R. B. Bennett
West Calgary | |
---|---|
In office November 4, 1898 – 1905 | |
Preceded by | Oswald Critchley |
Succeeded by | District abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Richard Bedford Bennett July 3, 1870 Conservative |
Education | Dalhousie University (LL.B., 1893) |
Profession | Lawyer |
Signature | |
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett,
Bennett was born in
Bennett became prime minister after the
Bennett suffered a landslide defeat in the 1935 election, with King returning to power. Bennett remained leader of the Conservative Party until 1938, when he retired to England. He was created Viscount Bennett, the only Canadian prime minister to be honoured with elevation to the peerage. Bennett is ranked as a below-average prime minister among historians and the public.
Early life (1870–1890)
Bennett was born on July 3, 1870, when his mother, Henrietta Stiles, was visiting her parents' home in
The Bennetts had previously been a relatively prosperous family, operating a shipyard in Hopewell Cape, but the change to steam-powered vessels in the mid-19th century meant the gradual winding down of their business. However, the household was a literate one, subscribing to three newspapers. One of the largest and last ships launched by the Bennett shipyard (in 1869) was the Sir
Educated in the local school, Bennett was a very good student but something of a loner. In addition to his
University, early legal career (1890–1897)
Bennett enrolled at
Bennett was then a partner in the
Political, law, and business success (1897–1911)
Despite his election to the Chatham Town Council, Bennett's days in the town were numbered. In 1897, he moved to
Bennett was elected to the
In 1905, when
In 1908 Bennett was one of five people appointed to the first Library Board for the city of Calgary and was instrumental in establishing the
Bennett's corporate law firm included notable clients such as the Canadian Pacific Railway and Hudson's Bay Company. He worked with his childhood friend, Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, on many successful ventures, including stock purchases, land speculation, and the buying and merging of small companies. Before he was 40, Bennett was a multi-millionaire who lived in the Calgary Fairmont Palliser Hotel. Though a lifelong bachelor, he dated women. In terms of personality, Bennett was accused of arrogance and of having a volatile temper.[1][10] Bennett's wealth helped him become a philanthropist; he donated to schools, hospitals, charities, and individuals in need.[7] He became richer when he started gaining control of the match company, E. B. Eddy Company, between 1906 and 1918. His growing control of the company occurred due to his longtime friendship with Jennie Grahl Hunter Eddy, who trusted Bennett with the company after her husband, Ezra Butler Eddy, died in 1906. By 1926, Bennett gained full control of the company.[1][11] Bennett was one of the richest Canadians at that time. He helped put many poor, struggling young men through university.[12]
Early federal political career (1911–1917)
Bennett was elected to the
At age 44, Bennett tried to enlist in the Canadian military once
While Bennett supported
Out of politics (1917–1925)
In February 1918, Borden appointed Alberta Liberal William Harmer to the Senate to satisfy the Unionist coalition agreements. Bennett was reportedly furious at this move, believing that Borden broke a promise to appoint him to the Senate. Bennett wrote Borden a resentful 20-page letter. Borden never replied.[1]
Borden's successor,
Bennett developed an extensive legal practice in Calgary. In 1922, he started the partnership Bennett, Hannah & Sanford, which would eventually become
Political return and leader of the Official Opposition (1925–1930)
After Meighen, who was attempting to become prime minister again, offered Bennett to be minister of justice, Bennett ran for and won the seat of Calgary West in the
In the election, the Liberals decisively won. In Meighen's short-lived government, Bennett served as minister of finance along with numerous acting portfolios. After this defeat, Meighen stepped down as Tory leader, triggering a leadership convention scheduled for October 1927. Bennett put himself forward as a candidate, but had little expectation of winning, believing along with most observers that the convention would either vote to reinstate Meighen, or confirm interim leader Hugh Guthrie as his permanent successor. In the event, Meighen lacked the support to attempt a comeback, while Guthrie's chances were ruined by a poorly-received speech that alienated the Quebec delegates, allowing Bennett to emerge as a compromise candidate and win the leadership on the second ballot. In his acceptance speech, Bennett talked about how he became rich through hard work. Upon being elected leader, Bennett resigned his company directorships.[1]
When Bennett became leader, the Conservative Party had no money. The party could not rely on support from newspapers as there were only 11 dailies considered Conservative. By February 1930, 27 full-time employees were using modern office equipment to spread the Conservative message across provinces. Bennett and senior party members donated $2,500 a month each to fund this enterprise and some provincial enterprises. By May 1930, Bennett had personally donated $500,000 to the party; one-fifth of that went to Quebec, where the Conservatives had been wiped out for the past four elections due to them imposing conscription in 1917.[1]
As Opposition leader, Bennett faced off against Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in Commons debates, and took some time to acquire enough experience to hold his own with King. In 1930, King blundered badly when he made overly partisan statements in response to criticism over his handling of the economic downturn, which was hitting Canada very hard. King's worst error was in stating that he "would not give Tory provincial governments a five-cent piece!" This serious mistake, which drew wide press coverage, gave Bennett his needed opening to attack King, which he did successfully in that year's election campaign.[1][16] On election day, July 28, Bennett led the Conservatives to a majority government. Although he was the first prime minister representing a constituency in Alberta, his party only won four of the province's sixteen seats. The Conservatives also had their best result in Quebec since the 1911 federal election, going from 4 to 24 MPs.[1]
Prime Minister (1930–1935)
Bennett appointed himself as both
Confronting the depression
Bennett had the misfortune of taking office during the
The Conservative Party's pro-business and pro-banking inclinations provided little relief to the millions of increasingly desperate and agitated unemployed. Despite the economic crisis, "
Trade with Britain
At the
Bennett hosted the 1932 Imperial Economic Conference in Ottawa; this was the first time Canada had hosted the meetings. It was attended by the leaders of the independent dominions of the British Empire (which later became the Commonwealth of Nations).[12] On July 21, when the conference opened, Bennett gave his opening speech that suggested that Britain might have free entry into Canada for any products that would "not injuriously affect Canadian enterprise." The conference did not result in an imperial preference free trade agreement, but did result in bilateral treaties. The bilateral treaty between Canada and Britain saw Canadian wheat, apples, and other natural products get British preferences while the British got Canadian preferences for certain metal products and textiles not made in Canada; Canada benefited from the treaty more than Britain and in a few years, Canadian exports to Britain were up 60 percent while British exports to Canada were up 5 percent.[1]
Anti-communism
A nickname that would stick with Bennett for the remainder of his political career, "Iron Heel Bennett",[18][19] came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded to Jack London's socialist novel:
What do they offer you in exchange for the present order? Socialism, Communism, dictatorship. They are sowing the seeds of unrest everywhere. Right in this city such propaganda is being carried on and in the little out of the way places as well. And we know that throughout Canada this propaganda is being put forward by organizations from foreign lands that seek to destroy our institutions. And we ask that every man and woman put the iron heel of ruthlessness against a thing of that kind.[20]
Reacting to fears of communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversial Section 98 of the Criminal Code. Enacted in the aftermath of the Winnipeg general strike, Section 98 dispensed with the presumption of innocence in outlawing potential threats to the state: specifically, anyone belonging to an organization that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government. Even if the accused had never committed an act of violence or personally supported such an action, they could be incarcerated merely for attending meetings of such an organization, publicly speaking in its defence, or distributing its literature.[21][22] Despite the broad power authorized under section 98, it targeted specifically the Communist Party of Canada. Eight of the top party leaders, including Tim Buck, were arrested on 11 August 1931 and convicted under section 98.[23]
Labour policy and relief camps
By 1933, unemployment was at 27 percent and over 1.5 million Canadians were dependent on direct relief. In 1934, Bennett's government passed the Public Works Construction Act. This launched a federal building program worth $40 million and aimed at generating employment opportunities. In 1935, another public works bill was passed; the bill provided another $18 million for construction projects.[1] Bennett's government created labour camps for unemployed single men; at the camps, they lived in bunkhouses and were paid 20 cents a day in return for a 44-hour week of toil.[24]
Having survived Section 98, and benefiting from the public sympathy wrought by persecution, Communist Party members set out to organize workers in the relief camps set up by the Unemployment and Farm Relief Act. Camp workers laboured on a variety of infrastructure projects, including such things as municipal airports, roads, and park facilities, along with a number of other make-work schemes. Conditions in the camps were poor, not only because of the low pay, but also the lack of recreational facilities, isolation from family and friends, poor quality food, and the use of military discipline. Communists thus had ample grounds on which to organize camp workers, although the workers were there of their own volition.[25] The Relief Camp Workers' Union was formed and affiliated with the Workers' Unity League, the trade union umbrella of the Communist Party. Camp workers in BC struck on 4 April 1935, and, after two months of protesting in Vancouver, began the On-to-Ottawa Trek to bring their grievances to Bennett's doorstep. The prime minister and his minister of justice, Hugh Guthrie, treated the trek as an attempted insurrection, and ordered it to be stopped. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) read the Riot Act to a crowd of 3,000 strikers and their supporters in Regina on 1 July 1935, resulting in two deaths and dozens of injured.[1]
Agricultural policy
In 1934, Bennett's government passed the Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act to make farm loans easier to acquire[7] and allow families to remain on their farms rather than lose them to foreclosure. That same year, his government passed the Natural Products Marketing Act; in a bid to obtain better prices, a federal board with powers to arrange more orderly marketing was established.[1][26] In 1935, Bennett's government passed the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act which established an enterprise that would eventually teach 100,000 farmers how to recover southern Saskatchewan from the Dust Bowl.[1]
In 1935, through the Canadian Wheat Board Act, Bennett's government established the Canadian Wheat Board to market the wheat crop[1] and to ensure an efficient sale of grain under difficult conditions.[27] The act required Western Canadian farmers to sell all wheat and barley produced for human consumption to the Wheat Board.[28]
Other initiatives
In 1932, Bennett's government launched the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC) that regulated radio broadcasting to promote more Canadian content; the commission also established a publicly-owned national radio network that told Canadian stories to Canadians. In 1936, it became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).[1][7][26]
Chartered banks in Canada controlled interest rates, the value of the Canadian dollar in the global market, and the amount of money in circulation; they also printed their own Canadian currency. In 1933, Bennett's government created the Royal Commission on Banking and Currency; the commission would result in the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1935 through the 1934 Bank of Canada Act, despite opposition from the chartered banks. The bank gained the powers from the chartered banks and gained the legal mandate to control Canada's monetary policy without interference from the federal government.[1][7]
Bennett's New Deal
In January 1934, Bennett told the provinces that they were "wasteful and extravagant", and even told Quebec and Ontario that they were wealthy enough to manage their own problems.
In one of his addresses to the nation, Bennett said:
In the last five years great changes have taken place in the world ... The old order is gone. We are living in conditions that are new and strange to us. Canada on the dole is like a young and vigorous man in the poorhouse ... If you believe that things should be left as they are, you and I hold contrary and irreconcilable views. I am for reform. And in my mind, reform means government intervention. It means government control and regulation. It means the end of laissez-faire.[30]
Some of the measures were alleged to have encroached on provincial jurisdictions laid out in section 92 of the
Internal divisions and defeat
Bennett's conversion from small government to big government was seen as too little too late, and he faced criticism that his reforms either went too far, or did not go far enough, including from his minister of trade and commerce, H. H. Stevens, who bolted the government to form the Reconstruction Party of Canada.[1] By 1934, Bennett was facing major dissent from Conservative quarters and the public.[7] Car owners, for example, who could no longer afford gasoline, had horses pull their vehicles, which they named "Bennett buggies".[32] To make matters worse, Bennett suffered a heart attack in March 1935.[7]
The beneficiary of the overwhelming opposition during Bennett's tenure was the Liberal Party. The Tories were decimated in the October 1935 general election, winning only 40 seats to 173 for Mackenzie King's Liberals. At the time, this was the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level. The Reconstruction Party won 8.7% of the popular vote as a result of gaining support from disgruntled Conservatives. The Tories would not form a majority government again in Canada until 1958. King's government soon implemented its own moderate reforms, including the repeal of relief camps,[33] a reciprocal trade agreement with the United States,[34] and the repeal of Section 98.[35] Ultimately, Canada pulled out of the depression as a result of government-funded jobs associated with the preparation for and onset of the Second World War.[12]
Retirement, House of Lords, and death (1935–1947)
Bennett led the Conservative Party and Opposition for the next three years, until he was succeeded by his former Cabinet minister Robert James Manion in the July 1938 leadership convention. Bennett moved to England on January 28, 1939, and resigned his Calgary West seat that same day.[1] He purchased a 94-acre property in Surrey called Juniper Hill, an 18th-century (c. 1780) mansion[36] built for David Jenkinson[37] and located across from Juniper Hall on Downs Road); this was the first home Bennett owned as he had only lived in the Calgary Palliser Hotel and the Château Laurier Hotel in Ottawa in his adult life.[7]
On June 12, 1941, Bennett became the first and only former Canadian prime minister to be elevated to the peerage as Viscount Bennett, of Mickleham in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in the Dominion of Canada.[38][39] The honour, conferred by British PM Winston Churchill, was in recognition for Bennett's valuable unsalaried work in the Ministry of Aircraft Production, managed by his lifelong friend Lord Beaverbrook. Bennett took an active role in the House of Lords, and attended frequently until his death.[40] He also participated in many speaking engagements and served on various boards.[7]
Bennett's interest in increasing public awareness and accessibility to Canada's historical records, led him to serve as vice-president of the Champlain Society from 1933 until his death.[41]
By March 1947, Bennett sold nearly all of his investments; it became clear his health was declining. Bennett died after suffering a
Legacy and assessments
The respected author Bruce Hutchison wrote that had the economic times been more normal, Bennett would likely have been regarded as a good, perhaps great, Canadian prime minister.[12] Textbooks typically portray Bennett as a hard-driving capitalist, pushing for American-style high tariffs and British-style imperialism, while ignoring his reform efforts.[43]
Bennett was a noted talent spotter. He took note of and encouraged the young
Criticisms
Most historians consider his premiership to have been a failure at a time of severe economic crisis.
Bennett was ranked #12 by a survey of Canadian historians out of the then 20 Prime Ministers of Canada through Jean Chrétien. The results of the survey were included in the book Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer.
A 2001 book by
Supreme Court appointments
Bennett chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the Governor General:
- Oswald Smith Crocket (21 September 1932 – 13 April 1943)
- Frank Joseph Hughes (17 March 1933 – 13 February 1935)
- Puisne Justice under Prime Minister Laurier, 4 June 1906)
- Henry Hague Davis (31 January 1935 – 30 June 1944)
- Patrick Kerwin (20 July 1935 – 2 February 1963)
Other appointments
Bennett was Honorary Colonel of the 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles) from 1914 to the dissolution of the regiment in 1920.[49] Bennett was the Honorary Colonel of the Calgary Highlanders from the year of their designation as such in 1921 to his death in 1947. He visited the Regiment in England during the Second World War, and always ensured the 1st Battalion had a turkey dinner at Christmas every year they were overseas, including the Christmas of 1944 when the battalion was holding front line positions in the Nijmegen Salient.
Bennett served as the Rector of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, from 1935 to 1937, even while he was still prime minister. At the time, this role covered mediation for significant disputes between Queen's students and the university administration.[50]
Coat of arms
Bennett's coat of arms was designed by Alan Beddoe: "Argent within two bendlets Gules three maple leaves proper all between two demi-lions rampant couped gules. Crest, a demi-lion Gules grapsing in the dexter paw a battle axe in bend sinister Or and resting the sinister paw on an escallop also Gules. Supporters, Dexter a buffalo, sinister a moose, both proper. Motto, To be Pressed not Oppressed."[51]
Publications
Empire Relations: The Peter le Neve Foster Lecture, Delivered on June 3rd, 1942, at the Royal Society of Arts by the Right Hon. the Viscount Bennett, P.C., K.C. London: Dorothy Crisp, 1945.
Honours
Hereditary peerage
Bennett was elevated to a hereditary peerage on 16 July 1941. He took the title 1st Viscount Bennett, of Mickleham in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in the Dominion of Canada. The peerage became extinct upon his death on 26 June 1947.
Honours
Location | Date | Decoration | Post-nominal letters | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alberta | 1907 – 26 June 1947 | King's Counsel | KC | |
United Kingdom | 1930 – 26 June 1947 | Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council |
PC | |
United Kingdom | Before 26 June 1947 | Knight of Grace of the Order of St John | KG.StJ |
Scholastic
- Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
Location | Date | School | Position |
---|---|---|---|
Ontario | Before 26 June 1947 | Queen's University | Rector[52] |
Honorary degrees
Location | Date | School | Degree | Gave Commencement Address |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nova Scotia | 1919 | Dalhousie University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D) [53] |
|
Ontario | 1926 | Queen's University | Doctor of Laws (LL.D) [54] |
|
Ontario | 1931 | University of Toronto | Doctor of Laws (LL.D) [55] |
|
New Brunswick | May 1933 | University of New Brunswick | Doctor of Laws (LL.D) [56] |
Freedom of the City
Memberships and fellowships
Location | Date | Organisation | Position |
---|---|---|---|
Canada | Before 26 June 1947 | Royal Canadian Geographical Society | Fellow |
Honorary military appointments
- Honorary Colonel of the 103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles)[58]
- Canadian Army (1921 – 26 June 1947): Honorary Colonel of the Calgary Highlanders[59]
Electoral record
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Waite, P.B. "R.B. Bennett". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "Descendants of Henry Bennett" (PDF). Sunnyokanagan.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ISBN 978-0-8020-9174-1
- ^ "Canada's Prime Ministers: Macdonald to Trudeau", 2007, p. 301
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30358. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b Shadow of Heaven: The Life of Lester Pearson, volume 1, 1897–1948, by John English, 1989, Vintage UK, p. 166-171.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Boyko, John; English, John (February 21, 2008). "R.B. Bennett". Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ E. Gorosh, Calgary's "Temple of Knowledge": A History of the Public Library. 1975 Century Calgary Publications. p.5.
- ^ Jennings, A. Owen (1911). Merchants and manufacturers record of Calgary. Calgary: Jennings Publishing Company. p. 84. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- ^ Benham, Donald (May 22, 2010). "There's much to admire in nasty-tempered R.B. Bennett". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Allen, Ralph. "R. B. BENNETT'S NOISY COLLISION WITH THE DEPRESSION". Maclean's. Archived from the original on March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Mr. Prime Minister 1867–1964, by Bruce Hutchison, Toronto 1964, Longmans Canada.
- ^ "History | Bennett Jones". Archived from the original on October 13, 2017.
- ^ "Canadian Bar Association: Past CBA Presidents". Cba.org.
- ^ Graham, Roger (1963). Arthur Meighen: A Biography – Volume 2: And Fortune Fled. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited. p. 526.
- ^ Mr. Prime Minister 1867–1964, by Bruce Hutchison, Toronto 1964, Longmans Canada
- ISBN 1-894004-88-4.
- ^ STEIN, DAVID LEWIS. "The great communist scare of the Thirties | Maclean's | NOVEMBER 16 1963". archive.macleans.ca. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "R.B. Bennett reconsidered: A long-overdue "remarkable and head-turning portrait"". Policyoptions.irpp.org. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ISBN 0-7710-8564-8.
- ISBN 0-920057-77-2.
- ^ "Communist Canada". CBC. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ Plummer, Kevin (May 9, 2009). "Historicist: "We Want Tim Buck"". Torontoist. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
- ^ "Calls for Help". CBC. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ Strikwerda 2012, p. 172
- ^ a b c Wells & Fellows 2016, p. 162
- ^ "THE CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD". Government of Canada. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "Time to pull the plug on the Canadian Wheat Board". Fraser Institute. January 5, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ a b "Bennet's New Deal", The Canadian Encyclopedia
- ^ "Blaming the Prime Minister". History.cbc.ca.
- ^ "R. B. Bennett s New Deal (1935) – Studies on the Canadian Constitution and Canadian Federalism – Quebec History". Faculty.marianopolis.edu.
- ^ "Bennett Buggy". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Relief Camps". CBC. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ Masters, D.C. (August 12, 2013). "Reciprocity". Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ Molinaro, Dennis (October 23, 2011). "Section 98 Criminal Code". Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Mansion up for sale; still riddle over ownership". April 20, 2000.
- ^ "Juniper Hill, Mickleham, Surrey".
- ^ "No. 35225". The London Gazette. July 22, 1941. p. 4213.
- ^ "Prime Ministers of Canada: The Rt. Hon. Richard Bedford Bennett". Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "Canada's Prime Ministers: Macdonald to Trudeau", 2007, pp. 325–326
- ^ The Champlain Society. "Former Officers of the Champlain Society (1905–2012)". Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
- ^ "Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada – Former Prime Ministers and Their Grave Sites – The Right Honourable Richard Bedford Bennett". Parks Canada. Government of Canada. December 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ^ Larry A. Glassford, Reaction and Reform: The Politics of the Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett, 1927–1938 (1992)
- ^ The Authentic Voice of Canada, by Christopher McCreery and Arthur Milnes (editors), McGill – Queen's University Press, Kingston, Ontario, 2009, p. xiv.
- ^ Larry Glassford, "Review of Boyko, John, Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation." Boyko says he was a success.
- ^ H. Blair Neatby, The Politics of Chaos: Canada in the Thirties (Toronto: Macmillan, 1972), p 53.
- ^ J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer, Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders (Toronto: HarperCollins, 1999), p 113.
- ^ Lester, Normand (2001) Le Livre noir du Canada anglais; Montreal: Les Éditions des Intouchables, p.255. The letter is conserved at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. A photocopy can be found at the archives of the Canadian Jewish Council in Montreal, under P0005 ARCAND, Adrien (collection).
- ^ Dorosh, Michael A., Calgary's Infantry Regiment: A Pictorial History of the Calgary Highlanders, Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 2024, p.40
- ^ The Authentic Voice of Canada, by Christopher McCreery and Arthur Milnes (editors), Kingston, Ontario, McGill – Queen's University Press, Centre for the Study of Democracy, 2009, pp. 197–198.
- ^ "Viscount Richard Bedford Bennett's Coat of Arms". Lib.unb.ca.
- ^ "History | University Rector". Queensu.ca. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "1892 ‑ 1999 Honorary Degree Recipients – Convocation – Dalhousie University". Archived from the original on May 21, 2018.
- ^ "The History of Queen's Graduation | Registrar & Financial Aid Services". Queensu.ca. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "University of Toronto Honorary Degree Recipients : Chronological : 1850–2022" (PDF). Governingcouncil.utoronto.ca. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
- ^ "POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE | Graduation Ceremonies 1828 – Present". Archived from the original on April 27, 2018.
- ^ "1948.9 | Freedom of the City of London | Casket |". Collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
- ^ Dorosh, Michael A. Calgary's Infantry Regiment: A Pictorial History of The Calgary Higlanders, CHRFF, 2024, p.40
- ^ "Former Honourary Colonels". Calgary Highlanders. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
Further reading
- Boyko, John (2010). Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged And Changed A Nation. Toronto: Key Porter Books. ISBN 978-1-55470-248-0.
- Creighton, Donald (1970). Canada's First Century. Macmillan of Canada.
- Glassford, Larry A. (1992). Reaction and Reform: The Politics of the Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett, 1927–1938. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802027986.
- ISBN 9780802059758.
- MacLean, Andrew Dyas (1935). R. B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada. Toronto: Excelsior Publishing Co.
- Strikwerda, Eric (2012). The Wages of Relief: Cities and the Unemployed in Prairie Canada, 1929–39. Athabaska University Press. ISBN 9781927356050.
- ISBN 9780802028945.
- ISBN 9780773539082.
- Watkins, Ernest (1963). R. B. Bennett: A Biography. London: Secker & Warburg.
- Wells, Mike; Fellows, Nick (2016). The Great Depression and the Americas (mid 1920s–1939). Cambridge University Press.
- Wilbur, J. R. H. The Bennett New Deal: Fraud or Portent, 1968
Historiography
- Glassford, Larry. "Review of Boyko, John, Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation" (H-Canada, H-Net Reviews. August, 2012) online
Primary sources
- McCreery, Christopher and Arthur Milnes, eds. The Authentic Voice of Canada, (McGill – Queen's University Press, ISBN 978-1-55339-275-0. This book is a collection of Bennett's speeches in the British House of Lordsfrom 1941 to 1947.
External links
- "R. B. Bennett". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.
- Silver and Gold: Bennett and the Great Depression – Historical essay, illustrated with photographs
- R. B. Bennett – Parliament of Canada biography
- Newspaper clippings about R. B. Bennett in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW