Arthur Meighen
Encyclopedia
Arthur Meighen, PC
, QC
(icon; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer
and politician
. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada
: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation
, and the only one to represent a riding in Manitoba
. Both of his terms of office were brief. Meighen later served for a decade in the Senate of Canada, and failed in a political comeback attempt in 1941-42, after which he returned to the practice of law.
, to Joseph Meighen and Mary Jane Bell. He attended primary school at Blanshard SS# 1 Anderson, where, in addition to being the grandson of the village's first schoolmaster, he was an exemplary student. In 1892, during his final high school year at St. Marys Collegiate Institute, which later became North Ward Public School in St. Marys
(now known as Arthur Meighen Public School) Meighen was elected secretary of the Literary Society and was an expert debate
r in the school Debating Society. He received first class honours in Mathematics, English, and Latin.
at the University of Toronto
, where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics
in 1896, with first-class standing. While there, he met and became a rival of William Lyon Mackenzie King
; the two men, both future prime ministers, did not get along especially well from the start. Meighen then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School
.
In 1904 he married Isabel J. Cox, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. In 1990, one of his grandsons, Michael Meighen
, was appointed to the Canadian Senate
on the recommendation of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
.
. In public, Meighen was a first-class debater, said to have honed his oratory by delivering lectures to empty desks after class. He was renowned for his sharp wit.
in 1908, at the age of 34, defeating incumbent
John Crawford
when he captured the Manitoba
riding of Portage la Prairie. In 1911, Meighen won re-election, this time as a member of the new governing party. He won election again in 1913, after being appointed to Prime Minister Robert Borden
's Cabinet
as Solicitor General (at the time, newly-appointed Ministers had to seek re-election).
. In 1917, he was mainly responsible for implementing mandatory military service as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917
. Noteworthy was the government's decision to give votes to conscription
supporters (soldiers and their families), while denying that right to potential opponents of conscription such as immigrants. Meighen's portfolios were again shifted on October 12, 1917, this time to the positions of Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs
.
He was re-elected in the December 1917 federal election
, in which Borden's Unionist
(wartime coalition
) government defeated the opposition Laurier Liberals
over the conscription issue.
As Minister of the Interior, Meighen steered through Parliament the largest piece of legislation ever enacted in the British Empire
-- creating the Canadian National Railway
Company, which continues today. Meighen was re-appointed Minister of Mines on the last day of 1920. In 1919, as acting Minister of Justice
and senior Manitoban in the government of Sir Robert Borden, Meighen helped put down the Winnipeg General Strike
by force. Though Meighen has often been credited by historians with instigating the prosecution of the Winnipeg strike leaders, in fact he rejected demands from the Citizens' Committee that Ottawa step in when the provincial government of Manitoba refused to prosecute. It took the return to Ottawa in late July 1919 of Charles Doherty
, Minister of Justice, for the Citizens' Committee to get federal money to carry forward their campaign against labour.
and the Unionist
Party, and Prime Minister
on July 7, 1920, when Borden resigned; Meighen took over the remainder of Borden's mandate. During this first term, he was Prime Minister for about a year and a half.
Meighen fought the 1921 election under the banner of the National Liberal and Conservative Party
in an attempt to keep the allegiance of Liberals who had supported the wartime
Unionist government. However, his actions in implementing conscription hurt his party's already-weak support in Quebec, while the Winnipeg General Strike
and farm tariff
s made him unpopular among labour and farmers alike. The party was defeated by the Liberals
, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King
. Meighen was personally defeated in Portage la Prairie, with his party nationally falling to third place behind the newly-formed Progressive Party
.
in the eastern Ontario
riding of Grenville
.
after the Progressives declined the opportunity to become the Official Opposition. Meighen's term as opposition leader was most marked by his response to the crisis at Chanak, in which British Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill
leaked to the newspapers that the Dominions might be called upon to help British forces in the Chanak area, far away in Turkey
. With Parliament not in session, King refused to commit to sending troops, resenting the way Churchill had gone over the Dominion leaders' heads. King used the rationale that Parliament should decide, and that the matter was not important enough to recall Parliament. Meighen strongly condemned King's action, stating in a Toronto hotel and quoting former Liberal PM Wilfrid Laurier
, "When Britain's message came, then Canada should have said, 'Ready, aye ready, we stand by you.'" The crisis subsided within days, and Meighen was left with a reputation as being blindly in favour of Britain's interests. The matter brought down the government of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
.
Unlike Laurier and Borden, who got along well on a personal level despite being leaders of opposing political parties, there existed between Meighen and King a very deep personal distrust and animosity. Meighen looked down upon King, whom he called "Rex" (King's old University nickname), and considered him unprincipled. Their personal rivalry, bitter and unrelenting, was probably the nastiest in the history of Canadian politics.
. Much of this was uncovered in a Royal Commission
established to probe wrongdoing in Quebec
, and in particular, in connection with the construction and expansion of the Beauharnois Canal
, leading to the Beauharnois Scandal
. The Tories won a plurality of seats in the inconclusive election of 1925
, but King was able to retain power until mid-1926 through an alliance with the Progressives. Meighen denounced King for staying in power, saying he was holding onto office like a "lobster with lockjaw." Another corruption
scandal, this time in the Customs Department, was soon discovered, making the Progressives even more wary of continuing their support for King.
to refuse the request. King resigned as PM, and Meighen was invited by Byng to form a government, having secured a measure of support from the opposition farmers' parties. This became known as the "King-Byng Affair
". Historians have been divided in their interpretation of this event. Some have regarded it as an attack by King on the Governor General's constitutional prerogatives, including the right to refuse an election request by a prime minister; others have regarded it as an unwarranted intrusion into Canadian Parliamentary affairs by an unelected figurehead, and hence a violation of the principle of responsible government and the longstanding tradition of non-interference.
"acting" only, and not take the oath of office. King created an uproar about this tactic, attracting Progressive support to take down the government. In the event, the government lost the confidence
of the House by one vote. With no other parliamentary grouping to call upon, Byng called the Canadian federal election, 1926
. Meighen's party was swept from office, and Meighen himself was again defeated in Portage la Prairie
. His second term as PM lasted just three months.
Meighen resigned as Conservative Party leader shortly thereafter, and moved to Toronto to practice law.
in 1932 on the recommendation of Conservative Prime Minister R.B. Bennett
. He served as Leader of the Government in the Senate
and Minister without Portfolio
from February 3, 1932, to October 22, 1935. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
from 1935 until he resigned from the upper house
in January 1942.
, and campaigned in favour of conscription
, a measure which his predecessor, Robert Manion, had opposed. As leader, Meighen continued to champion the concept of a National Government including all parties, which the party had advocated in the 1940 federal election
. Such an arrangement had been seen in Canada during World War I, and was also used in Britain during World War II. However, Canadians did not support this idea.
riding of York South
, to return to the Commons. His candidacy received the improbable support of the Liberal Premier of Ontario
Mitchell Hepburn
; this act effectively hastened the end of Hepburn's Liberal Premiership, and did not in any case grant Meighen durable electoral support. According to custom, the Liberals did not run a candidate in the riding. Still harbouring a deep hatred for the Conservative leader and thinking that the return to the Commons of the ardently conscriptionist Meighen would further inflame the difficult, smouldering conscription issue (which two years later led to the conscription crisis
), King arranged for campaign resources to be sent to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
's Joseph Noseworthy.
in the anti-Conservative vote, and Meighen was defeated in the February 9, 1942 vote. With its leader excluded from the Commons, the Conservative Party was again weakened. Meighen continued to campaign for immediate conscription as part of a "total war
" effort through the spring and summer, but did not again seek a seat in the House of Commons. In September, Meighen called for a national party convention to determine the party's policies and "broaden out" the party. It remained unclear whether Meighen sought to have his leadership confirmed or to have his successor chosen. As the convention neared, news sources reported that Meighen had approached Manitoba's Liberal-Progressive Premier John Bracken
about seeking the leadership, and that the convention would adopt a platform that would move the party towards the left. Meighen announced in his keynote address to the party on December 9, 1942 that he was not a candidate for the leadership and the party subsequently chose Bracken as leader, and renamed itself the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
.
, St. Marys, Ontario
, near his birthplace. As of 2011, he has had the longest retirement of any Canadian Prime Minister, at 33 years, 10 months, 11 days.
, Manitoba
named for Arthur Meighen.
Mount Arthur Meighen 52°48′12"N 119°33′12"W is a 3205 m (10515 ft) peak located in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mountains
in the east-central interior of British Columbia, Canada. The mountain is south of the head of the McClennan River and immediately west of the town of Valemount, British Columbia.
Meighen Island
, in the far north of the Canadian Arctic, is named after Arthur Meighen.
The federal government building in Toronto's Yonge and St Clair area is named for him.
Meighen ranks as #14 out of the 20 Prime Ministers through Jean Chrétien
, in the survey of Canadian historians included in Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer
.
Riding: Portage la Prairie
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|-
|CRAWFORD, John ||align=right|2,894
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Arthur ||align=right|3,267
|-
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|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Hon. Arthur ||align=right|acclaimed
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
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|-
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|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|LEADER, Harry ||align=right|4,314
|-
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|4,137
|-
|BANNERMAN, Alexander Melville ||align=right|139
|-
Riding: Grenville
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|4,482
|-
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|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
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|-
|LEADER, Harry ||align=right|4,966
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MCPHERSON, Ewen Alexander ||align=right|6,394
|-
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|5,966
|-
Riding: Toronto
-York South
|NOSEWORTHY, Joseph W. ||align=right|16,408
|-
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|11,952
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(icon; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
, and the only one to represent a riding in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. Both of his terms of office were brief. Meighen later served for a decade in the Senate of Canada, and failed in a political comeback attempt in 1941-42, after which he returned to the practice of law.
Early life
Arthur Meighen was born on a farm near Anderson, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, to Joseph Meighen and Mary Jane Bell. He attended primary school at Blanshard SS# 1 Anderson, where, in addition to being the grandson of the village's first schoolmaster, he was an exemplary student. In 1892, during his final high school year at St. Marys Collegiate Institute, which later became North Ward Public School in St. Marys
St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Thames River southwest of Stratford in Perth County, and surrounded by the Township of Perth South. The town is also known by its nickname, "The Stone Town", due to the abundance of limestone in the surrounding area, giving...
(now known as Arthur Meighen Public School) Meighen was elected secretary of the Literary Society and was an expert debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
r in the school Debating Society. He received first class honours in Mathematics, English, and Latin.
University, family
He then attended University CollegeUniversity College, University of Toronto
University College is a constituent college of the University of Toronto, created in 1853 specifically as an institution of higher learning free of religious affiliation. It was the founding member of the university's modern collegiate system, and its secularism contrasted with contemporary...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
in 1896, with first-class standing. While there, he met and became a rival of William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
; the two men, both future prime ministers, did not get along especially well from the start. Meighen then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
.
In 1904 he married Isabel J. Cox, with whom he had two sons and one daughter. In 1990, one of his grandsons, Michael Meighen
Michael Meighen
Michael Arthur Meighen, QC is a Canadian senator, lawyer and cultural patron. A litigation and commercial lawyer who has practiced in Montreal and Toronto, he is a member of the Bars of both Ontario and Quebec....
, was appointed to the Canadian Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
on the recommendation of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
.
Early professional career
He moved to Manitoba shortly after finishing law school. Early in his professional career, Meighen experimented with several professions, including those of teacher, lawyer, and businessman, before becoming involved in politics as a member of the Conservative PartyConservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
. In public, Meighen was a first-class debater, said to have honed his oratory by delivering lectures to empty desks after class. He was renowned for his sharp wit.
Early political career
Meighen was first elected to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in 1908, at the age of 34, defeating incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
John Crawford
John Crawford (Manitoba politician)
John Crawford was a Canadian politician.Born in Kintail, Huron County, Ontario, the son of James Crawford and Catherine McGregor, Crawford received his education in the Port Albert public school, and after spending six years in a flour mill in Port Albert moved to Gladstone, Manitoba...
when he captured the Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
riding of Portage la Prairie. In 1911, Meighen won re-election, this time as a member of the new governing party. He won election again in 1913, after being appointed to Prime Minister Robert Borden
Robert Borden
Sir Robert Laird Borden, PC, GCMG, KC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920, and was the third Nova Scotian to hold this office...
's Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
as Solicitor General (at the time, newly-appointed Ministers had to seek re-election).
Cabinet minister
Meighen served as Solicitor General from June 26, 1913, until August 25, 1917, when he was appointed Minister of Mines and Secretary of State for CanadaSecretary of State for Canada
The position of Secretary of State for Canada was a Canadian Cabinet position with a corresponding department. It was established in 1867 as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London...
. In 1917, he was mainly responsible for implementing mandatory military service as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917
Conscription Crisis of 1917
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.-Background:...
. Noteworthy was the government's decision to give votes to conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
supporters (soldiers and their families), while denying that right to potential opponents of conscription such as immigrants. Meighen's portfolios were again shifted on October 12, 1917, this time to the positions of Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)
The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads two different departments...
.
He was re-elected in the December 1917 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1917
The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription...
, in which Borden's Unionist
Unionist Party (Canada)
The Unionist Party was formed in 1917 by Members of Parliament in Canada who supported the "Union government" formed by Sir Robert Borden during the First World War....
(wartime coalition
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
) government defeated the opposition Laurier Liberals
Laurier Liberals
Prior to the 1917 federal election in Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada split into two factions:* the Laurier Liberals, who opposed conscription of soldiers to support Canada's involvement in World War I and who were led by former Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier; and* the Liberal Unionists who...
over the conscription issue.
As Minister of the Interior, Meighen steered through Parliament the largest piece of legislation ever enacted in the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
-- creating the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
Company, which continues today. Meighen was re-appointed Minister of Mines on the last day of 1920. In 1919, as acting Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice (Canada)
The Minister of Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice and is also Attorney General of Canada .This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone with formal legal training...
and senior Manitoban in the government of Sir Robert Borden, Meighen helped put down the Winnipeg General Strike
Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most influential strikes in Canadian history, and became the platform for future labour reforms....
by force. Though Meighen has often been credited by historians with instigating the prosecution of the Winnipeg strike leaders, in fact he rejected demands from the Citizens' Committee that Ottawa step in when the provincial government of Manitoba refused to prosecute. It took the return to Ottawa in late July 1919 of Charles Doherty
Charles Doherty
Charles Joseph Doherty, PC, KC was a Canadian politician and jurist.Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Marcus Doherty, a judge of the Supreme Court for the Province of Quebec and Elizabeth Doherty, Doherty was educated at St...
, Minister of Justice, for the Citizens' Committee to get federal money to carry forward their campaign against labour.
Prime minister: first Parliament
He became leader of the ConservativeConservative Party of Canada (historical)
The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
and the Unionist
Unionist Party (Canada)
The Unionist Party was formed in 1917 by Members of Parliament in Canada who supported the "Union government" formed by Sir Robert Borden during the First World War....
Party, and Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
on July 7, 1920, when Borden resigned; Meighen took over the remainder of Borden's mandate. During this first term, he was Prime Minister for about a year and a half.
Meighen fought the 1921 election under the banner of the National Liberal and Conservative Party
National Liberal and Conservative Party
The National Liberal and Conservative Party was the name adopted by the Conservative Party of Canada in 1920 after the end of the Unionist government of Robert Borden....
in an attempt to keep the allegiance of Liberals who had supported the wartime
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Unionist government. However, his actions in implementing conscription hurt his party's already-weak support in Quebec, while the Winnipeg General Strike
Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was one of the most influential strikes in Canadian history, and became the platform for future labour reforms....
and farm tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s made him unpopular among labour and farmers alike. The party was defeated by the Liberals
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
. Meighen was personally defeated in Portage la Prairie, with his party nationally falling to third place behind the newly-formed Progressive Party
Progressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba...
.
Opposition leader
Meighen continued to lead the Conservative Party (which had reverted to its traditional name), and was returned to Parliament in 1922, after winning a by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in the eastern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
riding of Grenville
Grenville (electoral district)
Grenville was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Grenville South and Leeds North and Grenville North ridings...
.
Conflict over support for British intervention
Despite his party finishing in third place, Meighen became Leader of the OppositionLeader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
after the Progressives declined the opportunity to become the Official Opposition. Meighen's term as opposition leader was most marked by his response to the crisis at Chanak, in which British Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
leaked to the newspapers that the Dominions might be called upon to help British forces in the Chanak area, far away in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. With Parliament not in session, King refused to commit to sending troops, resenting the way Churchill had gone over the Dominion leaders' heads. King used the rationale that Parliament should decide, and that the matter was not important enough to recall Parliament. Meighen strongly condemned King's action, stating in a Toronto hotel and quoting former Liberal PM Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
, "When Britain's message came, then Canada should have said, 'Ready, aye ready, we stand by you.'" The crisis subsided within days, and Meighen was left with a reputation as being blindly in favour of Britain's interests. The matter brought down the government of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
.
Unlike Laurier and Borden, who got along well on a personal level despite being leaders of opposing political parties, there existed between Meighen and King a very deep personal distrust and animosity. Meighen looked down upon King, whom he called "Rex" (King's old University nickname), and considered him unprincipled. Their personal rivalry, bitter and unrelenting, was probably the nastiest in the history of Canadian politics.
Scandals destabilize Liberals
The Liberal government of Mackenzie King was soon beset with scandals and corruptionCorruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
. Much of this was uncovered in a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
established to probe wrongdoing in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and in particular, in connection with the construction and expansion of the Beauharnois Canal
Beauharnois Canal
The Beauharnois Canal is a Canadian canal located in southwestern Quebec. The canal is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway.Located in Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional County Municipality within the cities of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Beauharnois, Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, and Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka,...
, leading to the Beauharnois Scandal
Beauharnois scandal
The Beauharnois scandal was a Canadian political scandal around 1930. The Beauharnois Light, Heat and Power Company had given $700,000 to the ruling Liberal Party of Canada in the run-up to the 1930 federal election in exchange for the right to change the flow of the St...
. The Tories won a plurality of seats in the inconclusive election of 1925
Canadian federal election, 1925
The Canadian federal election of 1925 was held on October 29 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party formed a minority government. This precipitated the "King-Byng Affair".The Liberals under...
, but King was able to retain power until mid-1926 through an alliance with the Progressives. Meighen denounced King for staying in power, saying he was holding onto office like a "lobster with lockjaw." Another corruption
Corruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
scandal, this time in the Customs Department, was soon discovered, making the Progressives even more wary of continuing their support for King.
King-Byng Affair
When King was on the verge of losing a vote in the Commons in mid-1926, he asked the Governor General, Lord Byng, to call an election. Byng used his reserve powerReserve power
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch of the government. Unlike a presidential system of government, the head of state is generally constrained by the cabinet or the...
to refuse the request. King resigned as PM, and Meighen was invited by Byng to form a government, having secured a measure of support from the opposition farmers' parties. This became known as the "King-Byng Affair
King-Byng Affair
The King–Byng Affair was a Canadian constitutional crisis that occurred in 1926, when the Governor General of Canada, the Lord Byng of Vimy, refused a request by his prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, to dissolve parliament and call a general election....
". Historians have been divided in their interpretation of this event. Some have regarded it as an attack by King on the Governor General's constitutional prerogatives, including the right to refuse an election request by a prime minister; others have regarded it as an unwarranted intrusion into Canadian Parliamentary affairs by an unelected figurehead, and hence a violation of the principle of responsible government and the longstanding tradition of non-interference.
Prime minister: second Parliament
Because of the possibility of losing a vote in the Commons, due to insufficient numbers, while Meighen and his ministers were in the process of being re-elected (a relic of British law dating to 1701 that was repealed in Canada in 1938), Meighen advised that the Governor General make the ministers of the CrownMinister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...
"acting" only, and not take the oath of office. King created an uproar about this tactic, attracting Progressive support to take down the government. In the event, the government lost the confidence
Confidence
Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited...
of the House by one vote. With no other parliamentary grouping to call upon, Byng called the Canadian federal election, 1926
Canadian federal election, 1926
The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...
. Meighen's party was swept from office, and Meighen himself was again defeated in Portage la Prairie
Portage la Prairie (electoral district)
Portage la Prairie was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1949.This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Macdonald riding....
. His second term as PM lasted just three months.
Meighen resigned as Conservative Party leader shortly thereafter, and moved to Toronto to practice law.
Senate appointment
Meighen was appointed to the SenateCanadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
in 1932 on the recommendation of Conservative Prime Minister R.B. Bennett
R. B. Bennett
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, PC, KC was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He served as the 11th Prime Minister of Canada from August 7, 1930, to October 23, 1935, during the worst of the Great Depression years...
. He served as Leader of the Government in the Senate
Leader of the Government in the Senate (Canada)
The Leader of the Government in the Senate is a Canadian cabinet minister who leads the government side in the Canadian Senate and is chiefly responsible for promoting and defending the government's program in the Upper House. The government leader's counterpart on the Opposition benches is the...
and Minister without Portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
from February 3, 1932, to October 22, 1935. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)
In Canada, the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Senate is the leader of the senate caucus of the largest party in the Senate that is not in government. The position is appointed by the leader of the party that forms the opposition in the Senate...
from 1935 until he resigned from the upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
in January 1942.
Comeback attempt
In late 1941, Meighen was prevailed upon by a unanimous vote in a national conference of the party to become leader of the Conservative Party for the duration of the war. He accepted the party leadership on November 13, 1941, foregoing a leadership conventionLeadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
, and campaigned in favour of conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
, a measure which his predecessor, Robert Manion, had opposed. As leader, Meighen continued to champion the concept of a National Government including all parties, which the party had advocated in the 1940 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1940
The Canadian federal election of 1940 was the 19th general election in Canadian history. It was held March 26, 1940 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 19th Parliament of Canada...
. Such an arrangement had been seen in Canada during World War I, and was also used in Britain during World War II. However, Canadians did not support this idea.
By-election support from Premier Hepburn
Meighen, lacking a Commons seat while leading the main Opposition party, resigned his Senate seat on January 16, 1942, and campaigned in a by-election for the TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding of York South
York South
York South was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1999....
, to return to the Commons. His candidacy received the improbable support of the Liberal Premier of Ontario
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
; this act effectively hastened the end of Hepburn's Liberal Premiership, and did not in any case grant Meighen durable electoral support. According to custom, the Liberals did not run a candidate in the riding. Still harbouring a deep hatred for the Conservative leader and thinking that the return to the Commons of the ardently conscriptionist Meighen would further inflame the difficult, smouldering conscription issue (which two years later led to the conscription crisis
Conscription Crisis of 1944
The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was not as politically damaging....
), King arranged for campaign resources to be sent to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
's Joseph Noseworthy.
By-election defeat
The absence of a Liberal candidate actually hurt Meighen's chances by precluding the possibility of a splitVote splitting
Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate....
in the anti-Conservative vote, and Meighen was defeated in the February 9, 1942 vote. With its leader excluded from the Commons, the Conservative Party was again weakened. Meighen continued to campaign for immediate conscription as part of a "total war
Total war
Total war is a war in which a belligerent engages in the complete mobilization of fully available resources and population.In the mid-19th century, "total war" was identified by scholars as a separate class of warfare...
" effort through the spring and summer, but did not again seek a seat in the House of Commons. In September, Meighen called for a national party convention to determine the party's policies and "broaden out" the party. It remained unclear whether Meighen sought to have his leadership confirmed or to have his successor chosen. As the convention neared, news sources reported that Meighen had approached Manitoba's Liberal-Progressive Premier John Bracken
John Bracken
John Bracken, PC was an agronomist, the 11th Premier of Manitoba and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ....
about seeking the leadership, and that the convention would adopt a platform that would move the party towards the left. Meighen announced in his keynote address to the party on December 9, 1942 that he was not a candidate for the leadership and the party subsequently chose Bracken as leader, and renamed itself the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
.
Retirement and death
Following his second political retirement, Meighen returned to the practice of law in Toronto. He died in Toronto, aged 86, on August 5, 1960, and was buried in St. Marys CemeterySt. Mary's Cemetery
St. Marys Cemetery is a cemetery located in St. Marys, Ontario. It is most notable for being the burial place of Canadian Prime Minister Arthur Meighen. Opened in 1885 to relieve the full Protestant Cemetery, it is the resting place for Protestants in the area...
, St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Thames River southwest of Stratford in Perth County, and surrounded by the Township of Perth South. The town is also known by its nickname, "The Stone Town", due to the abundance of limestone in the surrounding area, giving...
, near his birthplace. As of 2011, he has had the longest retirement of any Canadian Prime Minister, at 33 years, 10 months, 11 days.
Legacy
There are schools in St. Marys, Ontario and Portage La PrairiePortage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
named for Arthur Meighen.
Mount Arthur Meighen 52°48′12"N 119°33′12"W is a 3205 m (10515 ft) peak located in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mountains
Cariboo Mountains
The Cariboo Mountains are the northernmost subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which run down into the Spokane, Washington area of the United States and include the Selkirks, Monashees and Purcells. The Cariboo Mountains are entirely within the province of British Columbia, Canada. The range is...
in the east-central interior of British Columbia, Canada. The mountain is south of the head of the McClennan River and immediately west of the town of Valemount, British Columbia.
Meighen Island
Meighen Island
Meighen Island is an uninhabited member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Located at 79°55'N 99°30'W, it measures in size and is topped with an ice cap. The island is continuously icebound, and its northwestern...
, in the far north of the Canadian Arctic, is named after Arthur Meighen.
The federal government building in Toronto's Yonge and St Clair area is named for him.
Meighen ranks as #14 out of the 20 Prime Ministers through Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
, in the survey of Canadian historians included in Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer
Norman Hillmer
George Norman Hillmer is a leading Canadian historian and teacher and is among the leading scholars on Canada-US relations....
.
Electoral history
|-Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Arthur ||align=right|3,144
|-
|CRAWFORD, John ||align=right|2,894
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Arthur ||align=right|3,267
|-
|PATERSON, Robert ||align=right|2,592
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Hon. Arthur ||align=right|acclaimed
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Hon. Arthur ||align=right|4,611
|-
|SHIRTLIFF, Frederick ||align=right|976
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|LEADER, Harry ||align=right|4,314
|-
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|4,137
|-
|BANNERMAN, Alexander Melville ||align=right|139
|-
Riding: Grenville
Grenville
-People:* Bevil Grenville , English soldier* George Grenville , British politician who served as Prime Minister between 1763-1765* George Nugent-Grenville, 2nd Baron Nugent , British politician...
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|4,482
|-
|PATTERSON, Arthur Kidd ||align=right|2,820
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MEIGHEN, Rt. Hon. Arthur ||align=right|5,817
|-
|LEADER, Harry ||align=right|4,966
|-
Riding: Portage la Prairie
|MCPHERSON, Ewen Alexander ||align=right|6,394
|-
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|5,966
|-
Riding: Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
-York South
York South
York South was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1999....
|NOSEWORTHY, Joseph W. ||align=right|16,408
|-
|MEIGHEN, Right Hon. Arthur ||align=right|11,952
See also
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers
- Mitchell Hepburn#Supports Meighen in by-election
Further reading
- Granatstein, J.L. and Hillmer, Norman. Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders. HarperCollinsPublishersLtd., 1999. P. 75-82. ISBN 0-00-200027-X.
Primary sources
- Meighen, Arthur. Unrevised and Unrepented II: Debating Speeches and Others by the Right Honourable Arthur Meighen (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2011), Edited by Arthur Milnes; this is an expanded version of Arthur Meighen, Unrevised and Unrepented: Debating Speeches and Others by the Right Honourable Arthur Meighen (1949)
- Oversea Addresses, June - July 1921 by Arthur Meighen at archive.org