As mentioned in Part 1, Liberal premier Ross Thatcher of Saskatchewan was a champion of free enterprise and a staunch opponent of socialism. His career is detailed in Dale Eisler’s 1987 book, Rumours of Glory: Saskatchewan & the Thatcher Years. .Not surprisingly, Thatcher’s conservative ideology put him at odds with the federal Liberal Party, which had been lurching to the left under Prime Minister Lester Pearson. According to Eisler, Pearson disliked Thatcher, “who he saw as a brash, uncompromising right-wing ideologue.”.During Pearson’s first minority government (1963-1965), the finance minister was noted left-wing Liberal MP Walter Gordon of Toronto. Thatcher strongly disliked Gordon and referred to him as “the most dangerous socialist in Canada.” Gordon responded that, “Mr. Thatcher is my idea of a prototype fascist.”.The federal Liberal Party was scheduled to hold a major national policy conference in October 1966. Eisler writes: “Fearing a shift to the left at the upcoming policy convention, Thatcher decided he needed to forge a western bloc within the party, a united voice that would carry more weight in the policy debate at the national level. Therefore, he took it upon himself to organize a policy meeting of western Liberals in August 1966, two months before the national policy conference.”.The key participants at Thatcher’s meeting were the leaders of the provincial Liberal parties of the four Western provinces. All four agreed on the need for freer trade with the US, the benefit of greater foreign investment, and the rejection of Walter Gordon’s philosophy of economic nationalism. As Thatcher put it, he wanted this conference to “shout from the rooftops that Western Liberals endorse the private enterprise system.”.The federal Liberal government was becoming increasingly unpopular in Saskatchewan during the 1960s due to its single-minded focus on Central Canada. With a provincial election approaching in 1967, the Saskatchewan Liberals wanted to distance themselves from their federal counterparts. Therefore, they changed their party colours from red and white to green and white to emphasize their separate identity..During Thatcher’s first term, Saskatchewan’s economy did rather well. In 1966, Saskatchewan was classified as a “have” province for the purposes of equalization, a sign of economic success. Thus, the CCF-NDP was not able to successfully criticize Thatcher on economic issues during the 1967 election campaign. Instead, it attacked him as an alleged “fascist.”.In one edition of the Saskatchewan NDP weekly newspaper The Commonwealth, Eisler writes, “The headline was ‘Thatcher’s Rule by Fear,’ with an overline that stated ‘This Is Fascism.’” The article claimed “thousands of citizens” were afraid of publicly opposing Thatcher for fear of reprisal from the government..This sort of nonsense was ineffective and Thatcher’s share of the popular vote increased as his party gained three seats in the legislature. .However, immediately after the election, Thatcher unexpectedly raised some taxes and put “deterrent fees” on medical services to reduce healthcare costs. Many of his own Liberal MLAs were upset by the tax increases, and the NDP galvanized opposition to the deterrent fees as a “tax on the sick.” These factors, together with Thatcher’s increasingly abrasive personality, began to erode his support..To make matters worse, a huge oversupply of wheat had developed by 1969, leading to a significant drop in prices. Western farmers were hurting bad. And with the fall of agricultural prices around the world, the demand for Saskatchewan’s potash declined sharply, causing even more trouble for the province’s economy..It was during this time – July 1969 – when the new Liberal prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, confronted a crowd of angry farmers in Regina and asked, “Why should I sell your wheat?” Trudeau’s thoughtless comment hurt the Liberal brand in Saskatchewan even more..With the deck stacked against him, Thatcher called an election for June 23, 1971. Not surprisingly, the NDP with a young new leader, Allan Blakeney, beat the Liberals handily..According to Eisler, three main factors led to Thatcher’s defeat. One was his own abrasive personality and public profile. Another was his government’s policies. More importantly, though, was the unpopularity of the federal Liberal government..By 1971, Trudeau’s Liberal government was deeply unpopular in Saskatchewan. Although Thatcher tried to distance himself from the Trudeau Liberals, people weren’t buying it. As NDP leader Allan Blakeney said repeatedly: “A Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal.” Thatcher did not like Trudeau or his leftist policies, yet Trudeau’s unpopularity helped take him down..A month after losing the election Thatcher died, apparently the result of complications from severe diabetes..According to Eisler, though, Thatcher had a long-term impact on Saskatchewan politics. It was Thatcher who emphasized the only way to keep the CCF-NDP out of power was to create a free enterprise political coalition. As long as the free enterprise vote was split, the socialists would win. Eisler says this process culminated in the 1982 landslide victory of Grant Devine’s PCs. As he put it: “The coalition of anti-NDP voters Thatcher had sought had finally blossomed under the Tories.”.In short, Thatcher’s “impact on Saskatchewan politics was powerful and enduring because he proved there could be a private enterprise alternative to the NDP and that a coalition of voters existed that, if mobilized, could take power away from the NDP.” The Saskatchewan Party fills this role today..During the 1960s, there was a leftward shift in North American politics. In the U.S., Democratic president Lyndon Johnson launched his Great Society program to drastically expand the size and role of the federal government. In Canada, Liberal prime ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau also expanded the size and role of the federal government. .By contrast, during the same period, Saskatchewan premier Ross Thatcher was trying to scale back government in his province and to fight for a greater emphasis on free enterprise. He deserves to be remembered and held in esteem by conservatives and libertarians in Western Canada..Wagner is a Western Standard columnist
As mentioned in Part 1, Liberal premier Ross Thatcher of Saskatchewan was a champion of free enterprise and a staunch opponent of socialism. His career is detailed in Dale Eisler’s 1987 book, Rumours of Glory: Saskatchewan & the Thatcher Years. .Not surprisingly, Thatcher’s conservative ideology put him at odds with the federal Liberal Party, which had been lurching to the left under Prime Minister Lester Pearson. According to Eisler, Pearson disliked Thatcher, “who he saw as a brash, uncompromising right-wing ideologue.”.During Pearson’s first minority government (1963-1965), the finance minister was noted left-wing Liberal MP Walter Gordon of Toronto. Thatcher strongly disliked Gordon and referred to him as “the most dangerous socialist in Canada.” Gordon responded that, “Mr. Thatcher is my idea of a prototype fascist.”.The federal Liberal Party was scheduled to hold a major national policy conference in October 1966. Eisler writes: “Fearing a shift to the left at the upcoming policy convention, Thatcher decided he needed to forge a western bloc within the party, a united voice that would carry more weight in the policy debate at the national level. Therefore, he took it upon himself to organize a policy meeting of western Liberals in August 1966, two months before the national policy conference.”.The key participants at Thatcher’s meeting were the leaders of the provincial Liberal parties of the four Western provinces. All four agreed on the need for freer trade with the US, the benefit of greater foreign investment, and the rejection of Walter Gordon’s philosophy of economic nationalism. As Thatcher put it, he wanted this conference to “shout from the rooftops that Western Liberals endorse the private enterprise system.”.The federal Liberal government was becoming increasingly unpopular in Saskatchewan during the 1960s due to its single-minded focus on Central Canada. With a provincial election approaching in 1967, the Saskatchewan Liberals wanted to distance themselves from their federal counterparts. Therefore, they changed their party colours from red and white to green and white to emphasize their separate identity..During Thatcher’s first term, Saskatchewan’s economy did rather well. In 1966, Saskatchewan was classified as a “have” province for the purposes of equalization, a sign of economic success. Thus, the CCF-NDP was not able to successfully criticize Thatcher on economic issues during the 1967 election campaign. Instead, it attacked him as an alleged “fascist.”.In one edition of the Saskatchewan NDP weekly newspaper The Commonwealth, Eisler writes, “The headline was ‘Thatcher’s Rule by Fear,’ with an overline that stated ‘This Is Fascism.’” The article claimed “thousands of citizens” were afraid of publicly opposing Thatcher for fear of reprisal from the government..This sort of nonsense was ineffective and Thatcher’s share of the popular vote increased as his party gained three seats in the legislature. .However, immediately after the election, Thatcher unexpectedly raised some taxes and put “deterrent fees” on medical services to reduce healthcare costs. Many of his own Liberal MLAs were upset by the tax increases, and the NDP galvanized opposition to the deterrent fees as a “tax on the sick.” These factors, together with Thatcher’s increasingly abrasive personality, began to erode his support..To make matters worse, a huge oversupply of wheat had developed by 1969, leading to a significant drop in prices. Western farmers were hurting bad. And with the fall of agricultural prices around the world, the demand for Saskatchewan’s potash declined sharply, causing even more trouble for the province’s economy..It was during this time – July 1969 – when the new Liberal prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, confronted a crowd of angry farmers in Regina and asked, “Why should I sell your wheat?” Trudeau’s thoughtless comment hurt the Liberal brand in Saskatchewan even more..With the deck stacked against him, Thatcher called an election for June 23, 1971. Not surprisingly, the NDP with a young new leader, Allan Blakeney, beat the Liberals handily..According to Eisler, three main factors led to Thatcher’s defeat. One was his own abrasive personality and public profile. Another was his government’s policies. More importantly, though, was the unpopularity of the federal Liberal government..By 1971, Trudeau’s Liberal government was deeply unpopular in Saskatchewan. Although Thatcher tried to distance himself from the Trudeau Liberals, people weren’t buying it. As NDP leader Allan Blakeney said repeatedly: “A Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal.” Thatcher did not like Trudeau or his leftist policies, yet Trudeau’s unpopularity helped take him down..A month after losing the election Thatcher died, apparently the result of complications from severe diabetes..According to Eisler, though, Thatcher had a long-term impact on Saskatchewan politics. It was Thatcher who emphasized the only way to keep the CCF-NDP out of power was to create a free enterprise political coalition. As long as the free enterprise vote was split, the socialists would win. Eisler says this process culminated in the 1982 landslide victory of Grant Devine’s PCs. As he put it: “The coalition of anti-NDP voters Thatcher had sought had finally blossomed under the Tories.”.In short, Thatcher’s “impact on Saskatchewan politics was powerful and enduring because he proved there could be a private enterprise alternative to the NDP and that a coalition of voters existed that, if mobilized, could take power away from the NDP.” The Saskatchewan Party fills this role today..During the 1960s, there was a leftward shift in North American politics. In the U.S., Democratic president Lyndon Johnson launched his Great Society program to drastically expand the size and role of the federal government. In Canada, Liberal prime ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau also expanded the size and role of the federal government. .By contrast, during the same period, Saskatchewan premier Ross Thatcher was trying to scale back government in his province and to fight for a greater emphasis on free enterprise. He deserves to be remembered and held in esteem by conservatives and libertarians in Western Canada..Wagner is a Western Standard columnist
