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. Herridge was educated at Ottawa Collegiate Institute, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, where he was a member of the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

, and

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

. 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 divisi ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in which he received a

field promotion A battlefield promotion (or field promotion) is an advancement in military rank that occurs while deployed in combat. A standard field promotion is advancement from current rank to the next higher rank; a "jump-step" promotion allows the recipient ...

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 indicato ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

."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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

supporter but, being a personal friend of

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

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'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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with the title

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

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 Con ...

, 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 Reaction may refer to a process or to a response to an action, event, or exposure: Physics and chemistry *Chemical reaction *Nuclear reaction * Reaction (physics), as defined by Newton's third law *Chain reaction (disambiguation). Biology and m ...

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 Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewis ...

" 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 Social Credit Party of Canada (french: Parti Crédit social du Canada), colloquially known as the Socreds, was a populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadi ...

. 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 Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,59 ...

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, a chair ...

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 Commo ...

. The only New Democracy

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

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