Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, 1919
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The 1919 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was the first leadership convention held by a federal political party in Canada. It was originally called by the Liberal leader, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, as a national policy convention with the intention of reinvigorating the Liberal Party after eight years of being in opposition. The convention was also intended to re-unite the party, which had split as a result of 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 ...
. The party had divided into Laurier Liberals, who remained in opposition, and a
Liberal–Unionist Liberal–Unionists were supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada who, as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917 rejected Sir Wilfrid Laurier's leadership and supported the coalition Unionist government of Sir Robert Borden. Much of th ...
faction which joined the wartime
Union government The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
of Sir Robert Borden in support of conscription. Laurier's death on February 17, 1919 resulted in the meeting being reconfigured as a leadership convention. Previous party leaders in Canada had been chosen by the
parliamentary caucus A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...
or the outgoing leader. However, the Liberal caucus no longer felt that it was representative of Canada's linguistic and religious diversity and that allowing the entire party to select the leader would result in a more representative choice.


Candidates

* William Lyon Mackenzie King, 44, was the former Minister of Labour (1909-1911) who had served as Member of Parliament for Waterloo North from 1908 until his defeat in 1911. *
William Stevens Fielding William Stevens Fielding, (November 24, 1848 – June 23, 1929) was a Canadian Liberal politician, the seventh premier of Nova Scotia (1884–96), and the federal Minister of Finance from 1896 to 1911 and again from 1921 to 1925. Early life ...
, 70, the MP for
Shelburne and Queen's Shelburne and Queen's was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1925. This riding was created in 1892 from parts of Queens and Shelburne ridin ...
was a former Minister of Finance (1896-1911) and
Premier of Nova Scotia The premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister to the lieutenant governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of ...
(1884-1896). *
George Perry Graham George Perry Graham, (March 31, 1859 – January 1, 1943) was a journalist, editor and politician in Ontario, Canada. In the 1898 Ontario provincial election, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and re-elected in 1902 ...
, 60, the former MP for
Renfrew South Renfrew South was a federal riding represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. The federal riding was created by the British North America Act of 1867 and was abolished in 1966, w ...
* Daniel Duncan McKenzie, 60, the Liberal Party's interim leader since Laurier's death and the MP for North Cape Breton and Victoria. There was also an attempt to draft Saskatchewan Premier
William Melville Martin William Melville Martin (August 23, 1876 – June 22, 1970) served as the second premier of Saskatchewan from 1916 to 1922. In 1916, although not a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Martin was elected leader of the Saskatch ...
, a former Liberal MP, but he declined to run. King had run as a Laurier Liberal in the 1917 federal election but was defeated. Fielding, who had long been seen as Laurier's natural successor, had opposed Laurier's stand on conscription and had returned to the House of Commons in 1917 as a
Liberal–Unionist Liberal–Unionists were supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada who, as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917 rejected Sir Wilfrid Laurier's leadership and supported the coalition Unionist government of Sir Robert Borden. Much of th ...
MP supporting the Borden government but declining the offer of a cabinet position. Graham had sat out of the 1917 election and McKenzie had run and kept his seat as a Laurier Liberal.


Convention

Voting delegates were made up of Senators, MPs, defeated candidates, premiers and provincial party leaders, presidents of provincial Liberal associations, and three delegates from each riding. Nominations were accepted in writing until the first ballot began at 3:45 pm. King lead Fielding on the first and second ballots. Graham and McKenzie withdrew in quick succession leading to the cancellation of the third and fourth ballots, respectively, which had already been underway when the successive withdrawals occurred. On the final ballot King defeated Fielding by 38 votes. King was supported by labour elements, Quebec delegates, and the left-wing of the party. Fielding, who openly opposed the radical platform adopted by the convention, threatened to seek support from the parliamentary caucus for rejection of the platform. He was opposed by many Quebec delegates as well as delegates from his home province of Nova Scotia due to his previous stance on conscription and was supported by the right wing of the party, many western Canadian delegates, and the business establishment in Montreal.


Results

Graham withdrew while voting for the third ballot was underway. McKenzie withdrew while voting for the fourth ballot was in process. Votes were not counted for either one, and the convention proceeded directly to the fifth ballot.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Party Of Canada Leadership Election, 1919
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1919 elections in Canada Liberal Party of Canada leadership election