Herbert Wilfred (Bert) Herridge (February 28, 1895 – October 19, 1973) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, Herridge immigrated to Canada with his family in 1906; after stopping in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, they settled in

Nakusp, British Columbia The Village of Nakusp (Sinixt ''neqo'sp'') is beside the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk and Monashee ranges, the village is known for its ...

. He attended the

Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affili ...

from 1909 to 1914 when he enlisted in 54th (Kootenay) Battalion of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was wounded at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

in 1916. While recuperating at a military hospital in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, he met his future wife. Herridge returned to Canada where he took over the family's tree farm and helped found the Great War Veterans' Association. Herridge became active in the

British Columbia Liberal Party The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 Br ...

becoming vice-president in 1932 and then president the next year. He then quit the Liberals to join the newly formed

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 ...

in 1934. Herridge ran for the CCF in

Kootenay West Kootenay West was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1988. This riding was created in 1914 from parts of Kootenay riding. It was abolished in 1987 when ...

in the 1935 federal election and again in the 1940 federal election placing second each time and losing by less than 400 votes in his later attempt. In the 1941 provincial election he won a seat in the

British Columbia Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria. Members are elected from provincial r ...

becoming the CCF Member of the Legislative Assembly for

Rossland-Trail Rossland-Trail was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia centred on the towns of Rossland and Trail, in the West Kootenay. The riding first appeared in the 1924 election as the result of a redistr ...

. Herridge resigned his seat in order to run federally once again as CCF candidate in Kootenay West in the 1945 federal election but did so in violation of an order of the British Columbia Council of the CCF. As a result, he was expelled from the party and ran instead as an independent " People's CCF" candidate. He was elected while the official CCF candidate placed fourth. In 1948, Herridge was readmitted into the CCF and he was re-elected in the 1949 federal election as the official CCF standard-bearer. Herridge served for almost 23 years in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

winning eight successive elections, the last three as a

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

. Herridge served on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs for 23 years and also served at various times on the Standing Committee on External Affairs and the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development. Herridge was also president of the Nakusp-Galena Bay Telephone Company. Besides operating a tree farm, he also at various times raised cattle, grew fruit and operated a sawmill. He was a long-time opponent of the

Columbia River Treaty The Columbia River Treaty is a 1961 agreement between Canada and the United States on the development and operation of dams in the upper Columbia River basin for power and flood control benefits in both countries. Four dams were constructed under ...

with the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herridge, Herbert Wilfred Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPs New Democratic Party MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian politicians British emigrants to Canada Politicians from London 1895 births 1973 deaths Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers

Archives

References