Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, 1919

Liberal leadership election, 1919
Date	August 7, 1919
Convention	Howick Hall, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Resigning leader	Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Won by	William Lyon Mackenzie King
Ballots	5
Candidates	4
	Liberal leadership elections ; 1919 · 1948 · 1958 · 1968 · 1980 · 1984 · 1990 · 2003 · 2006 · 2009 · 2013

Last updated April 17, 2019

The 1919 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was the first leadership convention held by a federal political party in Canada. It was originally called by the Liberal leader, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, as a national policy convention with the intention of reinvigorating the Liberal Party after eight years of being in opposition.^[1] The convention was also intended to re-unite the party, which had split as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917. The party had divided into Laurier Liberals, who remained in opposition, and a Liberal–Unionist faction which joined the wartime Union government of Sir Robert Borden in support of conscription. Laurier's death on February 17, 1919 resulted in the meeting being reconfigured as a leadership convention. Previous party leaders in Canada had been chosen by the parliamentary caucus or the outgoing leader. However, the Liberal caucus no longer felt that it was representative of Canada's linguistic and religious diversity and that allowing the entire party to select the leader would result in a more representative choice.^[2]

The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest and longest-serving governing political party in Canada. The Liberals form the current government, elected in 2015. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century—more than any other party in a developed country—and as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".

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.

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Candidates

William Lyon Mackenzie King , 44, was the former Minister of Labour (1909-1911) who had served as Member of Parliament for Waterloo North from 1908 until his defeat in 1911.
William Stevens Fielding , 70, the MP for Shelburne and Queen's was a former Minister of Finance (1896-1911) and Premier of Nova Scotia (1884-1896).
George Perry Graham , 60, the former MP for Renfrew South
Daniel Duncan McKenzie , 60, the Liberal Party's interim leader since Laurier's death and the MP for North Cape Breton and Victoria.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, also commonly known as Mackenzie King, was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth prime minister of Canada in 1921–1926, 1926–1930 and 1935–1948. He is best known for his leadership of Canada throughout the Second World War (1939–1945) when he mobilized Canadian money, supplies and volunteers to support Britain while boosting the economy and maintaining morale on the home front. A Liberal with 21 years and 154 days in office, he was the longest-serving prime minister in Canadian history. Trained in law and social work, he was keenly interested in the human condition, and played a major role in laying the foundations of the Canadian welfare state.

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Waterloo North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which entitled each of north and south ridings of the County of Waterloo to elect one Member of Parliament.

There was also an attempt to draft Saskatchewan Premier William Melville Martin, a former Liberal MP, but he declined to run.^[2]

In elections in the United States, political drafts are used to encourage or pressure a certain person to enter a political race, by demonstrating a significant groundswell of support for the candidate. A write-in campaign may also be considered a draft campaign.

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King had run as a Laurier Liberal in the 1917 federal election but was defeated. Fielding, who had long been seen as Laurier's natural successor, had opposed Laurier's stand on conscription and had returned to the House of Commons in 1917 as a Liberal–Unionist MP supporting the Borden government but declining the offer of a cabinet position.^[1] Graham had sat out of the 1917 election and McKenzie had run and kept his seat as a Laurier Liberal.

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Liberal–Unionists were supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada who, as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917 rejected Sir Wilfrid Laurier's leadership and supported the coalition Unionist government of Sir Robert Borden.

Convention

Voting delegates were made up of Senators, MPs, defeated candidates, premiers and provincial party leaders, presidents of provincial Liberal associations, and three delegates from each riding. Nominations were accepted in writing until the first ballot began at 3:45 pm. King lead Fielding on the first and second ballots. Graham and McKenzie withdrew in quick succession leading to the cancellation of the third and fourth ballots, respectively, which had already been underway when the successive withdrawals occurred. On the final ballot King defeated Fielding by 38 votes.^[2]

King was supported by labour elements, Quebec delegates, and the left-wing of the party. Fielding, who openly opposed the radical platform adopted by the convention, threatened to seek support from the parliamentary caucus for rejection of the platform. He was opposed by many Quebec delegates as well as delegates from his home province of Nova Scotia due to his previous stance on conscription and was supported by the right wing of the party, many western Canadian delegates, and the business establishment in Montreal.^[1]

Results

Delegate support by ballot
Candidate		1st ballot		2nd ballot		5th ballot
Candidate		Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%	Votes cast	%
	KING, William Lyon Mackenzie	344	36.3%	411	43.8%	476	52.1%
	FIELDING, William Stevens	297	31.3%	344	36.6%	438	47.9%
	GRAHAM, George Perry	153	16.2%	124	13.2%	Withdrew
	MCKENZIE, Daniel Duncan	153	16.2%	60	6.4%	Withdrew
Total		947	100.0%	939	100.0%	914	100.0%

^[3]

Graham withdrew while voting for the third ballot was underway. McKenzie withdrew while voting for the fourth ballot was in process. Votes were not counted for either one, and the convention proceeded directly to the fifth ballot.^[3]

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References

1 2 3 "FIELDING, WILLIAM STEVENS". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
1 2 3 "1919 LIBERAL CONVENTION". CPAC. Cable Public Affairs Channel. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
1 2 "LIberal Party of Canada: Leadership Conventions". Parliament of Canada. Library of Parliament.

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[field-1] 1 2 3 "FIELDING, WILLIAM STEVENS". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

[cpac-2] 1 2 3 "1919 LIBERAL CONVENTION". CPAC. Cable Public Affairs Channel. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

[poc-3] 1 2 "LIberal Party of Canada: Leadership Conventions". Parliament of Canada. Library of Parliament.