Joseph Needham (Canadian politician)
Encyclopedia
Joseph J. Needham was a Saskatchewan politician, clergyman and public administrator.
Needham was born in Bromhall, Cheshire, England and emigrated to Canada where he settled in Saskatchewan
. Ordained as a Methodist minister, Needham entered commercial life in 1919 in Unity, Saskatchewan
near the Alberta border working as an agent and secretary and eventually becoming a hospital superintendent.
He was elected to the House of Commons
in the 1935 federal election
as a member of the first federal parliamentary caucus
Social Credit
MPs in Ottawa. Needham was one of only two of the 17 Social Credit MPs to have been elected from outside of Alberta
having been returned from the Saskatchewan
riding of The Battlefords
.
Needham served as president of the Social Credit League of Saskatchewan
during this period and was the nominal leader of the provincial party during the 1938 provincial election
which saw the party win 15% of the votes but only two seats - Needham did not seek a provincial seat himself and remained in the House of Commons. He was re-elected to the position of provincial president in 1939.
In 1938, Needham suggested that there was a strong sentiment in Saskatchewan for secession
from Canada earning him a rebuke from Saskatchewan's Minister of Public Works who said "such talk is nonsense!" Later that year, while speaking in favour of a state run health care plan
he criticized the Ontario government of Mitchell Hepburn
for its treatment of the Dionne Quintuplets
saying "I've often wondered why the province of Ontario bothered so much about the quintuplets. They are no more valuable than my children or yours, but because they could be commercialized, it was worthwhile to give them the best treatment money could buy. We should try to commercialize all our children and build up the strongest and most virile race in the world."
Needham also called for the diversion of money from the military to the poor. In 1938, he proposed a resolution in the House of Commons calling for a world conference of economists, educators and peace workers to examine removing the causes of war and "diverting defence expenditures from implements of destruction into the creation and distribution of their equivalent in gifts of goods to needy people, including so-called enemy peoples." He also called for the government to make farm implements free to farmers or give farmers compensation for their purchase.
He served a single term and was defeated in the 1940 federal election
when he stood for re-election as a New Democracy
candidate, which was the banner under which many Social Credit candidates ran that year. The 1940 election returned only 10 Social Credit/New Democracy MPs, all of whom represented Alberta.
Needham was born in Bromhall, Cheshire, England and emigrated to Canada where he settled in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. Ordained as a Methodist minister, Needham entered commercial life in 1919 in Unity, Saskatchewan
Unity, Saskatchewan
-Area statistics:*Lat 52°26′ N*Long 109°10′00″ W*Dominion Land Survey Section 18, Township 40, Range 22, West of the 3rd Meridian*Time zone UTC−6-Location:-See also:*List of towns in Saskatchewan...
near the Alberta border working as an agent and secretary and eventually becoming a hospital superintendent.
He was elected to the 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...
in the 1935 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1935
The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...
as a member of the first federal parliamentary caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
MPs in Ottawa. Needham was one of only two of the 17 Social Credit MPs to have been elected from outside of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
having been returned from the Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
riding of The Battlefords
The Battlefords (electoral district)
The Battlefords was a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1968.This riding was created in 1933 from parts of North Battleford, Rosetown and South Battleford ridings....
.
Needham served as president of the Social Credit League of Saskatchewan
Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan
The Social Credit Party 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....
during this period and was the nominal leader of the provincial party during the 1938 provincial election
Saskatchewan general election, 1938
The Saskatchewan general election of 1938 was the ninth provincial election held in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 8, 1938, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan....
which saw the party win 15% of the votes but only two seats - Needham did not seek a provincial seat himself and remained in the House of Commons. He was re-elected to the position of provincial president in 1939.
In 1938, Needham suggested that there was a strong sentiment in Saskatchewan for secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
from Canada earning him a rebuke from Saskatchewan's Minister of Public Works who said "such talk is nonsense!" Later that year, while speaking in favour of a state run health care plan
Medicare (Canada)
Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
he criticized the Ontario government of Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
for its treatment of the Dionne Quintuplets
Dionne quintuplets
The Dionne quintuplets are the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy. The sisters were born just outside Callander, Ontario, Canada near the village of Corbeil.The Dionne girls were born two months premature...
saying "I've often wondered why the province of Ontario bothered so much about the quintuplets. They are no more valuable than my children or yours, but because they could be commercialized, it was worthwhile to give them the best treatment money could buy. We should try to commercialize all our children and build up the strongest and most virile race in the world."
Needham also called for the diversion of money from the military to the poor. In 1938, he proposed a resolution in the House of Commons calling for a world conference of economists, educators and peace workers to examine removing the causes of war and "diverting defence expenditures from implements of destruction into the creation and distribution of their equivalent in gifts of goods to needy people, including so-called enemy peoples." He also called for the government to make farm implements free to farmers or give farmers compensation for their purchase.
He served a single term and was defeated in the 1940 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1940
The Canadian federal election of 1940 was the 19th general election in Canadian history. It was held March 26, 1940 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 19th Parliament of Canada...
when he stood for re-election as a New Democracy
New Democracy (Canada)
New Democracy was a political party in Canada founded by William Duncan Herridge in 1939. Herridge, a former Conservative party adviser who was Canada's Envoy to the United States from 1931-35 during the government of R. B. Bennett....
candidate, which was the banner under which many Social Credit candidates ran that year. The 1940 election returned only 10 Social Credit/New Democracy MPs, all of whom represented Alberta.