The North-West Territories Liberal-Conservative Party also known formally as the Liberal-Conservative Association prior to 1903 and the Territorial Conservative Association after 1903, was a short lived political party in the Northwest Territories,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. from 1897 to 1905. It was a branch of the federal Conservative Party of Canada.

The founding of the party

The Liberal-Conservatives formed government in October 1897, when Lieutenant Governor Charles H. Mackintosh returned to North-West Territories to enforce the new laws in the North-West Territories Act that gave new powers to the territories. It was speculated that

Robert Brett Robert George Brett (November 16, 1851 – September 16, 1929) was a politician and physician in the North-West Territories and Alberta, Canada and served as the second Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Early life Robert George Brett was born on ...

was plotting to form a Conservative led Government backed by a majority coalition of MLAs in the

Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

. Members answered in the media and denied there was a plot. Mackintosh would stick with his original plan of asking

Frederick Haultain Sir Frederick William Alpin Gordon Haultain (November 25, 1857 – January 30, 1942) was a lawyer and a long-serving Canadian politician and judge. His career in provincial and territorial legislatures stretched into four decades. He served ...

who was already chairman of the executive committee to form the government, leaving Robert Brett to form the Official opposition of the Northwest Territories Liberal Party and oppose the Haultain administration as he had done so since 1891. The influence and popularity of Premier Haultain helped him build his coalition of lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly. The party was formed as a consequence of executive powers being released to elected members from the Lieutenant Governor that had been held since 1870. The beginning of party politics in the territories sparked controversy and was not done through any

Grass roots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

movement or formed on traditional ideological lines, and was done by Haultain in such a way that there was very little visibility to the public until years later after the party system began to mature. Haultain's first appointment to his executive council was a Liberal by the name of

James Hamilton Ross James Hamilton Ross (May 12, 1856 – December 14, 1932) was a Canadian politician, the third commissioner of Yukon, and an ardent defender of territorial rights. He is also considered to be the first resident of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. E ...

. Haultain led a large cabinet into the 4th Northwest Territories general election in 1898. Only Haultain and Ross held portfolios while the rest of the ministers did not. The government became widely known as the Haultain-Ross government.

4th general election

The party swept the 1898 general election with a large majority.

5th general election

It went on to win the 1902 election with a reduced majority. The party itself had little visibility as Haultain abhorred Dominion party lines and did not wish to promote it. He believed in the consensus model of government, and wanted it for all provinces and territories. After the election of 1898, Haultain appointed two Liberals and one Conservative to his cabinet. Liberal-Conservative party members accused Haultain's government of being a " Grit hive". To appease party supporters, he subsequently appointed two Conservatives and one Liberal.

1903 Moose Jaw Convention

A large convention was held on 26 March 1903 in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...

. The convention attracted delegates from all parts of the populated Northwest Territories, some travelled more than 700 miles to make the journey. The convention attracted a large number of federal Conservative Members of Parliament and Conservative Senators. The convention laid out a formal structure to the party for the first time, as well as setting creating a policy book and putting together an executive council to operate outside of the legislature. The main focus of the party was to put together a coherent policy which the party previously lacked and is thought to have led to the decline in seats for the Liberal-Conservative government. Among the policy resolutions put forward and adopted was provincial rights, better conditions for settlers, and electoral reform in the creation of an enumerated voters list. The delegates voted to run the party banner in the next territorial election, and that includes contested nominations. One delegate stated in an interview to the Calgary Herald, if the Liberals don't want to address the provincial autonomy Robert Borden was also congratulated on becoming leader of the federal Conservative party to run for Prime Minister of Canada. The Liberal party was also heavily attacked during the convention, with two different motions condemning them for corrupt electoral practice, and following the federal Liberal Party of Canada policy on the question of provincial powers, and labor laws for the Territories. Premier Haultain was shocked by the convention and openly opposed the move towards defining the political lines in the legislature. The organizers of the convention planned the election of officers without Haultain's knowledge. The great Moose Jaw convention stands to this day as the largest political gathering in Northwest Territories history.

The 5th Legislature

From 1903 to 1905 there were three short sittings in the Legislative Assembly. The bulk of the Legislation moved by the Liberal-Conservative government was minor and had to do with incorporating organizations and communities and concurring municipal by-laws. The remainder of the time was spent lobbying the federal government for more resources to deal with the huge influx of settlers to the territories. Haultain personally clashed with

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

to settle the provincial rights question. The last session of the legislature ended in October 1904 and would not be held again in the territories until 1921. Premier Haultain spent the early part of 1905 meeting with the federal government to work out an arrangement to settle provincial autonomy. After the arrangement of creating Alberta and Saskatchewan were passed in the federal parliament. The party in its last months held nominations and began working on plans to prepare for the new elections in Saskatchewan and Alberta. On August 31, 1905, the 5th North-West Legislative Assembly was dissolved along with the Association and party politics in the Territories came to an end. In September 1905 provinces of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

were created out of the more heavily populated, southern regions of the Northwest Territories. Party members then joined the

Alberta Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (often referred to colloquially as Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta) was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party ...

, and the

Provincial Rights Party The Provincial Rights Party was a Canadian political party founded and led by Frederick W. A. G. Haultain in 1905 to contest elections in the new province of Saskatchewan. It was the successor to the eastern branch of the Northwest Territories Co ...

. Many members, including some

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. ...

(MLAs) defected to the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...

and

Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was the provincial affiliate of the Liberal Party of Canada until 2009. It was previously one of the two largest parties in the provi ...

, draining the Conservative parties of manpower and experienced politicians. There was a lot of anger among remaining Conservatives at Sir

and the Liberals for passing over Haultain and appointing Liberal members to form government in both provinces. Laurier also appointed Liberal Party supporters to draw up the new electoral boundaries, which consequently were said to favour Liberal candidates.

Party executive

No formal executive party structure aside from the Executive Council of the Haultain Government is known to exist prior to 1897, officers of the party were first elected in 1903. * Party leader:

(1897–1905) * President:

Thomas Tweed Thomas Andrew Tweed (April 14, 1853 – April 4, 1906) was a merchant and political figure in the Northwest Territories, Canada. He represented Medicine Hat in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1888 to 1894 as a Co ...

(1903-1905) * Honorary President:

(1903–1905) * First Vice President: T.C. Spence (1903-1905) * Second Vice President: William Carlos Ives (1903-1905) * Alberta Region: Richard Bennett (1903-1905) * Assiniboia Region: Dr. Creamer (1903-1905) * Saskatchewan Region:

Thomas McKay Thomas McKay (1 September 1792 – 9 October 1855) was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. Biography McKay was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason. He emigrated to the C ...

(1903-1905) * Western Assiniboia Region:

George Annable George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

(1903-1905)

External links

Robert Brett plot to lead the new Territorial Conservative Government October 4, 1897 Calgary HeraldInterview with MLA Frank Tims clarifying support for Haultain instead October 6, 1897 Calgary Herald

New Government sworn in October 8, 1897 Calgary Herald1903 Moose Jaw conventionLiberal-Conservative Convention Calgary Herald March 28, 1903Calgary Herald Editorial on the Moose Jaw Convention April 1, 1903Premier Haultain begins talks with Laurier Calgary Herald January 4, 1905A.E. Cross fonds Communication with the Liberal-Conservative Association 1898 - 1899Terms of the Creation of the Province of Alberta Calgary Herald February 22 1905
{{Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

Political parties established in 1897 Political parties disestablished in 1905 Conservative parties in Canada 1897 establishments in the Northwest Territories 1905 disestablishments in the Northwest Territories