Trafford Publishing: The Red Tide Stemmed

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The Red Tide Stemmed

by Arthur Yates

92 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0113; ISBN 1-55212-714-1; US$13.99, C$20.99, EUR13.70, £9.50

Describes the Canada Federal Election of 1945 and the Manitoba Provincial Election of 1945. Discusses the elections and the participants, mainly in the province of Manitoba. Includes the ruthless propaganda unleashed by Mackenzie King to stem the 'Red Tide' of 1945.

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about the book      about the author      excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book

The 1945 Canadian Federal and 1945 Manitoba Provincial elections took place at an important time in world history: the end of the Second World War. A Gallup poll of 1943 showed the CCF (Socialists) as the most popular national party, and they were poised to win the election, but the Mackenzie King Liberals intervened with ruthless and dishonest scare-propaganda which included a warning that a CCF government would destroy our democratic way of life and institute a foreign-born system which would place CCF politicians "in complete control of everybody's lives."

About the Author

Arthur Yates, of Canadian nationality, was born in Manchester, England, the fifth of seven children.
In his late teens Arthur addressed ever-larger crowds in market square settings. "A market square orator of no mean ability" as the Derby Telegraph later reported.
He fought World War Two from the beginning, as a front-line soldier most of the time. The Trooper tells of his adventures in and aroun this last major war. At the end of World War Two Yates managed to get the army and the world to take him seriously as an opponent to Winston Churchill, the great British leader.
In Canada, he fought four elections as a Liberal, but in Alberta (where Liberals are rarely elected), so he never had a chance to become an M.P. He did, however, become a close friend of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, with whom he bonded at the time of their first meeting. Arthur could have perhaps become a senator or anything else, had he followed the frequent advice he received from Trudeau. Trudeau told him over and over again to see Senator Hastings, who would channel him into important position. Arthur Yates never did go to see Senator Hastings about this. He was perhaps too independent.
Also by Arthur Yates: The Trooper

Excerpts

ABSTRACT
    The 1945 Dominion of Canada General Election, and also the Province of Manitoba Provincial General Election both took place at an important time in world history, the end of the second Great War. The Coalition government of Premier Stuart Garson was returned to power with a substantial majority.
    The Dominion Liberal government of Mackenzie King was also returned with a substantial majority, thanks to the enormous support from Quebec, but this result could have been different. A Gallup poll of September 1943 showed the C.C.F. (Socialist) party the most popular nationally, with 29% support, with the other two parties both at 28%. We were about to get a Socialist government of Canada, but the Liberal party intervened with ruthless and dishonest scare propaganda, which included the warning that a C.C.F. government would destroy our democratic way of life, and institute a foreign-born system which would place the C.C.F. politicians "in complete control of everybody's lives"
    The later Gallup poll of June 9th 1945 reflected the results of the vicious Liberal propaganda, when the C.C.F. were reduced to 17%.
    The C.C.F. almost became the party holding the most seats in the Manitoba provincial election of October 15 1945. Had there been a "level playing field," in terms of a fairer system of representation the C.C.F. might well have gained many more seats. Even so, the fact that the Socialists obtained almost a third of the popular vote inspired a confidential memo to Premier Garson warning that the Liberal Progressives urgently needed to recruit younger and more energetic candidates to meet the next C.C.F. challange.

excerpt from CHAPTER THREE: THE MANITOBA ELECTION CAMPAIGN
    The C.C.F. had received a severe blow in the results of the 1945 Dominion election, and a further disappointment in the results of the Ontario election, when the party support declined. There was still a chance that the C.C.F. could win the Manitoba election and form a government, for they had a greatly increased membership, and the provincial election victory of the C.C.F. in Saskatchewan had given them an unprecedented triumph.
    The Manitoba people, and the various political rivals, were now awaiting the announcement of an election date. The following item appeared in August in the Winnipeg Free Press:
Manitoba Parties ready for action: - Plans to put about 45 candidates in the field for the expected provincial election were announced by the C.C.F. headquarters in Winnipeg. There are 55 constituencies in the province...One of the candidates will be the provincial leader, S.J. Farmer. This time the provincial C.C.F. leadership think that they pose a distinct threat to the Garson Coalition government. ¹
Premier Garson called a special session of the legislature on September 4, 1945, to present the government's post-war programme, and explain the federal government's financial proposals.
    Douglas Campbell has recently judged the C.C.F. challenge in 1945 somewhat favourably:
The C.C.F. people were mostly good people through the years. Their policy seemed to be to do all the same things we were doing, but to do more and to do it better. ²
Two of the early concerns were housing and jobs. Lloyd Stinson, a C.C.F. candidate for Winnipeg, advocated a public housing programme "to provide decent housing for all Manitobans." ³ Unemployment, not yet widespread, was increasingly a concern for wage earners in the province. The Souris Plaindealer, a country paper, claimed that the closing of war industries would cause more unemployment, proportionate to population, in Souris than would be the case in larger centres. ⁴
    On September 6, and still no election date, Premier Garson spoke to the people of Manitoba by radio. As if to pre-empt the opening salvo of the campaign, he spoke on station CKY, of his own record, and that of the Coalition. He said that nine years earlier, Manitoba had been going further into debt, by nearly $4,000.00 each year, and her credit was gone:
The government's services and grants had been cut. We were on the rocks and no mistake. But look at us today. Each year we have a splendid surplus, not only in our treasury, but in our publicly owned telephone system and power commission as well. Our credit is completely restored.
Mr. Garson continued in this vein, saying that only now were Manitobans again able to face the future with confidence. Bringing attention back to the Dominion-provincial financial discussions, an area where his presence was seen to be crucial, he expressed satisfaction at the value of the proposals recently put forward by the federal government, and reminded his audience of his own pronouncements and arguments at the August meetings. He pointed out that the tax agreement with the federal government, which had done much to sustain the Manitoba economy through the war, would run out, twelve months after the end of hostilities. The Dominion government proposals envisaged a tax system which would be better and fairer for all Canadians, no matter where they lived.
    Federal proposals and supporting documents came in eleven volumes, and offered, he said, some great improvements in social services, health insurance, and pensions for the elderly and the disabled, but dealing with this mass of documentation was a very great undertaking. Depending upon the success of the present negotiations, he estimated that Manitoba could receive from Ottawa an additional $1,500.000 towards education costs, with an extra increase of $100,000 per year for the University of Manitoba and an annual appropriation of $135,000 for technical education, at the disposal of the municipalities. There would also be much more money to spend for agriculture, including the provision of a government veterinarian service. To deal with these complex matters at the next federal-provincial conference, scheduled in November, Mr. Garson stated that he had considered an extension of the legislature*s term so that he and his colleagues versed in these negotiations would still be at the helm, but had instead chosen to hold a provincial election. The position of Manitoba*s treasury was strong, he said, and work upon farm electrification had started on June 15, 1945, and so an election could be held without prejudice to the interests of the province. He concluded that holding an election at this time was fair to the opposition, fair to the Coalition, and fair to the people of Manitoba in allowing them to decide whether they wished the Coalition to complete its task. ⁵
    Errick F. Willis, Minister of Public Works in the Coalition and leader of the Manitoba Conservative party, also spoke on the radio, Station CKRC, in support of Premier Garson, and urged a continuance of the Coalition government, praising its record and deploring the C.C.F. withdrawal. The main point of his presentation was that the government had saved substantial amounts of money so as to give Manitobans a better life in future years.⁶
    On September 9, in the legislature, Premier Garson announced that the provincial election would take place on October 15. He then dissolved the legislature. He denied the suggestion that the election was in any way a trick, associated with the federal-provincial financial negotiations, that could be depicted as requiring him to be re-elected, to remain at the helm to steer the negotiations through to a successful conclusion. The Premier said in a radio address:
We shall be faced this time with an opposition which has more paid organizers, more unpaid organizers, and more money to spend than any group we have ever faced before.⁷
While it could have been true that the C.C.F. was financially better off than any previous group opposing the Coalition, this does not mean that it had all the money needed for an effective campaign. It did not even have candidates in all constituencies, because it lacked the financial ability to support a full slate. ⁸ A major plank of the C.C.F. programme was full public ownership. It claimed that the Coalition would never do enough to take the initiative in social and economic reform, but would only deal with a problem when it became serious. ⁹
End Notes
1. "Manitoba Parties ready for action," Winnipeg Free Press, 29 August 1945, 5.
2. Interview with Douglas Campbell, April 12, 1993.
3. Lloyd Stinson, C.C.F. candidate for Winnipeg, Radio speech, May 3, 1945, Station CKRD.
4. "Closing of War industries will cause more unemployment in Souris," Souris Plaindealer, September 5, 1945, 1.
5. "Radio talk by the honourable Stuart Garson," September 6, 1945, Winnipeg, Coalition Government Election Committee, 1945. (Pamphlet).
6. "Radio talk by the Hon. Errick F. Willis," Station CKRC September 7, 1945, A pamphlet, - Coalition Government Election Committee, Saults and Pollard, 1945.
7. "Premier Garson radio address," Winnipeg Free Press, September 7, 1945.
8. Interview with David Orlikow, May 11, 1993.
9. Ibid.

Catalogue Information