plan.[1][30]
In one of his addresses to the nation, Bennett said:[31]
In the last five years great changes have taken place in the world ... The old order is gone. We are living in conditions that are new and strange to us. Canada on the dole is like a young and vigorous man in the poorhouse ... If you believe that things should be left as they are, you and I hold contrary and irreconcilable views. I am for reform. And in my mind, reform means government intervention. It means government control and regulation. It means the end oflaissez-faire.
Some of the measures were alleged to have encroached on provincial jurisdictions laid out in section 92 of theBritish North America Act, 1867. The courts, including theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council, agreed and eventually struck down virtually all of Bennett's reforms.[30][32]
Bennett's conversion from small government to big government was seen as too little too late, and he faced criticism that his reforms either went too far, or did not go far enough, including from his minister of trade and commerce,H. H. Stevens, who bolted the government to form theReconstruction Party of Canada.[1] By 1934, Bennett was facing major dissent from Conservative quarters and the public.[7] Car owners, for example, who could no longer afford gasoline, had horses pull their vehicles, which they named "Bennett buggies".[33] To make matters worse, Bennett suffered a heart attack in March 1935.[7]
The beneficiary of the overwhelming opposition during Bennett's tenure was the Liberal Party. The Tories were decimated in theOctober 1935 general election, winning only 40 seats to 173 for Mackenzie King's Liberals. At the time, this was the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level. The Reconstruction Party won 8.7% of the popular vote as a result of gaining support from disgruntled Conservatives. The Tories would not form a majority government again in Canada until1958. King's government soon implemented its own moderate reforms, including the repeal of relief camps,[34] areciprocal trade agreement with the United States,[35] and the repeal of Section 98.[36] Ultimately, Canada pulled out of the depression as a result of government-funded jobs associated with the preparation for and onset of theSecond World War.[12]
Bennett led the Conservative Party and Opposition for the next three years until he was succeeded by his former Cabinet ministerRobert James Manion in theJuly 1938 leadership convention. Bennett moved to England on January 28, 1939, and resigned his Calgary West seat that same day.[1] He purchased a 94-acre (38 ha) property inSurrey called Juniper Hill, an 18th-century (c. 1780) mansion[37] built for David Jenkinson[38] and located across fromJuniper Hall on Downs Road); this was the first home Bennett owned as he had only lived in theCalgary Palliser Hotel and theChâteau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa in his adult life.[7]
On June 12, 1941, Bennett became the only former Canadian prime minister to be elevated to thepeerage as Viscount Bennett, ofMickleham in theCounty of Surrey and ofCalgary andHopewell in theDominion of Canada.[39][40] The honour, conferred on the recommendation of British PMWinston Churchill, was in recognition for Bennett's valuable unsalaried work in the Ministry of Aircraft Production, managed by his lifelong friend Lord Beaverbrook. Bennett took an active role in theHouse of Lords and attended frequently until his death.[41] He also participated in many speaking engagements and served on various boards.[7]
Bennett's interest in increasing public awareness and accessibility to Canada's historical records led him to serve as vice-president of theChamplain Society from 1933 until his death.[42]
By March 1947, Bennett sold nearly all of his investments; it became clear his health was declining. Bennett died after suffering aheart attack while taking a bath on June 26, 1947, at Mickleham. He was exactly one week shy of his 77th birthday. He is buried there inSt. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham. The tomb, and Government of Canada marker outside, are steps from the front doors of the church. He is the only deceased Canadian prime minister not buried in Canada.[43]
Textbooks typically portray Bennett as a hard-driving capitalist, pushing for American-style high tariffs and British-style imperialism, while ignoring his reform efforts.[44]
Bennett took note of and encouraged the youngLester Pearson in the early 1930s, and appointed Pearson to significant roles on two major government inquiries: the 1931 Royal Commission on Grain Futures, and the 1934 Royal Commission on Price Spreads. Bennett saw that Pearson was recognized with anOBE after he shone in that work, arranged a bonus of $1,800, and invited him to a London conference.[6] Former prime ministerJohn Turner, who as a child, knew Bennett while he was prime minister, praised Bennett's promotion of Turner'seconomist mother to the highest civil service post held by a Canadian woman to that time.[45]
Most historians consider his premiership to have been a failure at a time of severe economic crisis.[46]H. Blair Neatby says categorically that "as a politician, he was a failure".[47]Jack Granatstein andNorman Hillmer, comparing him to all other Canadian prime ministers concluded, "Bennett utterly failed as a leader. Everyone was alienated by the end—Cabinet, caucus, party, voter and foreigner."[48]
Bennett was ranked #12 by a survey of Canadian historians out of the then 20 Prime Ministers of Canada throughJean Chrétien. The results of the survey were included in the bookPrime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders byJ. L. Granatstein andNorman Hillmer.
A 2001 book byQuebec nationalist writerNormand Lester,Le Livre noir du Canada anglais (later translated asThe Black Book of English Canada) accused Bennett of having a political affiliation with, and of having provided financial support to,fascist Quebec writerAdrien Arcand. This is based on a series of letters sent to Bennett following his election as prime minister by Arcand, his colleague Ménard and two Conservative caucus members asking for financial support for Arcand's antisemitic newspaperLe Goglu.[49]
Bennett chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of theSupreme Court of Canada by theGovernor General:
Bennett was Honorary Colonel of the103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) from 1914 to the dissolution of the regiment in 1920.[50] Bennett was the Honorary Colonel of theCalgary Highlanders from the year of their designation as such in 1921 to his death in 1947. He visited the Regiment in England during the Second World War, and always ensured the 1st Battalion had a turkey dinner at Christmas every year they were overseas, including the Christmas of 1944 when the battalion was holding front line positions in theNijmegen Salient.
Bennett served as theRector ofQueen's University inKingston, Ontario, from 1935 to 1937, even while he was still prime minister. At the time, this role covered mediation for significant disputes between Queen's students and the university administration.[51]
Bennett's coat of arms was designed byAlan Beddoe: "Argent within two bendlets Gules three maple leaves proper all between two demi-lions rampant couped gules. Crest, a demi-lion Gules grapsing in the dexter paw a battle axe in bend sinister Or and resting the sinister paw on an escallop also Gules. Supporters, Dexter a buffalo, sinister a moose, both proper. Motto, To be Pressed not Oppressed."[52]
Empire Relations: ThePeter le Neve Foster Lecture, Delivered on June 3rd, 1942, at the Royal Society of Arts by the Right Hon. the Viscount Bennett, P.C., K.C. London:Dorothy Crisp, 1945.
Bennett was elevated to ahereditary peerage on 16 July 1941. He took the title 1st Viscount Bennett, ofMickleham in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in the Dominion of Canada. The peerage became extinct upon his death on 26 June 1947.
| Location | Date | Decoration | Post-nominal letters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 1907 – 26 June 1947 | King's Counsel | KC | |
| United Kingdom | 1930 – 26 June 1947 | Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council | PC | |
| United Kingdom | Before 26 June 1947 | Knight of Grace of the Order of St John | KG.StJ |
 |
| Location | Date | School | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Before 26 June 1947 | Queen's University | Rector[53] |
|
| Location | Date | School | Degree | Gave Commencement Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | 1919 | Dalhousie University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[54] | |
| Ontario | 1926 | Queen's University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[55] | |
| Ontario | 1931 | University of Toronto | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[56] | |
| New Brunswick | May 1933 | University of New Brunswick | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[57] |
|
|
| Location | Date | Organisation | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Before 26 June 1947 | Royal Canadian Geographical Society | Fellow |
|
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