Unionistic party (Canada)

The unionistic Parti was formed in 1917 with the Canada by Député S which supported the " government of union" trained by the Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden during the First World War.

In May 1917, preserving the Prime Minister Borden proposes to the liberal chief Sir Wilfrid Laurier the formation of a Gouvernement of national unit (or Coalition government) in order to impose the Conscription and to control for the duration of the war. Bay-tree disallows this proposal because of the opposition of the deputies Québécois, also fearing that the nationalist Henri Bourassa could benefit from the situation, being given to the quasi-universal opposition of the French Canadian to the conscription.

In the absence of a coalition with Bay-tree, Borden forms the October 12th 1917 a government of union with the Council of Ministers made up of 12 conservatives, 9 independent liberals and, and 1 " travailliste". (To represent the working class, Borden names with the cabinet the preserving senator Gideon Decker Robertson, which had been named with the Senate in January and had bonds with the preserving wing of the Labor movement thanks to its occupation of telegraphist. However, Robertson was Tory and was not member of any socialist party or member of the Labor Party.

Borden then starts an election for December 1917 on the question of the conscription ( to also see: Crisis of the conscription (1917) ), presenting itself under the banner of the unionistic Party composed of the conservatives of Boren, the deputies independent and the members of the Liberal party which had left the caucus Bay-tree in order to support the conscription.

The partisans of the government of Borden present themselves to the elections as unionistic, while certain liberals favorable to the government of union prefer the label " liberal-unioniste".

This tactic tears the Liberal party: those which do not unite with the unionistic Party aspire to the votes as a " Bay-tree-libéraux". The election showed a sweeping with the profit of Borden.

Borden tried to maintain exists to it unionistic Party after the war. When Arthur Meighen succeeds to him in 1920, it renames it " Liberal party and preserving national" in the hope to make permanent the coalition. The unionistic ones had never officially formed a sole party, and did not have the infrastructure of an official party. Meighen hoped to change this situation.

During the Canadian federal election of 1921, the majority of liberal-unionistic do not unite with this party, and simply arise under the banner liberal with at their head the nouveu chief, William Lyon Mackenzie King. A handle only retain name " liberal-unioniste" or unite with the renamed party of Meighen. Among theunionistic important ones which song joined to the conservateusr, name Hugh Guthrie and Robert Manion.

According to the defeat of the government of Meighen, the Liberal party and preserving national exchange again its name to become the Party liberal-conservative of Canada. One continues however to call it simply " Party conservateur".

During the Second world war, the conservatives try to be opposed to the liberal government William Lyon Mackenzie King at the time of the Canadian federal election of 1940 by proposing a " government national" in the same lines as the unionistic government of the preceding war. They present to the elections under the banner " Party of the government national" , but do not succeed in repeating the success of the unionistic Party and do not arrive has to start the parliamentary majority of King.

See too

External bonds

Government of union - the Canadian Encyclopedia

Random links: