Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935.
Bennett was born in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, and grew up nearby in Hopewell Cape. He studied law at Dalhousie University, graduating in 1893, and in 1897 moved to Calgary to establish a law firm in partnership with James 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 the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1898 until 1905, when he briefly held the post as the inaugural leader of the Alberta Conservative Party. He later served in the Alberta Legislature from 1909 to 1911, resigning upon his election to the House of Commons. Bennett declined to run for reelection in 1917 but briefly served as minister of justice under Arthur Meighen in 1921. He returned to the Commons in 1925 and served briefly as minister of finance in Meighen's second government in 1926. Meighen resigned the Conservative Party's leadership after his defeat in the 1926 election, with Bennett elected as his replacement in 1927. Thus, Bennett became leader of the Opposition.
Bennett became prime minister after the 1930 election, where the Conservatives won a majority government over William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party. Bennett's premiership was marked primarily by the Great Depression. He and his party initially tried to combat the crisis with laissez-faire policies, but these were largely ineffective. He was also unsuccessful in establishing an imperial preference free trade agreement. Over time, Bennett's government became increasingly interventionist, attempting to replicate the popular "New Deal" enacted by Franklin Roosevelt in the United 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 the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) and the Bank of Canada.
Bennett suffered a landslide defeat in the 1935 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 the peerage. Bennett is ranked as a below-average prime minister among historians and the public.
Early life (1870–1890)
Bennett was born on July 3, 1870, when his mother, Henrietta Stiles, was visiting her parents' home in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada. He was the eldest of six children and grew up nearby at the Bay of Fundy home of his father, Henry John Bennett, in Hopewell Cape, the shire town of Albert County. Bennett's father descended from English ancestors who had emigrated to Connecticut in the 17th century. His great-great-grandfather, Zadock Bennett, migrated from New London, Connecticut, to Nova Scotia , before the American Revolution, as one of the New England Planters who took the lands forcibly removed from the deported Acadians during the Great Upheaval. At age 18, Bennett became principal of a school in Douglastown, New Brunswick.
Bennett was then a partner in the Chatham, New Brunswick, law firm of Tweedie and Bennett. Max Aitken (later to become Lord Beaverbrook) was his office boy. Aitken persuaded Bennett to run for alderman in the first Town Council of Chatham. and Bennett was elected by 19 votes out of 691 cast.
thumb|200px|Young R.B. Bennett, 1901
Bennett was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories in the 1898 general election, representing the riding of West Calgary.
In 1905, when Alberta was carved out of the Territories and made a province, Bennett became the first leader of the Alberta Conservative Party, though he lost in a landslide in that year's election to the Liberals. In 1909, he won a seat in the provincial legislature. In 1910, Bennett became a director of Calgary Power Ltd. (now TransAlta Corporation) and just a year later he became president. His leadership projects completed included the first storage reservoir at Lake Minnewanka, a second transmission line to Calgary, and the construction of the Kananaskis Falls hydro station. At that time, he was also the director of Rocky Mountains Cement Company and Security Trust.
Bennett's corporate law firm included notable clients such as the Canadian Pacific Railway and Hudson's Bay Company. The law firm was in the Clarence Block building, at 122 8th Ave in Calgary, also known as the historic Stephen Avenue, which was owned by fellow partner in the firm, James Lougheed. The firm was on the second floor, above a Hartt Shoe Company retail store, a dress shoe manufacturer based in Bennett’s home province of New Brunswick, of which he was known to be a customer. He worked with his childhood friend, Max Aitken, 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 Palliser Hotel. Though a lifelong bachelor, he dated women. In terms of personality, Bennett was accused of arrogance and of having a volatile temper. Bennett's wealth helped him become a philanthropist; he donated to schools, hospitals, charities, and individuals in need. Bennett was one of the richest Canadians at that time. He helped put many poor, struggling young men through university. In 1929–30, he served as national President of the Canadian Bar Association. By the mid-1920s, Bennett was on the board of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). He was also a director of Metropolitan Life Insurance of New York.
In the election, the Liberals decisively won. In Meighen's short-lived government, Bennett served as minister of finance along with numerous acting portfolios. After this defeat, Meighen stepped down as Tory leader, triggering a 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 confirm interim leader Hugh 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. On election day, July 28, Bennett led the Conservatives to a majority 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 the 1911 federal election, going from 4 to 24 MPs. 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 the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and William Aberhart's Social Credit Party in Alberta. 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 in bilateral 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. came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded to Jack London's socialist novel:
<blockquote>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. </blockquote>
Reacting to fears of communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversial Section 98 of the Criminal Code. Enacted in the aftermath of the Winnipeg general strike, Section 98 dispensed with the presumption 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. Despite the broad power authorized under section 98, it targeted specifically the Communist Party of Canada. Eight of the top party leaders, including Tim Buck, were arrested on 11 August 1931 and convicted under section 98.
Labour policy and relief camps
thumb|1934 telegram by Bennett concerning relief camps
By 1933, unemployment was at 27 percent and over 1.5 million Canadians were dependent on direct relief. In 1934, Bennett's government passed the Public 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.
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 the Unemployment 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 of military discipline. Communists thus had ample grounds on which to organize camp workers, although the workers were there of their own volition. The Relief Camp Workers' Union was formed and affiliated with the Workers' 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 the On-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. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) read the Riot Act to a crowd of 3,000 strikers and their supporters in Regina on 1 July 1935, resulting in two deaths and dozens of injured. The act required Western Canadian farmers to sell all wheat and barley produced for human consumption to the Wheat Board.
Other initiatives
In 1932, Bennett's government launched the Canadian 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 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). One year later, he had changed his tune. Following the lead of President Roosevelt's New Deal in the United States, Bennett, under the advice of William Duncan Herridge, who was Canada's Envoy 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, a minimum wage, a maximum number of working hours per week, unemployment insurance, health insurance, an expanded pension program, and grants to farmers were all included in the plan.
In one of his addresses to the nation, Bennett said:
Some of the measures were alleged to have encroached on provincial jurisdictions laid out in section 92 of the British North America Act, 1867. The courts, including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, agreed and eventually struck down virtually all of Bennett's reforms.
Internal divisions and defeat
thumb|left|A "[[Bennett buggy", drawn by a horse because of lack of money to pay for gas]]
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 the Reconstruction Party of Canada. To make matters worse, Bennett suffered a heart attack in March 1935. a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States, and the repeal of Section 98. Ultimately, Canada pulled out of the depression as a result of government-funded jobs associated with the preparation for and onset of the Second World War. built for David Jenkinson and located across from Juniper Hall on Downs Road); this was the first home Bennett owned as he had only lived in the Calgary Palliser Hotel and the Château Laurier Hotel in Ottawa in his adult life. The honour, conferred on the recommendation of British PM Winston 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 the House of Lords and attended frequently until his death. He also participated in many speaking engagements and served on various boards.
By March 1947, Bennett sold nearly all of his investments; it became clear his health was declining. Bennett died after suffering a heart 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 in St. 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.
Legacy and assessments
Textbooks typically portray Bennett as a hard-driving capitalist, pushing for American-style high tariffs and British-style imperialism, while ignoring his reform efforts.
Bennett took note of and encouraged the young Lester 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 an OBE after he shone in that work, arranged a bonus of $1,800, and invited him to a London conference.
Criticisms
Most historians consider his premiership to have been a failure at a time of severe economic crisis. H. Blair Neatby says categorically that "as a politician, he was a failure". Jack Granatstein and Norman 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."
Bennett was ranked #12 by a survey of Canadian historians out of the then 20 Prime Ministers of Canada through Jean Chrétien. The results of the survey were included in the book Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer.
A 2001 book by Quebec nationalist writer Normand Lester, Le Livre noir du Canada anglais (later translated as The Black Book of English Canada) accused Bennett of having a political affiliation with, and of having provided financial support to, fascist Quebec writer Adrien 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 newspaper Le Goglu.
Supreme Court appointments
As Prime Minister, Bennett nominated four justices to the Supreme Court of Canada and elevated Sir Lyman Poore Duff to the role of Chief Justice of Canada. Supreme Court historians Snell and Vaughan note that Bennett's appointments showed significant care and thoughtfulness. Bennett continued the traditions of balancing regional and religious appointments, and there is limited evidence of political influence in appointments, besides that of Oswald Smith Crocket. With the appointment of Crocket, Bennett had struggled to find a suitable candidate from New Brunswick. He resorted to writing Premier Charles Dow Richards that there was "no one in New Brunswick fitted by training and experience to become a member of the [Supreme] Court." Bennett considered Crocket a personal friend, but hesitated because Crocket's judicial experience was limited to the trial level, with no appellate background.
Bennett chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the Governor General:
- Oswald Smith Crocket (21 September 1932 – 13 April 1943)
- Frank Joseph Hughes (17 March 1933 – 13 February 1935)
- Sir Lyman Poore Duff (as Chief Justice, (17 March 1933 – 2 January 1944; appointed a Puisne Justice under Prime Minister Laurier, 4 June 1906)
- Henry Hague Davis (31 January 1935 – 30 June 1944)
- Patrick Kerwin (20 July 1935 – 2 February 1963)
Other appointments
<!-- Deleted image removed: right|200px|thumb|Inspecting the Calgary Highlanders in England, 12 February 1943. Pipe Major Neil Sutherland at left -->
Bennett was Honorary Colonel of the 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) from 1914 to the dissolution of the regiment in 1920. Bennett was the Honorary Colonel of the Calgary 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 the Nijmegen Salient.
Bennett served as the Rector of Queen's University in Kingston, 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.
Coat of arms
thumb|right|Viscount Bennett's coat of arms
Bennett's coat of arms was designed by Alan 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."
Publications
Empire Relations: The Peter 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.<br />
Honours
Hereditary peerage
Bennett was elevated to a hereditary peerage on 16 July 1941. He took the title 1st Viscount Bennett, of Mickleham 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.
Honours
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:55%;"| Decoration
! style="width:5%;"| Post-nominal letters
|-
| Alberta || 190726 June 1947 || King's Counsel || KC
|-
| United Kingdom || 193026 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 ||
|-
|}
Scholastic
; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| Ontario || Before 26 June 1947 || Queen's University || Rector
|-
|}
Honorary degrees
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
! style="width:20%;"| Gave Commencement Address
|-
| Nova Scotia || 1919 || Dalhousie University || Doctor of Laws (LL.D) ||
|-
| Ontario || 1926 || Queen's University || Doctor of Laws (LL.D) ||
|-
| Ontario || 1931 || University of Toronto || Doctor of Laws (LL.D) ||
|-
| New Brunswick || May 1933 || University of New Brunswick || Doctor of Laws (LL.D) ||
|-
|}
Freedom of the City
- England 4 November 1930: London.
Memberships and fellowships
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| Organisation
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| Canada || Before 26 June 1947 || Royal Canadian Geographical Society || Fellow
|-
|}
Honorary military appointments
- Canadian Army (19141920): Honorary Colonel of the 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles)
- Canadian Army (192126 June 1947): Honorary Colonel of the Calgary Highlanders
Electoral record
See also
- List of prime ministers of Canada
- Great Depression in Canada
- Canadian peers and baronets
References
Further reading
Historiography
- Glassford, Larry. "Review of Boyko, John, Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation" (H-Canada, H-Net Reviews. August, 2012) online
Primary sources
- This book is a collection of Bennett's speeches in the British House of Lords from 1941 to 1947.
- 250 pages of excerpts from 60 primary sources.
External links
- Silver and Gold: Bennett and the Great Depression – Historical essay, illustrated with photographs