Photograph of William Duncan Herridge (d

William Duncan Herridge (September 18, 1887 – September 21, 1961) was a Canadian politician and diplomat.

Early life

He was the son of William T. Herridge, a former moderator of the

Presbyterian Church of Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...

. Herridge was educated at Ottawa Collegiate Institute, the University of Toronto, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Society, and Osgoode Hall Law School. He served in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

during World War I in which he received a field promotion to the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and was awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order."W.D. Herridge Named As New Ambassador", ''Globe and Mail'', March 9, 1931

Career

Herridge was a patent attorney by profession and had been a Liberal Party supporter but, being a personal friend of Governor General Byng, he broke with the Liberals in 1926 over the King-Byng Affair."Confidant of Premier Goes To Washington", ''Toronto Daily Star'', March 9, 1931 He joined

R.B. Bennett Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was born in ...

's 1930 federal election campaign acting as speechwriter and policy advisor to the Conservative leader. When the Tories took power, he was appointed Canada's envoy to the United States with the title Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary for Canada in the United States of America, from 1931 to 1935, succeeding his friend, Vincent Massey. In 1931, he married Bennett's sister, Mildred. While stationed in Washington, D.C., Herridge was impressed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

, and convinced Bennett to attempt to adopt similar policies in Canada for combatting the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Bennett's turn towards reform occurred too late in his term, however, and his government was soundly defeated in the 1935 election. Herridge returned to Canada and was a delegate to the 1938 National Conservative Party Convention and raised hackles when he made an attack on a policy resolution that endorsed orthodox finance policy, rejecting the New Deal policies advocated by Bennett and Herridge in the last days of Bennett's government. He dismissed the resolution as "little more than junk" and "the supreme accomplishment of reaction within this party." Herridge warns that unless the party adopted a reform program it would die and lamented the loss of his brother-in-law as party leader due to "the powers of reaction, and the stirring up of racial and religious strife." Herridge's comments were not well received and elicited a round of boos and jeers of "go back to the States" and " Jeremiah" from the delegates and his amendments were rejected."Finance plank is 'insult' Herridge tells gathering", ''Toronto Daily Star'', July 8, 1938 His ideas rejected by the Conservative Party, Herridge, in 1939, launched the New Democracy party, which advocated

monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return t ...

and government intervention in the economy. The party's positions were similar to those of the Social Credit Party of Canada. The two parties ran a joint slate in the 1940 election under the New Democracy banner with Herridge as the lead candidate. Herridge, however, came in third in his riding of Kindersley, Saskatchewan with 30% of the vote and thus failed to win a

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

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 ...

. The only New Democracy Members of Parliament elected were those who had been elected to parliament for the Social Credit Party. After the election, the New Democracy party folded, and its MPs reverted to their previous identity as Social Credit members.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herridge, William Duncan 1880s births 1961 deaths Ambassadors of Canada to the United States Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada New Democracy (Canada) candidates in the 1940 Canadian federal election Lawyers in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Lisgar Collegiate Institute