Thomas Hubert Uphill (June 26, 1874 – February 17, 1962) was a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
politician in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, longtime
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of the town of Fernie and also represented the riding named for the town 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 ...
for forty years, most of them as the legislature's sole
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 ...
Chewton Mendip
Chewton Mendip is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. It is situated north of Wells, south of Bath and Bristol on the A39 very close to the A37. The village is in a valley on the Mendip Hills and is the ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
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,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the son of a farm labourer.1911 Census of Canada & 1881 UK Census After serving in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, he moved to Fernie, British Columbia in 1904 and became a
life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
salesman. A supporter of the
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
movement he also served as secretary of the miner's union. In 1912 he was elected to city council for the first time and won his first election as mayor in 1915.
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 ...
and was narrowly defeated. The wave of political radicalisation that followed
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 ...
along with his trade union sympathies affected Uphill and when he ran for the legislature in
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
, he did so as a member of the Federated Labour Party which had been created by the province's federation of labour absorbing previous socialist parties. Uphill was elected as one of three FLP MLAs in the province.
In the legislature, Uphill was an opponent of
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
clashing with Premier
John Oliver
John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
on the question. In 1924 Uphill was re-elected as one of three
Canadian Labour Party
The Canadian Labour Party (CLP) was an early, unsuccessful attempt at creating a Labour candidates and parties in Canada, national labour party in Canada. Although it ran candidates in the federal elections of 1917 Canadian federal election, 1917, ...
MLAs. The CLP fractured and, in 1928, Uphill was re-elected as the sole Independent Labour Party MLA and thereafter represented the local "Fernie and District Labour Party". The British Columbia Co-operative Commonwealth Federation contested its first election in
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
. Uphill declined to join the CCF, viewing it as too conservative. His views had evolved towards those of the
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...
though he never joined that party nor ran under its label.
The 1952 provincial election resulted in a
hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
in which no party had a
majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-WebsterBritish Columbia Social Credit League had won 19 seats, only one more than the CCF, led by
Harold Winch
Harold Edward Winch (18 June 1907 – 1 February 1993) was a Canadian politician active with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and its successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Winch was leader of the British Columbia CCF from 19 ...
. The CCF argued that they ought to be called upon to form a government as, with Uphill as a labour MLA, the left had as many seats as Social Credit and that, with much more parliamentary experience than the Socreds, they were better positioned to form a government. The CCF, however, had run candidates against Uphill in the 1949 and 1952 elections. In 1949, Uphill beat the Liberal-Conservative coalition candidate by only nine votes, the narrowness of the victory due to vote-splitting by the CCF.
W.A.C. Bennett
William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving prem ...
had foreseen the CCF's argument and obtained Uphill's agreement that he would instead support Social Credit's bid to form the government. By the time Social Credit was 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 ...
the next year, Uphill had changed his mind and pledged to support a CCF government. However, Harold Winch was unable to convince
Lieutenant-Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Clarence Wallace to give his party a chance to form a government and so the legislature was dissolved and a 1953 early election was called resulting in a Social Credit
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
.
Uphill remained the sole small-l labour MLA in the legislature until his retirement in 1960.
He would make appearances and make speeches at events such as
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...
organized by the Communists and later the
Labor-Progressive Party
The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal Front organization, front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959.
Origins and initial success
In the 1940 Canadian federal election, 1940 federal elect ...
.
Uphill remained mayor of Fernie until he lost a close election in 1946 but managed to return to the office in 1950. He retired from the office in 1955 due to health reasons, though he remained in the provincial legislature for an additional term.
When he died in 1962, 22 flags flew at half-mast to mourn his passing. A new affordable living facility for seniors and people with disabilities (Tom Uphill Manor) was named in his honor.
Interior Health
Interior Health is a regional health authority in British Columbia. It is one of the five publicly-funded regional health authorities, serving the southern Interior region of British Columbia.
Facilities
As of 2020 Interior Health operates ...