Fleming Blanchard McCurdy, (February 17, 1875 – August 29, 1952) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician.

Born in Old Barns

Old Barns, Nova Scotia

Old Barns is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Colchester County .-References:*...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 for the Nova Scotia riding of Shelburne and Queen's

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 Canadian House of Commons from 1896 to 1925....

 in the 1911 election

Canadian federal election, 1911

The Canadian federal election of 1911 was held on September 21 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Canada.-Summary:...

 as a Conservative. He was re-elected in the 1917 election

Canadian federal election, 1917

The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription...

 for the riding of Colchester

Colchester (electoral district)

Colchester was a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935. It was created in the British North America Act of 1867, and was abolished in 1933 when it was merged into Colchester—Hants riding...

 as a supporter of Sir Robert Laird Borden's Unionist government.

In 1916, he was one of the first parliamentarians to be appointed a Parliamentary Secretary

Parliamentary Secretary

A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...

, when he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Militia and Defence for Sam Hughes

Sam Hughes

For other people of the same name see Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, KCB, PC was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I...

. He was also the Parliamentary Secretary of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment. Upon his appointment to Borden's Cabinet in 1920 as Minister of Public Works

Minister of Public Works (Canada)

The position of Minister of Public Works existed as part of the Cabinet of Canada from Confederation to 1995.As part of substantial governmental reorganization, the position was merged with that of the Minister of Supply and Services to create the position of Minister of Public Works and Government...

 he was required by the law of the time to resign his seat and run in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. By this point it was customary for Cabinet ministers running in by-elections to be acclaimed however, the newly formed United Farmers

Progressive Party of Canada

The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba...

 party contested the by-election with a United-Famers/Labour candidate. McCurdy opted to face this challenge by running as a Nationalist Liberal

Nationalist Liberal

Nationalist Liberal was the label under which Fleming Blanchard McCurdy ran in a by-election held in Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada, on September 20, 1920....

 rather than as a Conservative and was re-elected, though narrowly. It is possible he chose this banner as the Unionist Party had formally changed its name to the National Liberal and Conservative Party

National Liberal and Conservative Party

The National Liberal and Conservative Party was the name adopted by the Conservative Party of Canada in 1920 after the end of the Unionist government of Robert Borden....

 by this time or as a means of facing down the threat from a left-wing candidate. In any case, Blanchard ran the following year in the 1921 election

Canadian federal election, 1921

The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6, 1921 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader...

as a Conservative and was defeated.