William John Patterson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William John Patterson

William John Patterson (born May 13, 1886 in Grenfell , Saskatchewan , † June 10, 1976 in Regina , Saskatchewan) was a Canadian politician . He was Prime Minister of Saskatchewan Province from November 1, 1935 to July 10, 1944. He was also chairman of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party from 1935 to 1946 . From 1951 to 1958 he served as Lieutenant Governor .

biography

The son of a foreman of the Canadian Pacific Railway was born in Grenfell, which at that time still belonged to the Northwest Territories . After graduating from high school at the age of 15, Patterson first worked for Dominion Bank and later for the Saskatchewan Province Telephone Company. In 1909 he joined the Freemasons . As a cavalry officer, Patterson was sent to Europe in 1916 during the First World War . In September 1918 he was wounded in France . After the war ended, he returned to Saskatchewan and opened an office for insurance and financial services.

In 1921 Patterson ran successfully for a seat in the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly in the Pipestone constituency . From 1926 to 1929 he was a member of the cabinet of James Garfield Gardiner and was Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Telephones and Telegraphs. From 1934 he represented the constituency of Cannigton and was again Treasury Secretary. When Gardiner resigned to become Canada's Agriculture Minister, Patterson took over as Prime Minister on November 1, 1935.

Patterson was confronted with the consequences of the Great Depression. His government was able to avert the national bankruptcy threatened by the complete collapse of agriculture and tried to alleviate the greatest misery with social programs. It introduced a consumption tax to support education, allowed workers to form trade unions, and improved provisions on labor law. Patterson himself was popular with the population, but his administration was generally considered to be extremely uninspired and discouraged. In the June 1944 elections, the Liberals' share of the vote fell by over ten percent. Patterson stayed in office until July 10, 1944, handing it over to Tommy Douglas of the Socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation .

Patterson remained chairman of the Liberals until 1946 and a member of the legislative assembly until 1949. Then he was a member of the Federal Transport Commission. From June 25, 1951 to February 3, 1958, he was Lieutenant Governor and thus representative of the Queen of Canada in his province. Then he withdrew from the public.

literature

  • Gordon L. Barnhart (Ed.): Saskatchewan Premiers of the Twentieth Century (= Trade Books based in Scholarship $ TBS. Vol. 8). Canadian Plains Research Center - University of Regina, Regina 2004, ISBN 0-88977-164-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A few famous freemason , Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
personal data
SURNAME Patterson, William John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Grenfell , Saskatchewan
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 1976
Place of death Regina , Saskatchewan