Arthur Meighen

the very honourable Arthur Meighen , C.P., C.R., B.A., LL.D. (born the June 16th 1874 with Anderson (Ontario) and dead the August 5th 1960 with Toronto) was Professor, lawyer, banker and Canadian Politician . He was the ninth Prime Minister of Canada, of the July 10th 1920 with the December 20th 1921, then occupied again this function of the June 29th to the September 25th 1926.

Born farm parents, it made its studies with the Université of Toronto, which it left provided with a B.A. in mathematics. He worked then as professor before going to Portage the Meadow, Manitoba, where he exerts with the bar. Its political course began shortly after.

Meighen was elected appointed with the House of Commons of Canada for the first time in 1908 in its district of Bearing under the colors of the conservative party. It quickly became famous thanks to its excellent speeches. In 1913 it created a movement to enclose the discussion during the debate on the naval assistance, to make it possible the government to give a quarter of the budget in England to the construction of the battleships (the decision was revoked later by the Senate, in 1914).

A little later it joined the government of the Prime Minister Robert Laird Borden like Solicitor General, a station where it remained until in 1917. In 1915 it became also consulting private. In 1917, it was briefly named Secretary of State and Minister for the Mines. When the coalition government was formed in 1917, Meighen was named Minister of Interior Department and supervisor-general of the Indian Businesses. It occupied this station until in 1920, receiving meanwhile (in 1919) the additional expenditure of the ministry for the Mines (which it knew already).

When Borden Prime Minister resigned in 1920, the first choice of the coalition as successor was Sir William Thomas White, the Minister for Finance of 1911 to 1919. White, however, decreased to form a government quands requested by the Governor-general of Canada, the Duc of Devonshire. Devonshire then required the second choice, Meighen, to carry out the government coalition. It accepted and, on July 10th, 1920, he became Prime Minister. Like Prime Minister, his only achievement was to convince the British government directed by David Lloyd George not to renew alliance with Japan.

The coalition government became very unpopular during the year 1921 and, at the time of the elections of this year, the coalition was beaten by that of the Liberal party of Canada and the Parti progressist Canada. Meighen itself was beaten in its district of Bearing the Meadow. Re-elected later in Grenville, Ontario, he became chief of the Conservative party of Canada and chief of the opposition. At the time of the election of 1925, the conservative party gained a great number of seats without managing to gain the absolute majority. The Prime Minister Mackenzie King, therefore, remained in office to make an association with the progressive party. In 1926, a scandal within the ministry for the habits rang the knell of the coalition between the liberals and the progressists. Fearing a possible defeat of the government in a vote of distrust to the House of Commons, the King Prime Minister asked the governor-general, the baron Julian Byng, to dissolve the Parliament, which this one refused. King was solved to resign and, on June 29th, 1926, the governor-general asked Meighen to form a new government.

The second period during which Meighen was Prime Minister was compromised almost as of its taking up the duties. Indeed, King, remained chief of the liberal party, formed an alliance with the ginger group and, as of the third day of existence of the conservative government of Meighen, a motion of censure was adopted with the House of Commons. Meighen then suggested with the governor-general dissolving the Parliament, it with what Byng was solved this time. However, the electoral campaign and the election showed a “surprised victory” of the liberal party which gained the majority, Meighen itself being again beaten in its district of Bearing the Meadow. This new failure forced it to resign, at the same time of the station of Prime Minister and that of chief of the conservative party, and to give up the political life temporarily.

Does Meighen reconvert a time like taker closes (?), then vice-president and then president of the Funds in trust of Toronto. In 1932 it was named with the Senate, and joined the government of Prime Minister R.B. Bennett as chief of the government to the senate and minister of state until 1935. From 1935 to 1942, he was chief of the opposition to the Senate. In 1941, it became again chief of the party canner, after the defeat of Robert James Manion. It has resigned of its seat of senator in 1942, and tried to be made elect with the House of Commons in the district of York-South (Ontario). With the general surprise, Meighen was beaten, and was solved has to resign of the post of head of the Conservative party and to withdraw political life definitively.

External bond

Biography of the biographical Dictionary of Canada in line
federal political Experiment — Library of the Parliament

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