James Thomas Milton Anderson (July 23, 1878 – December 29, 1946) was the fifth premier of Saskatchewan and the first Conservative to hold the office.

Early career

Anderson was chosen as leader of the Conservatives in 1924 and was one of the party's three

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 ...

elected in the 1925 election.

Premiership

In the 1929 election, the Conservatives were able to exploit

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scandals surrounding the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government of Saskatchewan Premier

James Garfield Gardiner James Garfield Gardiner (30 November 1883 – 12 January 1962) was a Canadian farmer, educator, and politician. He served as the fourth premier of Saskatchewan, and as a minister in the Canadian Cabinet. Political career Gardiner was first elec ...

to achieve a major breakthrough by winning 24 seats. The Liberals won 28 seats, with 5 going to the Progressive Party and the remaining 4 to independents. The Liberals tried to form a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

but were defeated in a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

, which allowed Anderson to form a co-operative government, a

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

between the Conservatives, Progressives and Independents. Anderson was accused of working closely with the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, which was a major force in the province in the late 1920s and the early 1930s with an estimated 25,000 members. Pat Emmons, a senior Klan defector, alleged that Anderson and Klan officials regularly met, and the Liberals accused the Conservatives of being a front for the Klan. With few

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in the province, and First Nations largely confined to Indian reserves under the informal pass system, the focus of the Klan was against

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, and francophones; as well as opposition to the Gardiner Liberals, who were seen as supporting all three of those groups. Anderson denied the allegations, but upon gaining power, he took the portfolio of Minister of Education while he was premier and proposed amendments to the Schools Act to ban the instruction of French in public schools and to outlaw the display of religious symbols in all schools, including the Catholic

separate school In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories ( Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadi ...

system. The Klan supported those changes and worked hard to elect and defend the Conservative-dominated government.

Loss of office

The Anderson government also had to face the onset of the

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and the Dust Bowl, which destroyed the province's agrarian economy. Anderson also had to deal with labour unrest culminating in the

Estevan Riot The Estevan riot, also known as the Black Tuesday Riot, was a confrontation between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and striking coal miners from nearby Bienfait, Saskatchewan which took place in Estevan, Saskatchewan on September 29, 1931. T ...

of 1931. The government formed the Saskatchewan Relief Commission to try to help those affected by the drought and massive unemployment. Those efforts were insufficient, and in the 1934 elections, the Conservatives lost every seat in the

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 ...

and remained a minor party for 40 years.

Electoral history

Saskatchewan general elections, 1925 to 1934

Anderson led the Conservative Party in three general elections, in 1925, 1929 and 1934. They came in third in seats in 1925, formed a minority government in 1929, and were completely eliminated from the Assembly in the 1934 election.

1925 General election

In his first general election, Anderson and the Conservatives came in third, although he managed to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly. ¹ Premier when election was called; Premier after the election.
² Co-Leaders of the Opposition after the election.Saskatchewan Archives — Leaders of the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
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1929 General election

Anderson led the Conservatives to a much improved result in the 1929 election, being only eight seats short of a majority in a hung parliament. Premier Gardiner and the Liberals had four more seats than the Conservatives. Gardiner chose to face the Assembly in hopes of obtaining sufficient support from some of the opposition members to maintain his government. Anderson organized a vote on a

confidence motion A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

which defeated the government. Gardiner resigned and Anderson became Premier. ¹ Premier when election was called; lost confidence motion in the Assembly after the election; resigned as Premier and became

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

.
² Co-Leader of the Opposition when the election was called; became Premier after successful vote of non-confidence in the Gardiner government.

1934 General election

Anderson was Premier for almost five years and led the Conservatives into the 1934 election, at the depths of the

and

Dirty Thirties The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

. The Conservatives were routed, losing every seat, although they came in second in the popular vote. The Liberals under Gardiner won a massive majority, with all but five seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Farmer-Labour Party formed the Opposition. ¹ Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Premier after the election.
² Party leader during the election, but failed to win seat; role as Leader of the Opposition taken by

George Hara Williams George Hara Williams (November 17, 1894 – September 12, 1945) was a Canadian farmer activist and politician.Dale-Burnett, LisaWilliams, George (1894–1945), ''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, accessed February 12, 2008 Biography Born in Binsca ...

.
³ Premier when election was called; lost seat in the election and resigned as Premier.

Saskatchewan constituency elections

Anderson stood for election five times, all in the riding of Saskatoon City, which returned two members. After becoming Premier after the 1929 general election, he was required by the electoral law at that time to be re-elected in a by-election, which he won by

acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

. He won two contested elections and lost two.

1925 General election: Saskatoon City

E Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

1929 General election: Saskatoon City

E Elected.
X Incumbent.

1929 By-election: Saskatoon City

E Elected.
X Incumbent.

1934 General election: Saskatoon City

E Elected.
X Incumbent.
¹ Rounding error.

1938 General election: Saskatoon City

E Elected.
X Incumbent.

References

Sources

Encyclopedia of SaskatchewanThe Canadian EncyclopediaSaskatchewan Archives Board – Saskatchewan Election Results By Electoral Division
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, James 1878 births 1946 deaths Canadian Anglicans Premiers of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan political party leaders Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan MLAs