Ernest Charles Drury (January 22, 1878 – February 17, 1968) was a farmer, politician and writer who served as the eighth
premier of Ontario
The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...
, from 1919 to 1923 as the head of a
United Farmers of Ontario
The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.
History
Foundation and r ...
–
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
.
Family
Drury was the grandson of Richard Drury, who arrived in
Crown Hill, Ontario, from
Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the R ...
, England, in 1819.
His father,
Charles Alfred Drury
Charles Alfred Drury (September 4, 1844 – January 12, 1905) was an Ontario farmer and political figure. He represented Simcoe East (provincial electoral district), Simcoe East in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal Party of Ontari ...
, continued the family farm and was a forward-looking farmer, who used new techniques and technologies. In 1882, he was president of the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario. He also served as
reeve of
Oro Township, in Simcoe County, for 13 years and was elected to the
Ontario Legislature
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
as an
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022.
The party esp ...
member. He served from 1882 to 1890, the last two years as Ontario's first
Minister of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
.
Early career
Drury was an Opposition candidate in
Simcoe North
Simcoe North (french: Simcoe-Nord) is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867.
Demographics
:''According to the Canada 2011 Census''; 2013 representation''
Ethnic groups: 87.8% ...
in the
1917 wartime election, which was held during the
Conscription Crisis of 1917
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...
, but was defeated by the Government candidate.
Premier of Ontario
![Black Canadians at Queens Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Black_Canadians_at_Queens_Park.jpg)
Drury was a co-founder of the UFO in 1913 but did not run in the
1919 election, which returned farmer candidates as the largest bloc in the provincial
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
. Not having a leader, the UFO
Members of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
(MLAs) asked Drury to lead them. The UFOs 49 MLAs joined with 11 Labour members to form a coalition government. It was the first of a wave of
United Farmers governments that took power in several provinces and that founded the
Progressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the P ...
. Drury was the first premier of Ontario to have been born in the province after
confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
.
Drury was elected to the Legislative Assembly in
Halton in 1920, after John Featherstone Ford, the sitting UFO MLA, had stepped aside.
Achievements
![Ernest Drury](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Ernest_Drury.jpg)
The Drury government had a significant impact on the Province:
* It introduced allowances for widows and children, a
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
for women, a mandatory weekly day of rest, broadened
workmen's compensation
Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
benefits improved the support mechanisms for parents and children born
out of wedlock
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
, and standardized
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
procedures.
*
Ontario Hydro
Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...
saw greater expansion in the field of
rural electrification
Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billion ...
and in 1921, Hydro acquired the
Toronto Electric Light Company The Toronto Electric Light Company was an early electricity supplier in Toronto, founded and presided over by John Joseph Wright (1847–1922) and owned by Sir Henry Pellatt.
Founded in 1882, TELC opened a steam driven power plant at Scott Street ...
, together with various railway interests, thus making it the largest electric power system in the world.
* The
Province of Ontario Savings Office was created, effectively a provincially-owned bank that was designed to lend money to farmers at a lower rate.
* It began the first major reforestation program in North America, and initiated construction of the modern highway system.
* Drury also arranged for a grant to
Frederick Banting
Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential.
In 1923, Banting and J ...
and
Charles Best, at that time relatively unknown researchers, as a result of their discovery of
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
.
Temperance controversies
The government was also a strict enforcer of
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
measures, amidst mixed publicity. The newly-elected Labour MLA
George Grant Halcrow
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
was immediately convicted of violating the
Ontario Temperance Act
The ''Ontario Temperance Act'' was a law passed in 1916 that led to the prohibition of alcohol in Ontario, Canada. When the Act was first enacted, the sale of alcohol was prohibited, but liquor could still be manufactured in the province or importe ...
, which prevented him from receiving an expected appointment to the Cabinet.
He became House Leader for the Labour Party but found himself at odds with Attorney-General
William Raney
William Edgar Raney (1859–1933) was a lawyer, politician and judge in Ontario, Canada, in the early twentieth century. He was known for his opposition to gambling on horse racing and the sale of alcohol.
Early life
Born on December 8, 1859, ...
over temperance by admitting, "I was an out-and-out wet in the Legislature."
When police and liquor officials were authorized to search automobiles and private yachts for illegal liquor, ''
The Toronto Telegram
''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed with ...
'' observed that the only means of transportation where citizens could be free from search were "balloons and submarines".
Another Act was passed which effectively prevented any movement of liquor within the Province, but it was later held not to prohibit exports to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
In 1920, Reverend
J. O. L. Spracklin, a Provincial Temperance enforcer, shot and killed an illicit liquor trader. The pastor, a strongly zealous and articulate personality, was acquitted of manslaughter, but the resultant publicity, generally linked with a major professed aim of Drury's administration, served to call the aim of rigorous temperance enforcement into question in the minds of many Ontarians.
Ontario Hydro
Dougall Carmichael
Dougall Carmichael, (8 November 1885 15 September 1945), was a Canadian farmer, war hero, politician and public servant.
Personal life
Born as Dougald Carmichael to John and Mary Carmichael in 1885 in Collingwood Township, Grey County, On ...
, appointed as
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
, was given the responsibility of being the government representative on the
Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
, and specifically with keeping its chairman
Adam Beck
Sir Adam Beck (June 20, 1857 – August 15, 1925) was a Canadian politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.
Biography
Beck was born in Baden, Upper Canada (now Ontario) to German i ...
in line. At one point in 1922, Carmichael announced to the Legislature that he was quitting his position as Commissioner because Hydro "was either inefficient or dishonest". He was forced to retract the allegation of dishonesty, and continued to be a Commissioner until the following year.
In 1920, responding to a campaign to have Hydro's rates made uniform, a Legislature committee headed by
John G. Lethbridge proposed a levy of $2 per on all electricity generated in the province in order to subsidize up to 80% of construction costs on rural transmission lines (whenever there was an average of three customers per mile of line). Beck rejected the idea of a levy, but put forward his own plan (which generated great controversy). An Act that favoured Beck's view, through subsidizing up to 50% of construction costs in the rural power zone, was passed in 1921,
which effectively tightened Hydro's control over public distributors and denied payments to private electricity producers.
Hydro's plans for the promotion of
interurban railway
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...
s were significantly scaled back after the
Sutherland Commission's report on the subject recommended it in 1921, and its affairs in general were the subject of the Gregory Commission appointed in 1922.
By battling with Beck and his plans for expansion of the province's hydro-electric system, Drury also alienated industrialists and many workers.
Forest policy
The Drury government investigated the administration of forest concessions granted under the previous Hearst administration, which had been directed by its minister
Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provincia ...
, and passed an Act to provide for corrective measures with regard to permits that had been improperly issued.
A particular issue with Ferguson's previous actions was that he had sold timber limits to the Shevlin-Clarke Lumber Company (headed by fellow Conservative
James Arthur Mathieu) for less than half the price they would have normally fetched, and the company later paid a fine of $1.5 million for breaching the ''Crown Timber Act''. This transaction, as well as others, were criticized in a subsequent inquiry by the Latchford-Riddell Commission, which reported:
Despite the amount of evidence gathered about the improper administration of forest lands (including Ferguson's self-professed arrogance in the matter) and the recommendations given as to how it should be improved, the industry and Ferguson launched a vigorous attack against the United Farmers. Ferguson described the Commission as "claptrap political conspiracy", accused Drury and Raney of "political knavery", and the UFO as "intellectual and political freaks who were projected into prominence by accident and who grew out of garbage". This scuttled any attempts at reform and helped to contribute to their later downfall.
Other difficulties
Many labour leaders distrusted a government dominated by farmers, feeling that they could not understand the problems of urban workers. Drury's failure to establish fair wage provisions in government contracts and his commitment to
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
that threatened the livelihood of industrial workers alienated urban workers further.
The government was also harmed by the
Ontario Bond Scandal
The Ontario Bond Scandal was a criminal case that was brought against the former Ontario provincial treasurer, Peter Smith (Canadian), Peter Smith and Smith's associates in 1924 and 1925.
Ontario had been governed by the United Farmers of Ontario ...
that resulted in Provincial Treasurer
Peter Smith being jailed.
The government was opposed by all the major newspapers in the province, with the exception of the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', and, despite its attempt to broaden its base, was opposed by business.
Fall from power
The government under Drury tried to be a "people's government" rather than a "class government", but in so doing, alienated the base of its support, particularly farmers. In a series of erratic events, the UFO government clashed with the uncooperative UFO organization (led by
James J. Morrison James J. (J.J.) Morrison (1861–1936) was a Canadian farm leader in Ontario, Canada, a founder of the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) in 1914, and a leader of the co-operative movement. He was the UFO's sometimes controversial general secretary, ...
throughout Drury's term) which ultimately withdrew its support.
The Drury government collapsed after it introduced bills in the Legislature that would have brought in
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
and a
preferential ballot
The term ranked voting (also known as preferential voting or ranked choice voting) refers to any voting system in which voters rank their candidates (or options) in a sequence of first or second (or third, etc.) on their respective ballots. Ran ...
and Drury called an early election.
["Free-trader, writer and farmer, former Premier E.C. Drury dies" ''Globe and Mail'', February 19, 1968] The government was defeated when it ran for re-election in the
1923 provincial election, in part, due to false claims that Drury had used $100 to purchase a new
coal scuttle
A coal scuttle, sometimes spelled ''coalscuttle'' and also called a ''hod'', "coal bucket", or "coal pail", is a bucket-like container for holding a small, intermediate supply of coal convenient to an indoor coal-fired stove or heater.
Descript ...
for his personal use. In fact, the device was an old scuttle which had been retrieved from storage and polished up. Drury never responded to the false claim, however, and it contributed to opposition claims of the government's extravagance.
[
]
Later life
Drury retired from politics but later ran as a federal candidate. Unlike many other members of the UFO, he never joined either the Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
or the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
.
Drury was active with the Progressive Party of Canada
The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the P ...
following the demise of his provincial government. He ran as a Progressive candidate in Simcoe North
Simcoe North (french: Simcoe-Nord) is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867.
Demographics
:''According to the Canada 2011 Census''; 2013 representation''
Ethnic groups: 87.8% ...
in the 1925 Canadian federal election
The 1925 Canadian federal election was held on October 29, 1925 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 15th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative party took the most seats in the House of Commons, although not a majority. Pri ...
, 1926
Events January
* January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece.
* January 8
**Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...
and 1930 federal elections but was defeated by Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
candidates by margins of 600, 200 and 800 votes respectively.
Local government
In 1934, he was appointed sheriff and registrar of Simcoe County
Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...
, a position which he held until 1959. A portrait of Drury is still displayed prominently at the local courthouse in Barrie.
Writings
He wrote for magazines such as ''Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'' and also wrote two local histories of Simcoe County
Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...
. He did not write his memoirs until 1966.
In June 2019, the city of Barrie
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
published a poem of Drury’s entitled ''An Ode to Freedom in Canada'' along with interviews with his descendants on a website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
called Barrie Today.com.
Drury remained interested in political matters. During the debate on whether or not Canada should install American-operated nuclear-tipped Bomarc missiles in the 1960s, Drury wrote "the next government of Canada... should refuse to accept nuclear arms. The whole nuclear program of the United States is dangerous."
Recognition
In 2011, the Ontario Heritage Trust
The Ontario Heritage Trust (french: link=no, Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien) is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural herita ...
erected a marker at Drury's gravesite, as part of its Premiers' Gravesites Program.
There was a secondary school, E. C. Drury High School, which was closed and replaced by Craig Kielburger Secondary School in 2012. The provincial E. C. Drury School for the Deaf is still in operation in Milton, Ontario
Milton (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census population 110,128) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing mun ...
.
See also
* James J. Morrison#Collapse of Drury government
* William Raney#Close involvement with Ontario Temperance Act
* J. O. L. Spracklin#Prohibition controversies and events of 1920
References
Further reading
Biography
*
Bibliography
*
*
*
Other
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
E.C. Drury fonds
Archives of Ontario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drury, Ernest
1878 births
1968 deaths
Canadian farmers
Canadian political party founders
Leaders of the United Farmers of Ontario/Progressives
Members of the United Church of Canada
People from Simcoe County
Premiers of Ontario
United Farmers of Ontario MLAs