Mitchell Hepburn
Encyclopedia
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th Premier of Ontario
, Canada
, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37.
Born in St. Thomas, Ontario
, Hepburn attended school in Elgin County and hoped to become a lawyer. His educational career ended abruptly, however, when someone threw an apple at visiting dignitary Sir Adam Beck
knocking his silk top hat off of his head. Hepburn was accused of the deed, denied it, but refused to identify the culprit. Refusing to apologise he walked out of his high school and obtained a job as a bank clerk at the Canadian Bank of Commerce
where he worked from 1913 to 1917 eventually becoming an accountant at the bank's Winnipeg branch. He briefly served in the Royal Air Force
in World War I
before returning to St. Thomas to tend the family's onion farm. In 2008 he had a school named after him only miles away from his family's farm.
(UFO) helping to start its branch in Elgin County, but by the mid-1920s he switched to the Liberal Party. In the 1926 election
, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
as a representative of Elgin West, and was overwhelmingly re-elected in the 1930 election
.
Later that year he became leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario. His support of farmers and free trade, and his former membership in the UFO allowed him to attract Harry Nixon
's rump
of UFO Members of the Legislative Assembly
(MLAs) into the Liberal Party (as Liberal-Progressive
s). This and the Great Depression
led to the defeat the unpopular Conservative premier George Stewart Henry
in the 1934 provincial election
. His stance against the prohibition
of alcohol allowed him to break the Liberal Party from the militant prohibitionist stance that had helped reduce it to a rural, Protestant south western Ontario rump in the 1920s.
. Hepburn made a public show of austerity by auctioning off the chauffeur driven limousines used by the previous Conservative cabinet. He also introduced a succession tax thereby increasing government revenues by taxing wealthy estates. He also fired many civil servants. Hepburn cut spending on electric power from Quebec
, gave money to mining
industries in northern Ontario
, and introduced compulsory milk pasteurization
. In so doing, he has been credited with virtually wiping out bovine tuberculosis in the province.
Breaking with the temperance stances of previous Liberal governments, Hepburn expanded the availability of liquor by allowing hotels to sell beer and wine. The government also made international news by making the Dionne Quintuplets
wards of the province in response to public outrage of plans by promoters to exploit the infants by putting them on display at the Chicago World's Fair
.
-Labour
alliance with the Communist Party of Canada
, yet as Premier he was opposed to unions and refused to let the CIO
form unions in Ontario. On April 8, 1937, the CIO-backed General Motors plant in Oshawa
went on strike, demanding 8-hour workdays, a seniority system, and recognition of their CIO-affiliated United Auto Workers
union. The strikers were also supported by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
, Canada's left-wing party at the time. Hepburn, at the time professing a deep concern about radicals among auto workers and supported by the owners of the plant and General Motors, organized a volunteer police force to help him put down the strike when Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
refused to send the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
. This force was somewhat derisively known as "Hepburn's Hussars," or the "Sons of Mitches". Cabinet ministers who disagreed with Hepburn over the issue were forced to resign. However, the strike held out, and Hepburn capitulated on April 23, 1937.
introducing a resolution into the Ontario legislature which was passed 44 to 10, that accused the federal government of mishandling the war effort. The Conservative opposition voted unanimously for the resolution but the motion split the governing Liberals with nine members of Hepburn's caucus voting against and others leaving the chamber before the vote. Hepburn thought Canada should be doing more to support the war, and helped organize the military districts in Ontario, encouraging men to volunteer when Mackenzie King chose not to introduce conscription
.
, in a by-election in Toronto in 1942; (this, notwithstanding Hepburn's later alliance with the Communist Party of Canada
). In the event, Meighen's unusual source of support did not prove to bring him to success: he lost the by-election. However, King was politically much stronger than Hepburn and federal Liberal supporters as well as those who thought an erratically driven rift between the provincial and federal parties was suicidal called for him to step down.
's next few Provincial leaders.
as Premier of the province while Hepburn remained Provincial Treasurer
leading many to think that Conant was Premier in name only. Senior cabinet ministers such as Provincial Secretary
Harry Nixon
resigned demanding a leadership convention
and due to pressure from both provincial Liberals and the federal wing one was held in May 1943 at which Hepburn finally tendered his resignation as leader (by telegram) and Nixon was elected the new party leader, and was thus appointed as Premier. The Liberals under Nixon were routed soon after in the 1943 Ontario election
, falling to third party status behind the Progressive Conservatives
led by George Drew, and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation led by Ted Jolliffe
.
against the burgeoning CCF. The Liberal caucus unanimously asked Hepburn to resume the party's leadership in 1944.
in a 1945 federal by-election
. Provincially, his earlier, vehement doubts about radicals among auto workers now muted, Hepburn formed a Liberal-Labour
alliance with the Communist Party of Canada
(at the time known as the Labour Progressive Party) for the 1945 Ontario election
, but lost his own seat in the Legislature and retired to his farm in St. Thomas, where he died in 1953.
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
, 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...
, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37.
Born in St. Thomas, Ontario
St. Thomas, Ontario
St. Thomas is a city in southern , Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.-History:...
, Hepburn attended school in Elgin County and hoped to become a lawyer. His educational career ended abruptly, however, when someone threw an apple at visiting dignitary Sir Adam Beck
Adam Beck
Sir Adam Beck was a politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.-Biography:...
knocking his silk top hat off of his head. Hepburn was accused of the deed, denied it, but refused to identify the culprit. Refusing to apologise he walked out of his high school and obtained a job as a bank clerk at the Canadian Bank of Commerce
Canadian Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank cofounded in 1867 by William McMaster. The Canadian Bank of Commerce opened in Toronto with a charter in 1866 that it purchased from the defunct Bank of Canada, which folded in 1858....
where he worked from 1913 to 1917 eventually becoming an accountant at the bank's Winnipeg branch. He briefly served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
before returning to St. Thomas to tend the family's onion farm. In 2008 he had a school named after him only miles away from his family's farm.
Early political career
After the war, Hepburn joined the United Farmers of OntarioUnited Farmers of Ontario
The United Farmers of Ontario was a political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century.- Foundation and rise :...
(UFO) helping to start its branch in Elgin County, but by the mid-1920s he switched to the Liberal Party. In the 1926 election
Canadian federal election, 1926
The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...
, 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...
as a representative of Elgin West, and was overwhelmingly re-elected in the 1930 election
Canadian federal election, 1930
The Canadian federal election of 1930 was held on July 28, 1930 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Canada...
.
Later that year he became leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario. His support of farmers and free trade, and his former membership in the UFO allowed him to attract Harry Nixon
Harry Nixon
Harry Corwin Nixon was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th Premier of Ontario.He was born on a farm near St...
's rump
Rump
-Politics:*Rump cabinet*Rump legislature*Rump organization*Rump Parliament*Rump Senate*Rump state*Rump party- Technology :* Runnable Userspace Meta Programs, software run in userspace that offers kernel functionality ....
of UFO Members of the Legislative Assembly
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
(MLAs) into the Liberal Party (as Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1926 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no formal Liberal-Progressive party, but it was an alliance between two separate parties...
s). This and 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...
led to the defeat the unpopular Conservative premier George Stewart Henry
George Stewart Henry
George Stewart Henry was a farmer, businessman and politician in Ontario, Canada.Born in Township of King, York County, Ontario, the son of William and Louisa Henry, Henry was educated at the public schools of Toronto, Upper Canada College and the University of Toronto where he received a B.A. and...
in the 1934 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1934
The Ontario general election, 1934 was the 19th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 19, 1934, to elect the 90 Members of the 19th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
. His stance against the prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
of alcohol allowed him to break the Liberal Party from the militant prohibitionist stance that had helped reduce it to a rural, Protestant south western Ontario rump in the 1920s.
Premier of Ontario
As premier, Hepburn undertook a number of measures which enhanced his reputation as the practitioner of a highly vigorous style. He closed Chorley Park, the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of OntarioLieutenant Governor of Ontario
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada and resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United...
. Hepburn made a public show of austerity by auctioning off the chauffeur driven limousines used by the previous Conservative cabinet. He also introduced a succession tax thereby increasing government revenues by taxing wealthy estates. He also fired many civil servants. Hepburn cut spending on electric power from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, gave money to mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
industries in northern 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 introduced compulsory milk pasteurization
Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food...
. In so doing, he has been credited with virtually wiping out bovine tuberculosis in the province.
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...
wards of the province in response to public outrage of plans by promoters to exploit the infants by putting them on display at the Chicago World's Fair
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
.
Fight with the CIO
Although in later years Hepburn was to form a LiberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
-Labour
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
alliance with the Communist Party of Canada
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...
, yet as Premier he was opposed to unions and refused to let the CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
form unions in Ontario. On April 8, 1937, the CIO-backed General Motors plant in Oshawa
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
went on strike, demanding 8-hour workdays, a seniority system, and recognition of their CIO-affiliated United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
union. The strikers were also supported by the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
, Canada's left-wing party at the time. Hepburn, at the time professing a deep concern about radicals among auto workers and supported by the owners of the plant and General Motors, organized a volunteer police force to help him put down the strike when Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
refused to send the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
. This force was somewhat derisively known as "Hepburn's Hussars," or the "Sons of Mitches". Cabinet ministers who disagreed with Hepburn over the issue were forced to resign. However, the strike held out, and Hepburn capitulated on April 23, 1937.
Conflict with Mackenzie King
Hepburn remained a bitter opponent of Mackenzie King after the strike, and harshly criticized King's war effort in 1940 after the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
introducing a resolution into the Ontario legislature which was passed 44 to 10, that accused the federal government of mishandling the war effort. The Conservative opposition voted unanimously for the resolution but the motion split the governing Liberals with nine members of Hepburn's caucus voting against and others leaving the chamber before the vote. Hepburn thought Canada should be doing more to support the war, and helped organize the military districts in Ontario, encouraging men to volunteer when Mackenzie King chose not to introduce conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
.
Supports Meighen in by-election
Hepburn supported Mackenzie King's opponent, the arch-Conservative Arthur MeighenArthur Meighen
Arthur Meighen, PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada: from July 10, 1920 to December 29, 1921; and from June 29 to September 25, 1926. He was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding...
, in a by-election in Toronto in 1942; (this, notwithstanding Hepburn's later alliance with the Communist Party of Canada
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...
). In the event, Meighen's unusual source of support did not prove to bring him to success: he lost the by-election. However, King was politically much stronger than Hepburn and federal Liberal supporters as well as those who thought an erratically driven rift between the provincial and federal parties was suicidal called for him to step down.
Resignation
Hepburn ultimately resigned as Premier in October 1942, an event which in different ways continued to cause ripples in the Premierships of OntarioOntario
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....
's next few Provincial leaders.
Fall of the Liberal government
Initially, he remained Liberal leader and appointed an ally, Gordon Daniel ConantGordon Daniel Conant
Gordon Daniel Conant, KC was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and the 12th Premier of Ontario.-Early life:...
as Premier of the province while Hepburn remained Provincial Treasurer
Provincial Treasurer
In Canadian politics the Provincial Treasurer is a senior protfolio in the Executive Council of provincial governments. The position is the provincial equivalent of the Minister of Finance and is responsible for setting the provincial budget. In most provinces the title of the position has changed...
leading many to think that Conant was Premier in name only. Senior cabinet ministers such as Provincial Secretary
Provincial Secretary
The Provincial Secretary was a senior position in the executive councils of British North America's colonial governments, and was retained by the Canadian provincial governments for at least a century after Canadian Confederation was proclaimed in 1867...
Harry Nixon
Harry Nixon
Harry Corwin Nixon was a Canadian politician and briefly the 13th Premier of Ontario.He was born on a farm near St...
resigned demanding a leadership convention
Leadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
and due to pressure from both provincial Liberals and the federal wing one was held in May 1943 at which Hepburn finally tendered his resignation as leader (by telegram) and Nixon was elected the new party leader, and was thus appointed as Premier. The Liberals under Nixon were routed soon after in the 1943 Ontario election
Ontario general election, 1943
The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the 21st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, falling to third party status behind the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
led by George Drew, and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation led by Ted Jolliffe
Ted Jolliffe
Edward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s...
.
Return to Liberal leadership
Hepburn himself was re-elected in his riding as an Independent Liberal while calling for a Liberal-Conservative coalitionCoalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
against the burgeoning CCF. The Liberal caucus unanimously asked Hepburn to resume the party's leadership in 1944.
Still vehement, but different, rhetoric
Now branding Drew's Conservatives as the greatest menace to Canada, he reversed his earlier criticism of Mackenzie King's war effort and campaigned for Liberal candidate General Andrew McNaughtonAndrew McNaughton
General Andrew George Latta McNaughton, CH, CB, CMG, DSO, CD, PC was a Canadian army officer, politician and diplomat.- Early life :...
in a 1945 federal by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. Provincially, his earlier, vehement doubts about radicals among auto workers now muted, Hepburn formed a Liberal-Labour
Liberal-Labour (Canada)
The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade unionists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class candidates on the provincial or federal level were...
alliance with the Communist Party of Canada
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...
(at the time known as the Labour Progressive Party) for the 1945 Ontario election
Ontario general election, 1945
The Ontario general election of 1945 was held on June 4, 1945, to elect the 90 members of the 22nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, but lost his own seat in the Legislature and retired to his farm in St. Thomas, where he died in 1953.