Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is fondly remembered among conservatives and libertarians for her policies of free enterprise and limited government..Thatcher and US president Ronald Reagan are commonly viewed as colleagues who pushed back against the constant expansion of government that had led to stagnant economic growth and high taxes during the 1970s..But there’s another Thatcher that conservative and libertarian western Canadians should revere – Premier Ross Thatcher of Saskatchewan..Although the leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, he was one of the most ideologically conservative Canadian premiers of the twentieth century. During his time in office (1964-1971), Thatcher tried to repair the damage done to Saskatchewan’s economy by 20 years of socialist government, and he fought to prevent the federal Liberal Party’s lurch to the left during the 1960s..Thatcher was a small businessman who owned hardware stores in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon. In his mid-20s, he joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the socialist political party that would become the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. The CCF appealed to Thatcher because of its emphasis on creating jobs through industrial development. He was elected to the Moose Jaw City Council in 1942, and then to Parliament as a CCF MP in 1945. .After ten years in Parliament, realizing that his ideological views were increasingly at odds with socialism, he left the CCF to sit as an independent MP. He then ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate in the 1957 federal election. .Although he lost his seat in Parliament, an event during the 1957 election campaign made him a household name in Saskatchewan. During the campaign, Thatcher publicly criticized the Saskatchewan CCF government’s Crown corporations as failures. Premier Tommy Douglas then challenged Thatcher to a public debate on the subject. It was held on May 20 in the town of Mossbank..This highly anticipated debate was open to the public and also carried on the radio. As Dale Eisler writes in his 1987 book, Rumours of Glory: Saskatchewan & the Thatcher Years,: “Hundreds of people from all over Saskatchewan had travelled to the town. Most expected to see T.C. Douglas, the skilled and cunning orator, verbally destroy Ross Thatcher.”.Those expectations were not met, however. Despite Douglas’s skill and experience, Thatcher was able to match him and effectively explain how the Crown corporations were harming Saskatchewan’s economy by scaring away private investment. As he noted in the debate, “Socialism in Saskatchewan, as far as the Crown corporations are concerned, has been tried and found wanting.”.The Saskatchewan Liberal Party at this time was the main rival of the CCF in that province. Over the years it consistently formed the official opposition, although the provincial Progressive Conservatives and Social Credit would occasionally elect a small number of MLAs. But the Liberals had little hope of ever defeating the CCF – until, that is, the Mossbank debate. Finally, they had found someone who could stand up to Douglas and take him on. As Eisler notes: “The party’s sagging spirits had been suddenly lifted with the emergence of a figure who simply by force of character installed confidence in the ranks. It had made Thatcher a rallying point for anti-CCF sentiment.”.Thatcher easily won the Saskatchewan Liberal leadership in a 1959 convention. He immediately began travelling the province telling audiences: “The Liberal Party of Saskatchewan is at a crossroads. If we dedicate ourselves to the defeat of socialism and everything it stands for, then we have a good chance of bringing to an end the long years of socialist administration in this province.” He then added: “From hard bitter experience I am opposed to socialism…. I firmly believe the Regina CCF government has caused economic stagnation in our province. It is our job to emerge from the dark cloud of CCF government. Canadian socialism was born here. It should be buried here.”.Besides raising money for the Liberal Party within Saskatchewan, Thatcher also traveled to Calgary to appeal for money from the oil patch. As Eisler puts it: “the pitch was always the same. Thatcher was dedicated not only to removing the socialists from power in Saskatchewan and clearing the way for private enterprise, but also to wiping the CCF-NDP from the Canadian political landscape. To do so, the party had to be crushed in Saskatchewan, the homeland for the Canadian socialist movement and Thatcher needed the financial support of the oil industry.” The oilmen liked this message..Having just won the leadership in 1959, Thatcher knew it would be unrealistic to expect his party to beat Tommy Douglas in the 1960 provincial election. Instead, his goal was to build Liberal support, largely by convincing PC and Socred voters only he could defeat the CCF-NDP government. The Liberals were able to increase their percentage of the popular vote and pick up three seats in the 1960 election, but Thatcher’s ultimate goal was to continue building a coalition to win the 1964 election..Between 1960 and 1964 there were three provincial by-elections and Thatcher won them all. He convinced the PCs and Socreds not to run candidates, and in head-to-head contests between the socialist CCF and free enterprise Liberals, the Liberals won. This helped to build Liberal momentum..Then, significantly, the very popular Tommy Douglas resigned from provincial politics to lead the brand-new federal NDP in 1961. This meant that the Saskatchewan CCF-NDP’s biggest electoral asset was gone from the provincial scene. The Saskatchewan CCF-NDP then selected Woodrow Lloyd as their new leader..Thatcher’s eagerness to defeat the CCF in 1964 was intense. As he told a friend during the campaign: “Everyone has a place in this world, and I believe I’ve been chosen by God to get rid of these socialists.”.The outcome of the election was close, but Thatcher pulled it off. Although the Liberals had barely edged their opponents in the popular vote, they won 32 seats to the CCF-NDP’s 26. .The New York Times quoted CCF-NDP leader Woodrow Lloyd as attributing his defeat to “a Goldwater climate” – a reference to Republican presidential nominee (and conservative stalwart) Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. The Times also labeled Thatcher as “a sort of Prairie Goldwater.”.In an immediate effort to cut the size of government, Thatcher made each of his cabinet members sign a pledge to reduce spending in their departments by 10%. And in line with his philosophy, he emphasized free enterprise as the key to Saskatchewan’s future prosperity. .Eisler writes: “The Liberal government’s economic development strategy was uncomplicated and hinged on spreading the message that private investment was again welcome in Saskatchewan. From the outset, Thatcher took it upon himself to spread his free enterprise gospel across the province and, whenever the opportunity arose, across Canada and even around the world.”.Thatcher also tried – but ultimately failed – to bring his free enterprise emphasis to Canada’s federal Liberal Party, as will be seen in Part 2 on Monday..Wagner is a Western Standard columnist
Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is fondly remembered among conservatives and libertarians for her policies of free enterprise and limited government..Thatcher and US president Ronald Reagan are commonly viewed as colleagues who pushed back against the constant expansion of government that had led to stagnant economic growth and high taxes during the 1970s..But there’s another Thatcher that conservative and libertarian western Canadians should revere – Premier Ross Thatcher of Saskatchewan..Although the leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, he was one of the most ideologically conservative Canadian premiers of the twentieth century. During his time in office (1964-1971), Thatcher tried to repair the damage done to Saskatchewan’s economy by 20 years of socialist government, and he fought to prevent the federal Liberal Party’s lurch to the left during the 1960s..Thatcher was a small businessman who owned hardware stores in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon. In his mid-20s, he joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the socialist political party that would become the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. The CCF appealed to Thatcher because of its emphasis on creating jobs through industrial development. He was elected to the Moose Jaw City Council in 1942, and then to Parliament as a CCF MP in 1945. .After ten years in Parliament, realizing that his ideological views were increasingly at odds with socialism, he left the CCF to sit as an independent MP. He then ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate in the 1957 federal election. .Although he lost his seat in Parliament, an event during the 1957 election campaign made him a household name in Saskatchewan. During the campaign, Thatcher publicly criticized the Saskatchewan CCF government’s Crown corporations as failures. Premier Tommy Douglas then challenged Thatcher to a public debate on the subject. It was held on May 20 in the town of Mossbank..This highly anticipated debate was open to the public and also carried on the radio. As Dale Eisler writes in his 1987 book, Rumours of Glory: Saskatchewan & the Thatcher Years,: “Hundreds of people from all over Saskatchewan had travelled to the town. Most expected to see T.C. Douglas, the skilled and cunning orator, verbally destroy Ross Thatcher.”.Those expectations were not met, however. Despite Douglas’s skill and experience, Thatcher was able to match him and effectively explain how the Crown corporations were harming Saskatchewan’s economy by scaring away private investment. As he noted in the debate, “Socialism in Saskatchewan, as far as the Crown corporations are concerned, has been tried and found wanting.”.The Saskatchewan Liberal Party at this time was the main rival of the CCF in that province. Over the years it consistently formed the official opposition, although the provincial Progressive Conservatives and Social Credit would occasionally elect a small number of MLAs. But the Liberals had little hope of ever defeating the CCF – until, that is, the Mossbank debate. Finally, they had found someone who could stand up to Douglas and take him on. As Eisler notes: “The party’s sagging spirits had been suddenly lifted with the emergence of a figure who simply by force of character installed confidence in the ranks. It had made Thatcher a rallying point for anti-CCF sentiment.”.Thatcher easily won the Saskatchewan Liberal leadership in a 1959 convention. He immediately began travelling the province telling audiences: “The Liberal Party of Saskatchewan is at a crossroads. If we dedicate ourselves to the defeat of socialism and everything it stands for, then we have a good chance of bringing to an end the long years of socialist administration in this province.” He then added: “From hard bitter experience I am opposed to socialism…. I firmly believe the Regina CCF government has caused economic stagnation in our province. It is our job to emerge from the dark cloud of CCF government. Canadian socialism was born here. It should be buried here.”.Besides raising money for the Liberal Party within Saskatchewan, Thatcher also traveled to Calgary to appeal for money from the oil patch. As Eisler puts it: “the pitch was always the same. Thatcher was dedicated not only to removing the socialists from power in Saskatchewan and clearing the way for private enterprise, but also to wiping the CCF-NDP from the Canadian political landscape. To do so, the party had to be crushed in Saskatchewan, the homeland for the Canadian socialist movement and Thatcher needed the financial support of the oil industry.” The oilmen liked this message..Having just won the leadership in 1959, Thatcher knew it would be unrealistic to expect his party to beat Tommy Douglas in the 1960 provincial election. Instead, his goal was to build Liberal support, largely by convincing PC and Socred voters only he could defeat the CCF-NDP government. The Liberals were able to increase their percentage of the popular vote and pick up three seats in the 1960 election, but Thatcher’s ultimate goal was to continue building a coalition to win the 1964 election..Between 1960 and 1964 there were three provincial by-elections and Thatcher won them all. He convinced the PCs and Socreds not to run candidates, and in head-to-head contests between the socialist CCF and free enterprise Liberals, the Liberals won. This helped to build Liberal momentum..Then, significantly, the very popular Tommy Douglas resigned from provincial politics to lead the brand-new federal NDP in 1961. This meant that the Saskatchewan CCF-NDP’s biggest electoral asset was gone from the provincial scene. The Saskatchewan CCF-NDP then selected Woodrow Lloyd as their new leader..Thatcher’s eagerness to defeat the CCF in 1964 was intense. As he told a friend during the campaign: “Everyone has a place in this world, and I believe I’ve been chosen by God to get rid of these socialists.”.The outcome of the election was close, but Thatcher pulled it off. Although the Liberals had barely edged their opponents in the popular vote, they won 32 seats to the CCF-NDP’s 26. .The New York Times quoted CCF-NDP leader Woodrow Lloyd as attributing his defeat to “a Goldwater climate” – a reference to Republican presidential nominee (and conservative stalwart) Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. The Times also labeled Thatcher as “a sort of Prairie Goldwater.”.In an immediate effort to cut the size of government, Thatcher made each of his cabinet members sign a pledge to reduce spending in their departments by 10%. And in line with his philosophy, he emphasized free enterprise as the key to Saskatchewan’s future prosperity. .Eisler writes: “The Liberal government’s economic development strategy was uncomplicated and hinged on spreading the message that private investment was again welcome in Saskatchewan. From the outset, Thatcher took it upon himself to spread his free enterprise gospel across the province and, whenever the opportunity arose, across Canada and even around the world.”.Thatcher also tried – but ultimately failed – to bring his free enterprise emphasis to Canada’s federal Liberal Party, as will be seen in Part 2 on Monday..Wagner is a Western Standard columnist
