Social Credit Party of Canada
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The Social Credit Party of Canada (french: Parti Crédit social du Canada), colloquially known as the Socreds, was a
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
political party in
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 ...
that promoted
social credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...
theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the
Canadian social credit movement The Canadian social credit movement is a political movement originally based on the Social Credit theory of Major C. H. Douglas. Its supporters were colloquially known as Socreds in English and créditistes in French. It gained popularity and its ...
.


Origins and founding: 1932–1963

The Canadian social credit movement was largely an out-growth of the
Alberta Social Credit Party Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement wa ...
, and the Social Credit Party of Canada was strongest in
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 ...
during this period. In 1932, Baptist
evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first leader ...
used his radio program to preach the values of social credit throughout the province. He added a heavy dose of fundamentalist Christianity to C. H. Douglas' monetary theories; as a result, the social credit movement in Canada has had a strong social conservative tint. The party was formed in 1935 as the Western Social Credit League. It attracted voters from the
Progressive Party of Canada The Progressive Party of Canada, formally the National Progressive Party, was a federal-level political party in Canada in the 1920s until 1930. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces, and it spawned the P ...
and the United Farmers movement. The party grew out of disaffection with the status quo during 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 ...
, which hit the party's western Canadian birthplace especially hard. It can be credited both for the creation of this party and the rise of the social democratic
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
, forerunner of today's
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
. In the party's first election in 1935, it only ran candidates in
Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
. It won 17 seats, of which 15 were in Alberta and where it won over 46% of that province's
popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...
. John Horne Blackmore was chosen as the party's parliamentary leader. In 1939, Social Credit merged with the
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in Chinese Communist Revolution, post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path ...
movement led by former
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 ...
William Duncan Herridge 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. Herridge was educated a ...
. However, Herridge failed to win a seat in the 1940 election, and Blackmore continued as parliamentary leader. At the party's first national convention in 1944, delegates decided to abandon the name New Democracy and founded the Social Credit Association of Canada as a national party. They chose Alberta Treasurer Solon Earl Low as the party's first national leader. In its early years, the Socreds gained a reputation for
Antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
. It was said that Blackmore and Low "frequently gave public aid and comfort to anti-Semitism" In 1945, Solon Low alleged there was a conspiracy of Jewish bankers behind the world's problems, and in 1947, Norman Jaques, the Socred Member of Parliament for
Wetaskiwin Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word ''wītaskiwinihk'', meaning "the hills where peace was made". Wetaskiwin is ...
, read excerpts of ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
'' into the parliamentary
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. Low repudiated anti-Semitism in 1957 following a trip to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
after which he made speeches supporting the Jewish state. After World War II made anti-Semitism intolerable, the party began purging itself of anti-Semitic influences, leading Quebec social crediter
Louis Even Louis Even (March 23, 1885, Montfort-sur-Meu – September 27, 1974) was a lay Christian leader and publisher who founded the social credit movement in Quebec. He co-founded and led the Pilgrims of Saint Michael, better known as the white berets, w ...
and his followers to leave the party in 1947. In
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
, Low led the party to its best performance so far, with 19 seats. However, in 1958, the Socreds were swept out of the Commons altogether as part of that year's massive Progressive Conservative landslide. Although it was not apparent at the time, this began a long-term decline for the party. For most of its first quarter-century of existence, Social Credit had been either the first or second party in much of rural western Canada, particularly in its birthplace of rural Alberta. In 1957, for instance, it took 13 of Alberta's 17 seats. However, the 1958 defeat firmly established the Tories as the main right-of-centre party west of Ontario, and Social Credit would never seriously challenge the Tories there again.


Provincial social credit movements


Alberta

Aberhart received a positive response from Albertans to his social credit philosophies. In 1935, much to its own surprise, the Alberta Social Credit Party won the 1935 provincial election, forming the first Social Credit government in the world. It went on to win nine subsequent elections, and governed until 1971.


Quebec

In the 1940s Social Credit supporters in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
often ran under the name
Union des électeurs Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
. This was a social credit organization that was formed in 1939 by Louis Even and Gilberte Côté-Mercier as the political arm of their religious organization, the
Pilgrims of Saint Michael The Pilgrims of St. Michael (the "white berets") is a Roman Catholic organization in Canada that promotes social credit economic theories in Canada and other countries. Description The Pilgrims of St. Michael were founded in Canada in 1939 by ...
. They shared some ideologies, but did not merge or collaborate with the western-based national party and an inconsistent attitude towards electoral politics. The Union des électeurs' electoral philosophy was that it was not a partisan political party but an organization to marshal voters to enforce their wishes on their elected representatives."Shades of Mr. Aberhart", ''Toronto Daily Star'', July 8, 1948 Even believed party politics was corrupt and that the party system should be abolished and replaced by a "union of electors" who would compel elected officials to follow the popular will. The Union also favoured a more orthodox application of social credit economic theory, something that the western based Social Credit movement had begun to move away from under the influence of Alberta premier
Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning, (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996), a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in Alberta's histor ...
. This led to tensions with the national party and Even initially opposed the creation of a national Social Credit Party.
Réal Caouette David Réal Caouette (September 26, 1917 – December 16, 1976) was a Canadian politician from Quebec. He was a member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada and founder of the '' Ralliement des créditistes''. Outsid ...
, a member of the Union des électeurs, won a 1946
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
as a Social Credit MP and ran, unsuccessfully, for re-election as a Union des électeurs candidate in the 1949 federal election. In 1958, Caouette disagreed with Even, Côté-Mercier and the increasingly hostile attitude of the Union des électeurs towards elections and party politics. He founded the Ralliement des créditistes which won recognition as the Quebec wing of the national Social Credit party.


Ontario

The Union des électeurs philosophy inspired an
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
group, the Union of Electors led by
Ron Gostick Ronald A. Gostick (July 18, 1918 – July 16, 2005) was a long-time figure on the Canadian far right and founder of the Canadian League of Rights. Gostick was involved in the Canadian social credit movement and later published far-right and ...
, to form in 1946 as a rival to the Ontario Social Credit League. It first ran candidates in the 1948 provincial election under the "Union of Electors" label. Even's views also led to a debate within the national Social Credit Party about whether to continue to run on a Social Credit basis or under the "non-partisan" Union of Electors banner.


British Columbia

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, ...
, the movement split: both the British Columbia Social Credit League and the Union of Electors ran candidates in the 1949 provincial election. In the 1952 provincial election the Social Credit party under
W. A. C. Bennett William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadians, 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-s ...
won a plurality of seats (defeating the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation by one seat) in the election. The Socreds won a majority government in 1953, and Bennett governed the province until his loss in the 1972 provincial election. The party won the subsequent 1975 provincial election and governed until 1991.


Saskatchewan and Manitoba

The provincial social credit parties of
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, 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 t ...
and
Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
won some ridings in the 1950s and 1960s. However, they were unable to form a government.


Split between Quebec and English Canadian factions: 1963–1973

In the early 1960s there were serious tensions between the party's English and French wings. In 1961,
Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to: Entertainment * Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian * Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer * Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...
of Alberta defeated Caouette at the party's leadership convention. The vote totals were never announced. Years later, Caouette claimed that he would have won, but Manning advised him to tell the Quebec delegates to vote for Thompson because the West would never accept a Francophone Catholic as party leader.Dufresne, Bernard, “Quebec’s Socreds vote to Disown Thompson”, ''Globe and Mail'', 2 September 1963, p.1 The party returned to Parliament in the 1962 election, electing 30 members, its highest-ever seat total. Caouette and 25 other créditistes were elected from Quebec. However, it only elected four MPs from the rest of Canada, including Thompson in
Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...
. This began a gradual shift in the federal party's strength from Western Canada to Quebec. Under the circumstances, Thompson had no choice but to name Caouette the party's deputy leader. The linguistic imbalance caused tension in the Social Credit
caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
, as the Quebec MPs regarded Caouette as their leader. Also, Caouette and the other Quebec MPs remained true believers in social credit theory while the English branch had largely abandoned it. Thompson refused to resign as party leader and the party voted in 1963 for a
motion of non-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 ...
against the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
of
John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...
, forcing an election. The Socreds won 24 seats, all but four coming from Quebec. On September 9, 1963, the party split into an English Canadian wing and a separate French Canadian party led by Caouette called the Ralliement des créditistes. Of the 20 Social Credit MPs from Quebec in 1963, 13 joined Caouette's Ralliement. Of the remaining seven, two ran in the next election as independents, and two joined the Progressive Conservatives.


Decline of the party in English Canada

The English Canadian party, concentrated in Alberta and British Columbia, won only five seats in the 1965 federal election. Thompson was frustrated by the lack of support given to the federal wing, while the provincial parties in Alberta and
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, ...
won provincial elections with large majorities. British Columbia's Socred Premier, W. A. C. Bennett cut off his party's organizational and financial support after the 1965 election in hopes of pressuring the federal party to reconcile with Caouette's Créditistes. Alberta Premier Manning was becoming concerned with the perceived leftward trajectory of the federal Liberals and Progressive Conservatives (PCs). He encouraged Thompson to begin talks with the PCs about a merger. Negotiations failed and in March 1967, citing lack of support for the party from its provincial wings in Alberta and British Columbia, Thompson resigned as leader. In the fall Bud Olson left to join the Liberals. With the support of both Manning and PC leader Robert Stanfield, Thompson crossed the floor to the PCs. He sought and won the PC nomination in Red Deer when the June 1968 federal election was called.
Alexander Bell Patterson Alexander Bell Patterson (April 22, 1911 – April 2, 1993) was a long-time Canadian member of Parliament (MP) and was briefly leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada. He was the son of an Irish father and Scottish mother who immigrated t ...
was named acting leader of the remains. In the 1968 election, Social Credit lost its remaining three seats. This was due to its internal turmoil, Manning's call to merge with the PCs, the defections of Thompson and Olson, and the wave of
Trudeaumania Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeaumania continued during the subsequent federal election campaign and ...
across Canada. National party president Herb Bruch said Patterson's refusal to take a clear stand on whether the Socreds would support Robert Stanfield’s PCs in Parliament was a contributing factor in the party's defeat. Patterson expressed confidence that the party could return as it had after the Diefenbaker sweep in the 1958 election, noting the strength of the Créditistes in Quebec, and expressed hope that the two parties would be reunited. However, the party would never win another seat in English Canada.


Reunification

In 1971, the Ralliement des créditistes and the English Canadian Social Credit Party held a joint leadership convention at the Hull Arena. The two parties merged into a single national party under the Social Credit name, and Caouette won the leadership on the first ballot. In the 1972 election, the Social Credit Party won 15 seats—all in Quebec—and 7.6% of the popular vote. Manning was appointed to the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
in 1970—the first and (as it turned out) only Socred ever to serve in that body. Patterson returned to Parliament as a Progressive Conservative in the 1972 election.


Decline: 1973–1980

Despite a modest success in the 1970 Quebec election, the provincial wing of the party was wracked continually by internal divisions, eventually splitting into two factions, one led by
Camil Samson Camil Samson (January 3, 1935 - December 18, 2012) was a politician in Quebec, Canada, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA), and leader of the Ralliement créditiste du Québec and other political parties. Background and personal life ...
and the other by Armand Bois. On February 4, 1973, former federal Liberal cabinet minister Yvon Dupuis was elected leader of the
Ralliement créditiste du Québec The ''Ralliement créditiste du Québec'' was a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada that operated from 1970 to 1978 (the party was also known as the ''Parti créditiste'' from September to December 1973, contesting the 1973 provincial el ...
, but failed to win his riding of Saint-Jean in the 1973 provincial election, and the party only retained two of their 12 seats. Under pressure and without a seat, Dupuis resigned the leadership on May 5, 1974. In the 1974 federal election, the Social Credit Party machine in Quebec began to fall apart. Caouette was recovering from a snowmobiling accident and was unable to actively lead the party. When he was able to speak, Caouette focused his campaign on the Tories and the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
instead of the Liberals, even though the Liberals were Social Credit's main competitor in Quebec. Two weeks before the election was called, Caouette had informed the parliamentary caucus that he would resign as leader in the fall. Party rallies faced declining, aging audiences. Feuding within the party had accelerated and some ridings in Quebec had two Social Credit candidates, while others — including the party's Lévis stronghold — had none. Many Social Credit MPs ran for re-election on their own strengths, making little mention of the party or its leader in their campaign materials. The party's support in Quebec was undermined by rumours that its MPs had made deals with the Progressive Conservatives during Caouette's illness. The Socreds won 11 seats, which was considered a success in light of the divisions that plagued their campaign, but was one short of the 12 seats needed for
official party status Official party status refers to the Westminster practice which is officially used in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures of recognizing parliamentary caucuses of political parties. In official documents, this is sometimes re ...
in the House of Commons. The Socreds failed in their attempts to convince Independent MP
Leonard Jones Leonard C. Jones, Jr. (June 4, 1924 – June 23, 1998) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, who served as mayor of the city of Moncton, New Brunswick, between 1963 and 1974, and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Moncton betwe ...
to join their party and the Socreds made attempts to get recognition as an official party. The
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
, with approval from the Liberal government, decided to recognize the party.


Leadership turmoil

The decline of the party accelerated after Caouette resigned from the party leadership in 1976. He was hospitalized after a stroke on September 16, and died later that year. The party held its leadership convention November 6–7, 1976 at the Civic Centre in Ottawa. This time, 85% of the delegates were from Quebec.
André-Gilles Fortin André-Gilles Fortin (November 13, 1943 – June 24, 1977) was a Canadian politician. Fortin was a member of the House of Commons of Canada for Lotbinière. He was first elected in the 1968 federal election for the Ralliement Créditiste ...
, the 32-year-old MP for Lotbinière won the convention on the second ballot. Fortin presented a young, dynamic image, but campaigned on traditional social credit economic theory and supporting small business. Fortin was killed in a car accident on June 24, 1977, after serving only eight months as leader. Réal's son,
Gilles Caouette Gilles Caouette (February 16, 1940 – August 13, 2009) was a Canadian politician and member of Parliament. Caouette was born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. His father, Réal Caouette, was a prominent Social Credit politician, and leader of the ...
, was named acting leader five days after Fortin's death. In 1978, Socreds elected Lorne Reznowski as their leader, in an attempt to revive the party outside of Quebec. Reznowski, an anglophone Manitoban, presented himself as a candidate in the October 16, 1978, by-elections and fared extremely poorly with 2.76% of votes in the riding of
Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...
. He resigned quickly thereafter and replaced as acting leader by Charles-Arthur Gauthier.


Roy's leadership

Popular provincial
Fabien Roy Fabien Roy (born April 17, 1928) is a former Canadian politician who was active in Quebec in the 1970s. Roy was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec and the House of Commons of Canada, and advocated social credit theories of monetary re ...
was selected to lead Social Credit just before the 1979 election. Under Roy, the party won the tacit support of the separatist ''
Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
'', which had become the government of Quebec three years earlier. Social Credit attempted to rally the separatist and nationalist vote: Canadian flags were absent at its campaign kick-off rally, and the party's slogan was ('It's our turn'), which was reminiscent of the popular separatist anthem "
Gens du pays "Gens du pays" has been called the unofficial "national" anthem of Quebec. Written by poet, songwriter, and avowed Quebec nationalist Gilles Vigneault (with music co-written by Gaston Rochon), it was first performed by Vigneault on June 24, 1975 ...
" that includes the chorus, . The party focused its platform on constitutional change, promising to fight to abolish the federal government's never-used right to disallow any provincial legislation, and stating that each province has a "right to choose its own destiny within Canada". Gilles Caouette publicly denounced what he called ('PQ supporters disguised as Socreds'). Caouette had said that he wanted to work within the spirit and letter of Confederation, stating, "Let us not burn our bridges. It is not the time for the Ralliement des créditistes to be separatists, but rather to win recognition for the French fact within Canada." Caouette said that he would fight for the recognition of French Canada's aspirations within Confederation on the basis of a partnership with the other nine provinces, "but if this partnership cannot be brought about, I shall become the more ardent separatist in Quebec." The party increased its vote in areas where the PQ was popular, but lost support in areas of traditional Socred strength. This resulted in the Socred caucus being cut in half, from eleven seats to six, and a slightly reduced share of the popular vote compared to the 1974 election.


Clark minority government

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
's Progressive Conservatives formed 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 ...
after the 1979 federal election. The Socreds had just enough seats to give the Tories a majority in the House of Commons. However, Clark declared that he would govern as if he had a majority and refused to grant the small Social Credit caucus the official party status it wanted or make concessions to the party in order to gain its votes. Clark convinced one Socred MP,
Richard Janelle Richard Janelle (born 13 November 1947) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was a secretary and coordinator by career. Born in Warwick, Quebec, Janelle represented Quebec's Lotbinière electoral district at which he won a 16 Octo ...
from Lotbinière, to
cross the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...
and join the government caucus. In December 1979, the remaining five members of the Social Credit caucus demanded that the Conservatives amend their budget to allocate the controversial gas tax revenues to Quebec. Clark refused and the Socreds abstained in a vote on a motion of non-confidence, which, along with several Conservative party members not being able to attend the vote, caused the government to fall. While Roy cited a prior precedent in then-leader Réal Caouette having the party abstain in a motion of non-confidence in the government of
Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
in 1968, his doing the same would prove to be a disastrous and, ultimately, fatal miscalculation. Whereas the make-up of the 1968 parliament had been such that the motion of non-confidence in Pearson had little realistic chance of succeeding (and Caouette's abstention definitively ended any chance of it doing so), the margins in the 1979 parliament were sufficiently tight that, had the Socreds supported the government and even one of the absent Progressive Conservative MPs been present, the motion of non-confidence would have tied on votes and, according to tradition, been defeated by the speaker's casting vote. Moreover, both of the party's major bases of support were alienated by the abstention, with the Quebec nationalist faction seeing Socreds as being ineffective at representing the province's interests, and the social conservative faction being enraged that the party had effectively offered former prime minister
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...
, who had intended to resign as Liberal Party leader until Clark's government fell, a route back into power. In the 1980 election the Socreds' popular vote fell to 1.7 percent, and it lost its remaining seats. The death of the Social Credit candidate in the riding of Frontenac, Quebec, resulted in the postponement of the election in that riding to March 24, 1980. Fabien Roy sought to return to the House of Commons in that by-election, but lost to the Liberal candidate. Roy resigned as leader on November 1, 1980. The party would never again win a seat in the House of Commons, or even come close to doing so.


Denouement: 1981–1993

After Fabien Roy's resignation, the party chose Martin Hattersley in 1981 as interim leader over Alberta evangelist Ken Sweigard. Hattersley was an
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
lawyer and former British army officer. In the May 4, 1981, by-election in Levis, Quebec, the party nominated Martin Caya. Caya placed 6th in a field of seven candidates, winning 367 votes (1.1% of the total), ahead of renegade Socred
John Turmel John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the ''Guinness World Records'' holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 105 el ...
. In the August 17, 1981, by-election in Quebec, party president Carl O’Malley placed 5th in a field of eight candidates, with 92 votes (0.2% of the total). Turmel won 42 votes, placing last. Hattersley resigned in 1983 when the party overturned his decision to expel Jim Keegstra and two other Albertans accused of anti-Semitism from the party. In June 1983, Sweigard was elected interim leader by means of a telephone conference call of 19 party executive members, with nine votes to five votes for party vice-president Richard Lawrence. Quebec party member Adrien Lambert was nominated, but could not be reached by telephone. He nonetheless won two votes. When the call began, two candidates were in the race: professional gambler John Turmel of
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, and tractor dealer
Elmer Knutson Elmer Stanley Knutson (October 30, 1914 – August 9, 2001) was a Canadian businessman, activist and fringe politician. Knutson was a strong supporter of creating an independent western Canada, in which the west would become sovereign from Cana ...
of
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, the founder of West-Fed, a western Canada separatist movement. Turmel's candidacy was rejected on the basis that his membership had been suspended. Turmel formed the
Christian Credit Party The Christian Credit Party was a short-lived Canadian political party founded in 1982 by perennial candidate and social credit activist, John Turmel who has, at various times, been involved in the Social Credit Party of Canada, the Green Party of C ...
, and later, the
Abolitionist Party of Canada The Abolitionist Party of Canada was a Canadian political party founded by perennial candidate John Turmel. The party ran on a platform of monetary reform, including the abolition of interest rates and the income tax; the use of the local employ ...
, both based on social credit principles. Knutson failed to win endorsement because he was not well known by the members of the executive. Knutson quit the party to form the
Confederation of Regions Party The Confederation of Regions Party (CoR) was a right-wing politics, right-wing federal list of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation ...
. The meeting decided to appoint an interim leader until a leadership convention could be held in September 1983. This convention was deferred until June 1986, and Sweigard remained as interim leader until that time. Also in 1983, Manning retired from the Senate after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, ending Social Credit's representation on
Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...
. In the 1984 election, the party nominated 52 candidates in 51 ridings, the second-fewest that it had ever run since it began nominating candidates east of Manitoba. None of those candidates even came close to being elected, and the party collected a total of 17,044 votes (0.13% of votes cast in all ridings), losing over 92 percent of its 1980 vote and dropping from fourth place to ninth place. Two candidates ran as Social Credit candidates in the BC riding of Prince George-Peace River. The party's strength remained in Quebec and Alberta, but also ran candidates in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick. For all intents and purposes, this was the end of Social Credit as a viable party. Sweigard resigned as leader in 1986. The party's leadership was won by the
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
Ontario evangelical minister Harvey Lainson, who defeated
Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...
James Keegstra James "Jim" Keegstra (March 30, 1934 – June 2, 2014) was a public school teacher and mayor in Eckville, Alberta, Canada, who was charged and convicted of hate speech in 1984. The conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal of Alberta but r ...
by 67 votes to 38 at a delegated convention in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Lainson's campaign focused on gun rights and an opposition to abortion and the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...
. (He was not affiliated with the anti-Semitic groups that endorsed Keegstra.) In July 1987, the party's national executive ousted Lainson over his call to rename the party the Christian Freedom Party of Canada and Keegstra was appointed acting leader. Lainson, however, refused to relinquish the leadership and Keegstra was expelled from the Social Credit Party and its successor the Christian Freedom Social Credit Party in September. The party was still listed with Elections Canada as the Social Credit Party. The party nominated Andrew Varaday as its candidate in the 1987
Hamilton Mountain Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Gold ...
by-election. He won 149 votes (0.4% of the total), placing last in a field of six candidates, which included John Turmel (166 votes). In the 1988 election, what remained of the party nominated nine candidates: six in Quebec, two in Ontario, and one in British Columbia. These candidates collected a total of 3,408 votes (0.02% of votes cast in all ridings). The British Columbia candidate, running in
New Westminster—Burnaby New Westminster—Burnaby is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997 and since 2015. History The 1988–1997 edition of this riding was created in 198 ...
, won 718 votes (1.3% of the total). Although the party came far short of nominating the 50 candidates required for official status, the Chief Electoral Officer agreed to put the party's name on the ballots for the nine candidates on the basis of its half-century historical status as an official party. Lainson resigned as leader in 1990, and another
social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...
evangelist,
Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1 ...
, took over the party. He continued to describe the party as the Christian Freedom Party in public appearances, although he also retained the "Social Credit" name on official documents for tax purposes. Under Campbell, the party began moving back toward traditional social credit theory. The party nominated two candidates in by-elections, each of whom won 96 votes. In the February 12 by-election in Chambly, Quebec, Emilian Martel placed last in a field of six, winning 0.2% of the total vote. Party leader Ken Campbell placed 7th out of 10, winning 0.4% of the total vote in the August 13 by-election in
Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...
, Ontario. John Turmel placed last with 50 votes in this race. After changes to election law required a party to nominate at least 50 candidates in order to keep its registration and assets, Campbell scrambled to nominate at least that number for the 1993 election so he could relaunch the party under the Christian Freedom name. However, it was only able to nominate ten candidates and was deregistered by
Elections Canada Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...
on September 27, 1993. Its candidates in that election appeared on the ballot as non-affiliated candidates. Campbell later ran as an unofficial "Christian Freedom Party" candidate in a 1996 by-election in Hamilton East, appearing on the ballot as an independent. Social Credit has never made another attempt to run candidates again. However, it continued to exist as an incorporated non-profit entity, the "Social Credit Party of Canada, Incorporated." Until his death in 2006, Campbell used it to published political advocacy material in order to preserve his ministry's status as a religious charity.


Election results (1935–1988)

(These results include New Democracy candidates in the 1940 election but does not include those for Union des électeurs, Independent Social Credit candidates, or the Ralliement des créditistes.) * In the 1940 election, former Canadian ambassador to the US W. D. Herridge led a group of 17 candidates (including some Social Credit incumbents such as party leader Blackmore and prominent social crediters such as Louis Even) as members of a monetary reform party called New Democracy, which was endorsed by the Social Credit movement. New Democracy ran 17 candidates, received 73,083 votes (1.59%), and won 3 seats ( Robert Fair,
Walter Frederick Kuhl Walter Frederick Kuhl (June 25, 1905 – January 11, 1991) was a teacher and a Canadian federal politician. Born in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Kuhl was elected under the Social Credit banner to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1935 Canad ...
, and Blackmore – all of whom were incumbent Social Credit MPs running for re-election as New Democracy candidates). Nine seats were contested by candidates who ran under the Social Credit banner – they received 46,271 votes (1%), and 7 of them were elected. Herridge failed to win a seat in Parliament and the 3 New Democracy MPs joined the 7-member Social Credit MPs the House of Commons, under Blackmore's leadership, with a caucus seat total of 10 members. After the election, the combined caucus was known as New Democracy; the party's national convention in 1944 voted to revert to the name Social Credit. ** In the 1965 and 1968 elections, Quebec social crediters ran separately as the Ralliement des créditistes winning nine and fifteen seats, respectively. *** The Quebec-based Ralliement des créditistes, which had won 14 seats in 1968 and was the 4th place party, reunited with the national Social Credit party, essentially taking it over. All seats won by the party in 1972 and subsequently were in Quebec. When the 1972 results are compared to the Railliement's 1968 results there is only a gain of 1 seat and an increase in the popular vote of 2.27 percentage points and no change in place.


Attempted revival

From 2006 to 2009 Wayne Cook, a
father's rights The fathers' rights movement is a social movement whose members are primarily interested in issues related to family law, including child custody and child support, that affect fathers and their children. Many of its members are fathers who de ...
activist from Toronto and candidate in 2000 for the
Canadian Action Party The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (french: Parti action canadienne, PAC) was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017. The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary and electoral reform, and oppose ...
, attempted to revive the national Social Credit Party of Canada/Parti Credit Social du Canada. His attempt failed to win sufficient support to enable his group to become a registered political party with Elections Canada and the group did not run candidates in the 2008 federal election on either an official or unofficial basis. In June 2009, he announced that his unregistered Social Credit Party of Canada would fold and urged all members to join with the
Christian Heritage Party of Canada The Christian Heritage Party of Canada (french: Parti de l'héritage chrétien du Canada), also referred to as CHP Canada, is a minor social conservative and Christian right federal political party in Canada; it was founded in 1987, the brainc ...
. Since the demise of the federal party, several small fringe parties have attempted to promote social credit economic policy while not advocating the social conservativism that the Social Credit Party was known for.
John Turmel John C. Turmel (born February 22, 1951) is a perennial candidate for election in Canada, and according to the ''Guinness World Records'' holds the records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, having contested 105 el ...
, who is in the Guinness Book of Records for the most elections contested and for the most elections lost, is an advocate of social credit monetary theory and founded the
Abolitionist Party of Canada The Abolitionist Party of Canada was a Canadian political party founded by perennial candidate John Turmel. The party ran on a platform of monetary reform, including the abolition of interest rates and the income tax; the use of the local employ ...
which ran 80 candidates in the 1993 federal election on a social credit style economic platform. The party was dissolved in 1996. (Turmel also founded the short-lived
Christian Credit Party The Christian Credit Party was a short-lived Canadian political party founded in 1982 by perennial candidate and social credit activist, John Turmel who has, at various times, been involved in the Social Credit Party of Canada, the Green Party of C ...
in the early 1980s after he was expelled from the Social Credit Party.) The Canada Party, founded by former Social Credit candidate Joseph Thauberger, also ran candidates in the 1993 election on a platform of monetary reform influenced by social credit. Many of its members also belonged to the social credit influenced
Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform The Committee on Monetary and Economic Reform (COMER) is an economics-oriented publishing and education centre based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Organization COMER was co-founded by William Krehm and John Hotson in the 1980s as a think tank out ...
(COMER). In 1997, the Canada Party merged with the left economic nationalist Canadian Action Party which, while not a social credit party ''per se'', adopted a monetary reform policy that is heavily influenced by COMER and the Canada Party.


Leaders

* John Horne Blackmore, MP (1935–1944) ''parliamentary leader'' * Solon Earl Low, MP (1944–1961) *
Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to: Entertainment * Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian * Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer * Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...
, MP (1961–1967) *
Alexander Bell Patterson Alexander Bell Patterson (April 22, 1911 – April 2, 1993) was a long-time Canadian member of Parliament (MP) and was briefly leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada. He was the son of an Irish father and Scottish mother who immigrated t ...
, MP (1967–1968) ''acting leader'' *
Réal Caouette David Réal Caouette (September 26, 1917 – December 16, 1976) was a Canadian politician from Quebec. He was a member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada and founder of the '' Ralliement des créditistes''. Outsid ...
, MP (1971–1976) *
André-Gilles Fortin André-Gilles Fortin (November 13, 1943 – June 24, 1977) was a Canadian politician. Fortin was a member of the House of Commons of Canada for Lotbinière. He was first elected in the 1968 federal election for the Ralliement Créditiste ...
, MP (1976–1977) *
Gilles Caouette Gilles Caouette (February 16, 1940 – August 13, 2009) was a Canadian politician and member of Parliament. Caouette was born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. His father, Réal Caouette, was a prominent Social Credit politician, and leader of the ...
, MP (1977–1978) ''acting leader'' * Charles-Arthur Gauthier, MP (1978) ''acting leader'' * Lorne Reznowski (1978–1979) * Charles-Arthur Gauthier, MP (1979) ''acting leader'' *
Fabien Roy Fabien Roy (born April 17, 1928) is a former Canadian politician who was active in Quebec in the 1970s. Roy was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec and the House of Commons of Canada, and advocated social credit theories of monetary re ...
, MP (1979–1980) * Martin Hattersley (1981–1983) * Ken Sweigard (1983–1986) ''acting leader'' * Harvey Lainson (1986–1990) * Jim Keegstra ''acting leader'' (July 27–28, 1987) Jim Keegstra was chosen acting leader by a meeting of party members in July 1987. Lainson and others argued that the meeting was illegitimate, and did not recognize Keegstra as leader. Keegstra was later barred from the Social Credit Party and by the Christian Freedom Social Credit Party. Source

Lainson was re-confirmed as party leader later in 1987.
*
Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1 ...
(1990–1993) Sourc
Parliament of Canada website: Party File: Social Credit Party


See also

* *
Canadian social credit movement The Canadian social credit movement is a political movement originally based on the Social Credit theory of Major C. H. Douglas. Its supporters were colloquially known as Socreds in English and créditistes in French. It gained popularity and its ...
*
Ralliement créditiste Historically in Quebec, Canada, there were a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the s ...
* List of Social Credit/Créditistes MPs *
Social Credit Party of Alberta Alberta Social Credit was a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on social credit monetary policy put forward by Clifford Hugh Douglas and on conservative Christian social values. The Canadian social credit movement ...
*
Social Credit Party of British Columbia The British Columbia Social Credit Party, whose members are known as Socreds, was the governing provincial political party of British Columbia, Canada, for all but three years between the 1952 provincial election and the 1991 election. For f ...
*
Ralliement créditiste du Québec The ''Ralliement créditiste du Québec'' was a provincial political party in Quebec, Canada that operated from 1970 to 1978 (the party was also known as the ''Parti créditiste'' from September to December 1973, contesting the 1973 provincial el ...
*
Manitoba Social Credit Party The Manitoba Social Credit Party (originally the Manitoba Social Credit League) was a political party in the Canadian province of Manitoba. In its early years, it espoused the monetary reform theories of social credit. It was formed in the 1935 ...
*
Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan The Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan (originally known as the Social Credit League of Saskatchewan) was a political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan that promoted social credit economic theories from the mid-1930s to the mid-1970s. ...
*
Social Credit Party of Ontario The Social Credit Party of Ontario (SCPO) (also known as the Ontario Social Credit League, Social Credit Association of Ontario and the Union of Electors) was a minor political party at the provincial level in the Canadian province of Ontario fro ...


Footnotes

{{Authority control 1935 establishments in Canada 1993 disestablishments in Canada Defunct political parties in Canada Federal political parties in Canada Political parties disestablished in 1993 Political parties established in 1935 Social credit parties in Canada