Liberal parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)
Encyclopedia
For the modern Liberal Party see Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and the provincial wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. It is the Official Opposition and currently holds six seats in the provincial legislature.-Origins:The party originated in...



Several earlier groupings functioned in the Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...

 under the name Liberal Party of Newfoundland from the granting of responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...

 to the island in the 1850s until its suspension in 1934 when the Commission of Government
Commission of Government
The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949...

 was instituted. During that period, Newfoundland was an independent dominion within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

, responsible for its own internal affairs.

The original Liberal Party was a coalition of Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

s and Methodists who opposed the Anglican-dominated political establishment. This party agitated for the granting of 'responsible government' to the island.

Shortly after responsible government was instituted in 1854, the Methodists left the party to join the Anglicans in the Conservative Party, leaving the Liberals as a (largely Irish) Catholic party. Political parties in the dominion were thus divided along sectarian lines for the next thirty years - a situation that resulted in periodic riots and other political violence. This division also reflected class differences: most Catholics were working class or farmers, and most members of the middle and business classes were Protestant.

In the 1880s, a denominational compromise was reached and political parties realigned with a new Liberal Party being formed by former Conservative Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...

 William Whiteway
William Whiteway
Sir William Vallance Whiteway, QC KCMG was a politician and three time Premier of Newfoundland. Born in England, Whiteway emigrated to the island in 1843 and entered the law in 1852. In 1859 he was elected to the House of Assembly as a member of the Conservative Party of Newfoundland and became a...

. Whiteway launched the new Liberal Party as a vehicle to promote the construction of a cross-island railway.

Under Robert Bond
Robert Bond
Sir Robert Bond was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1909. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, as the son of merchant John Bond. Bond grew up in St. John's until 1872 when his father died and left the family a good deal of money...

, the Liberals suffered a split when Edward Patrick Morris left to form the Newfoundland People's Party
Newfoundland People's Party
The Newfoundland People's Party was a political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland before it joined Canada.The party was created by Attorney-General Edward Patrick Morris in 1907, when he split from the ruling Liberal Party to found his own political vehicle...

. The NPP won the 1909 and 1913 elections. After 1919, the NPP was called the Liberal-Labour-Progressive Party.

In 1919, Richard Squires
Richard Squires
Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932.-Early career:...

 merged his Liberal Party with the Fishermen's Protective Union to form the Liberal Reform Party.

The Liberal Reform Party won the 1919 election, but collapsed prior to the 1924 election due to a crisis over corruption. This crisis toppled both Squires and his successor, William Warren
William Warren
William Robertson Warren was a Newfoundland lawyer, politician and judge who served as the dominion's Prime Minister from July 1923 to April 1924.-Early life:...

.

Some members of the Liberal Reform Party joined with Albert Hickman
Albert Hickman
Albert Edgar Hickman , born in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, was Newfoundland's seventeenth Prime Minister and has the distinction of having served the shortest term of any Prime Minister....

 to form a new Liberal-Progressive Party.

Many former supporters of William Warren joined in alliance with former Conservative leader William J. Higgins
William J. Higgins
William John Higgins was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Newfoundland. He represented St. John's East in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1913 to 1928 as a member of the Newfoundland People's Party, Liberal Progressive party, Liberal-Labour-Progressive party and the...

 to form the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party. This party emerged as a conservative opposition to the Liberals and won the 1924 election. It later changed its name to the United Newfoundland Party
United Newfoundland Party
The United Newfoundland Party was the name of a conservative party in the Dominion of Newfoundland led by Frederick C. Alderdice from 1928 to 1934. It was organized by Alderdice when disaffected Liberals joined his Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party sitting in Opposition and won the 1932...

.

By 1928, Squires had formed a new Liberal Party, which won the 1928 election. This second Squires government was again beset by corruption and scandal. The economic crisis caused by the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 compounded these problems, and led to riots in 1932. Squires's government was toppled by the United Newfoundland Party.

The UNP was elected on a promise to consider suspending responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...

. Responsible government was suspended in 1934, and a Commission of Government
Commission of Government
The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949...

 appointed by the British government took over the administration of Newfoundland. Newfoundland's status as an independent dominion came to an end, along with party politics.

Party politics returned to Newfoundland when it joined Canadian confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

 in 1949 and a new Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and the provincial wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. It is the Official Opposition and currently holds six seats in the provincial legislature.-Origins:The party originated in...

 was formed under the leadership of Joey Smallwood
Joey Smallwood
Joseph Roberts "Joey" Smallwood, PC, CC was the main force that brought Newfoundland into the Canadian confederation, and became the first Premier of Newfoundland . As premier, he vigorously promoted economic development, championed the welfare state, and emphasized modernization of education and...

.

The pre Commission of Government
Commission of Government
The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949...

 Liberals, both in their early incarnation and their relaunching under Whiteway, tended to be identified more with poorer Newfoundlanders, while the Conservatives tended to be the party of the business establishment.

See also

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