George Armstrong (Manitoba politician)
Encyclopedia
George Armstrong was a politician and labour activist in Manitoba
, Canada
. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
from 1920 to 1922, and is notable as the only member of the Socialist Party of Canada
ever to serve in that institution.
Armstrong was born in East York
, Ontario
, and educated in Ellesmere. He trained as a carpenter, and practiced his trade in Winnipeg. Armstrong was a member of the Fair Wage Board for Manitoba.
He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1910 provincial election
, in the constituency of Winnipeg West
. At the time, the Socialist Party represented the left-wing of the labour movement in Manitoba, with the reformist Manitoba Labour Party
(MLP) representing its moderate voice. Armstrong was known in this period as a leading figure in the SPC's hardline "impossibilist" wing, opposing any cooperation with moderate labour. In electoral terms, the Socialist Party was a marginal force in the city. Armstrong received 246 votes in Winnipeg West, against 2,578 for the victorious candidate, Liberal
Thomas Johnson.
In the 1914 provincial election
, Armstrong ran in Winnipeg Centre "B" against Fred Dixon
, an independent candidate supported by both the Liberals and the Labour Representation Committee, a successor to the MLP. A Conservative candidate also contested the seat. Armstrong and his supporters disrupted Dixon's rallies throughout the campaign, accusing him of being a "fake" in his advocacy of working-class causes. Dixon's supporters, in turn, argued that the SPC was receiving help from the Conservatives to split the labour vote. Armstrong finished a distant third with 928 votes, while Dixon received 8,205 votes for a convincing victory.
Armstrong ran against Dixon again in the 1915 election
, and again lost by a significant margin.
The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 brought Armstrong and the SPC into cooperation with the city's mainstream labour movement. Along with other prominent labour organizers in the city, Armstrong was brought to trial after the strike's suppression on charges of seditious conspiracy. He was convicted, and spent almost two years in prison with fellow strikers such as William Ivens
and John Queen
. Many observers at the time, and many since, have regarded the charges against the strikers as unjust and politically motivated.
Even as the Socialist Party was declining in the rest of the country, the spirit of labour unity generated by the strike and the arrests brought the SPC in Winnipeg into a temporary alliance with the city's other labour parties. Armstrong, previously an opponent of "popular front" strategies, became the SPC's star candidate on Winnipeg's united labour list for the 1920 provincial election
.
For this election, following a change in the province's electoral laws, Winnipeg became a single constituency which elected ten members to the legislature by a single transferable ballot. Labour and the SPC joined with two other parties for a slate of ten candidates, and ran a united campaign. Armstrong, still serving his prison sentence, finished third on the first count and was declared elected to the city's eighth position on the final count. He served in the legislature with the labour group under Fred Dixon's leadership. Despite their philosophical differences, Dixon and Armstrong were able to cooperate with one another in this period.
The Socialist Party of Canada split in 1921, with many of its members joining the newly-formed Communist Party
. Armstrong remained a member of the SPC, even though the party was having difficulty maintaining a national presence by this time. During the 1922 provincial election
, Armstrong was frequently heckled by Communist candidates who accused him of being a "sell out" to the social gospel
lers in the mainstream labour movement. He finished ninth on the first count, but fell behind on transfers and failed to win a seat. The SPC ceased to exist a few years later, and Armstrong withdrew from provincial politics for a time.
Armstrong ran for the Manitoba legislature again in the 1932 provincial election
as the candidate of a revived Socialist Party. He was unsuccessful, finishing nineteenth on the first count and being eliminated on the tenth.
Armstrong was also a popular figure in his carpenter's union, even though his views were to left most other members. In his later years, he relocated from Manitoba to California
.
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
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...
. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...
from 1920 to 1922, and is notable as the only member of the Socialist Party of Canada
Socialist Party of Canada (in Manitoba)
The Socialist Party of Canada was a revolutionary Marxist organization, founded in 1904 as a merger of the Socialist Party of British Columbia and related groups in Manitoba and Ontario, Canada....
ever to serve in that institution.
Armstrong was born in East York
East York
East York can refer to:*East York, Pennsylvania, United States*East York, Ontario, Canada...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and educated in Ellesmere. He trained as a carpenter, and practiced his trade in Winnipeg. Armstrong was a member of the Fair Wage Board for Manitoba.
He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1910 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1910
Manitoba's general election of July 11, 1910 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fourth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party of Manitoba, led by premier Rodmond Palen Roblin. Roblin's electoral machine won...
, in the constituency of Winnipeg West
Winnipeg West
Winnipeg West is an historical provincial electoral division in Manitoba, Canada. It was created for the 1907 provincial election, and eliminated with the 1914 provincial election....
. At the time, the Socialist Party represented the left-wing of the labour movement in Manitoba, with the reformist Manitoba Labour Party
Manitoba Labour Party
The Manitoba Labour Party was a reformist, non-Marxist labour party in Manitoba, Canada. It was created in early May 1910 as a successor to the province's second Independent Labour Party . Former Member of Parliament A.W. Puttee was a leading MLP organizer...
(MLP) representing its moderate voice. Armstrong was known in this period as a leading figure in the SPC's hardline "impossibilist" wing, opposing any cooperation with moderate labour. In electoral terms, the Socialist Party was a marginal force in the city. Armstrong received 246 votes in Winnipeg West, against 2,578 for the victorious candidate, Liberal
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
Thomas Johnson.
In the 1914 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1914
Manitoba's general election of July 10, 1914 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The result was a fifth consecutive majority government for the Conservative Party, led by premier Rodmond P. Roblin...
, Armstrong ran in Winnipeg Centre "B" against Fred Dixon
Fred Dixon
Fred Dixon was a Manitoba politician, and was for several years the dominant figure in the province's mainstream labour movement.Born in Englefield, England, Dixon was not a socialist...
, an independent candidate supported by both the Liberals and the Labour Representation Committee, a successor to the MLP. A Conservative candidate also contested the seat. Armstrong and his supporters disrupted Dixon's rallies throughout the campaign, accusing him of being a "fake" in his advocacy of working-class causes. Dixon's supporters, in turn, argued that the SPC was receiving help from the Conservatives to split the labour vote. Armstrong finished a distant third with 928 votes, while Dixon received 8,205 votes for a convincing victory.
Armstrong ran against Dixon again in the 1915 election
Manitoba general election, 1915
Manitoba's general election of August 6, 1915 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was held only one year after the previous general election of 1914. In that election, the governing Conservatives of premier Rodmond P. Roblin were...
, and again lost by a significant margin.
The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 brought Armstrong and the SPC into cooperation with the city's mainstream labour movement. Along with other prominent labour organizers in the city, Armstrong was brought to trial after the strike's suppression on charges of seditious conspiracy. He was convicted, and spent almost two years in prison with fellow strikers such as William Ivens
William Ivens
William Ivens was a religious and political figure in Manitoba, Canada. He was a leading figure in the Winnipeg General Strike, and subsequently served as a Labour member of the Manitoba legislature from 1920 to 1936....
and John Queen
John Queen
John Queen was a Manitoba politician, and the second parliamentary leader of that province's Independent Labour Party...
. Many observers at the time, and many since, have regarded the charges against the strikers as unjust and politically motivated.
Even as the Socialist Party was declining in the rest of the country, the spirit of labour unity generated by the strike and the arrests brought the SPC in Winnipeg into a temporary alliance with the city's other labour parties. Armstrong, previously an opponent of "popular front" strategies, became the SPC's star candidate on Winnipeg's united labour list for the 1920 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1920
Manitoba's general election of 29 June 1920 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.-Background:...
.
For this election, following a change in the province's electoral laws, Winnipeg became a single constituency which elected ten members to the legislature by a single transferable ballot. Labour and the SPC joined with two other parties for a slate of ten candidates, and ran a united campaign. Armstrong, still serving his prison sentence, finished third on the first count and was declared elected to the city's eighth position on the final count. He served in the legislature with the labour group under Fred Dixon's leadership. Despite their philosophical differences, Dixon and Armstrong were able to cooperate with one another in this period.
The Socialist Party of Canada split in 1921, with many of its members joining the newly-formed Communist Party
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
. Armstrong remained a member of the SPC, even though the party was having difficulty maintaining a national presence by this time. During the 1922 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1922
Manitoba's general election of July 18, 1922 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.As in the previous election of 1920, the city of Winnipeg elected ten members by the single transferable ballot...
, Armstrong was frequently heckled by Communist candidates who accused him of being a "sell out" to the social gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
lers in the mainstream labour movement. He finished ninth on the first count, but fell behind on transfers and failed to win a seat. The SPC ceased to exist a few years later, and Armstrong withdrew from provincial politics for a time.
Armstrong ran for the Manitoba legislature again in the 1932 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1932
Manitoba's general election of June 16, 1932 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the second election in Manitoba where the single transferable ballot was used in all electoral divisions...
as the candidate of a revived Socialist Party. He was unsuccessful, finishing nineteenth on the first count and being eliminated on the tenth.
Armstrong was also a popular figure in his carpenter's union, even though his views were to left most other members. In his later years, he relocated from Manitoba to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.