James Garfield Gardiner

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James Garfield Gardiner

James Garfield Gardiner , PC (born November 30, 1883 in Farquhar , Ontario , † January 12, 1962 in Lemberg , Saskatchewan ) was a Canadian politician and farmer . From February 26, 1926 to September 9, 1929 and from July 19, 1934 to November 1, 1935 he was Prime Minister of Saskatchewan Province. He was also chairman of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party from 1926 to 1935 . He then switched to federal politics and sat in the lower house for the Liberal Party of Canada from 1936 to 1958 . For more than 21 years he was Secretary of Agriculture in the governments of William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis Saint-Laurent .

Provincial politics

Gardiner grew up on a farm in southwestern Ontario. In 1901 he moved to Saskatchewan, which was then still part of the Northwest Territories , and built his own farm. He joined the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and was elected to the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly in a 1914 by-election in the Fort Qu'Apelle North constituency. Under Charles Avery Dunning he was Minister for Road Construction from 1922.

After Dunning had switched to federal politics, Gardiner took over the party presidency on 26 February 1926, and was the Deputy Governor appointed the new prime minister. As a result of corruption scandals, the Liberals lost the election in 1929. Although the Liberals had just won the most seats, the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan managed to win over individual independents and the Progressive Party and form a coalition. Gardiner resigned as head of government on September 9, 1929.

As leader of the opposition, Gardiner accused the conservative government of James Anderson of bigotry and suspected it of collaborating with the then influential Ku Klux Klan . Only a few colored people lived in Saskatchewan and the Indians had been almost completely forced into reservations. For this reason, the clan stirred up hatred against immigrants, Catholics and French-Canadians - groups that were mostly addressed by the liberals. After more than four years in the opposition, the Liberals celebrated an overwhelming election victory and won 50 of 55 seats. Gardiner became head of government for the second time on July 19, 1934. As in 1926/27, he also took over the office of finance minister.

Federal politics

Just a year and a half later, Gardiner resigned and on November 1, 1935, handed over his office to William John Patterson . The reason for this was his appointment as Minister of Agriculture by the Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King . Two months later he won a seat in the House of Commons in a by- election . Until 1940 he represented the constituency of Assiniboia , then the constituency of Melville . Gardiner led the Department of Agriculture for more than 21 years, longer than any other Canadian minister.

In 1948 Gardiner ran for chairmanship of the Liberal Party of Canada, but was defeated by Louis Saint-Laurent . This succeeded Kings as Prime Minister of Canada and left Gardiner in his post. In June 1957 he resigned as minister, but remained a member of the lower house. In the general election of 1958 , the Liberals suffered the worst election defeat in their party history; Gardiner also lost his mandate.

The Gardiner Dam , completed in 1967, is named after James Garfield Gardiner. During his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture he had long unsuccessfully campaigned for the construction of this dam on the South Saskatchewan River ; The decision to build was only made after the election was defeated.

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personal data
SURNAME Gardiner, James Garfield
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Farquhar , Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1962
Place of death Lviv , Saskatchewan, Canada