Social Credit Party of Alberta
| Social Credit Party of Alberta | |
|---|---|
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| Party leader | Len Skowronski |
| founding | 1935 |
| Headquarters | Calgary |
| Alignment |
Conservatism , Populism , Social Credit , Religious Rights |
| Website | www.socialcredit.com |
The Social Credit Party of Alberta (French Parti Crédit social de l'Alberta ), whose members are known as Socreds , is a conservative party in the Canadian province of Alberta . It emerged from the social credit movement and was based on Christian conservative social values. The Canadian Social Credit Movement began in Alberta in response to the social problems of the Great Depression . From the mid-1930s, the Socreds provided the provincial government for almost four decades. Subsequently, however, they lost a lot of their importance and have not been represented in the provincial parliament since 1982.
history
Since Alberta particularly from the effects of the global economic crisis had affected, which began Baptist preacher William Aberhart for Social Credit to care. He spread his views on radio programs, adding numerous Christian fundamentalist elements to the theories of Clifford Hugh Douglas . Groups formed throughout the province that formed the Social Credit League of Alberta . From 1932 Aberhart tried to convince the ruling United Farmers of Alberta to include Social Credit in their party program, but met with rejection. He then founded the Social Credit Party of Alberta in 1935.
The United Farmers under Prime Minister Richard Gavin Reid increasingly lost support in the predominantly rural population due to the ongoing economic problems. In the August 1935 elections, the Socreds won a completely unexpected landslide victory, gaining 54% of the vote straight away and winning 56 of 63 seats in the Alberta Legislative Assembly . The Socreds were so surprised by their success that they did not initially have a suitable prime minister. Aberhart, who was considered the undisputed leader of the party, allowed himself to be persuaded to accept this office, even though he had not run for office.
Initially, the party tried to implement its radical populist ideas in accordance with the theories of Social Credit, e.g. B. by issuing certificates of property to the residents of Alberta (ridiculed by political opponents as "strange money"). On two occasions, Lieutenant Governor John Bowen refused to ratify the relevant bills and even threatened to overthrow the government. Eventually, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Privy Council Judiciary Committee declared the laws unconstitutional as banking and monetary policy fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The plan to control all banks in the province had failed, but the public-law financial institution ATB Financial , founded in 1938, still exists today.
William Aberhart died in 1943, and Ernest Manning became the new head of government . Under Manning, the party followed a more pragmatic course: it abandoned the social credit theories and turned into one of the most conservative parties in Canada. Manning tried to push anti-Semitism , which had been an element of Christian populist rhetoric for years, out of the party. Various strict laws remained in place. It was like that B. forbidden to serve alcohol on planes that were in the airspace of the province. Under Manning, Alberta was almost a one-party state, with the Socreds getting more than 50% of the vote in seven consecutive elections and winning almost all seats.
After Manning, who resigned in 1968, Harry Strom followed . The Socreds, who had their roots in the provincial rural areas, reacted little to the growing importance of the rapidly growing cities of Calgary and Edmonton . The urban progressive conservatives increasingly challenged the Social Credit Party for their voters. In the 1971 elections, the Socreds were only the second strongest party and, for the first time, did not constitute the government at all.
The party was not in the least prepared for the role of the opposition and a disintegration began that could no longer be stopped. In 1975 and 1979 the Socreds only won four seats, and have not been represented in parliament since 1982. In the second half of the 1990s, there seemed to be a short-term resurgence, when the party hit just under 7% in the 1997 elections. But then the share of the vote fell again and the party achieved the worst result in its history in 2012 with 0.02%.
Election results
Results of the Social Credit Party of Alberta in the Legislative Assembly Elections:
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Party leader
| Surname | Chair | premier |
|---|---|---|
| William Aberhart | 1935-1943 | 1935-1943 |
| Ernest Manning | 1943-1968 | 1943-1968 |
| Harry Strom | 1968-1972 | 1968-1971 |
| Werner Schmidt | 1973-1975 | |
| Robert Curtis Clark | 1975-1980 | |
| Rod Sykes | 1980-1982 | |
| Ray Neilson | 1984 | |
| Martin Hattersley | 1985-1988 | |
| Harvey Yull | 1988-1990 | |
| Robert Alford | 1990-1992 | |
| Randy Thorsteinson | 1993-1999 | |
| James Albers | 1999-2001 | |
| Lavern Ahlstrom | 2001-2007 | |
| Len Skowronski | since 2007 |
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Elections in Alberta - Elections Alberta