Seymour Farmer

Seymour James Farmer (June 20, 1878 – January 16, 1951) was a politician in

Along with Dixon, Farmer opposed conscription during World War I. During the Conscription Crisis of 1917, he was nominated by the Anti-Conscription League to contest the federal riding of Winnipeg Centre in the 1917 federal election. He withdrew from the contest so as not to split the anti-conscriptionist vote between a Laurier Liberal and himself.^{[citation needed]}

Farmer supported the

Farmer was elected the 30th mayor of Winnipeg in 1922 and 1923.[2] He could not command majority support from the city's councillors though. He was defeated by Ralph Webb in 1924. He later served as a councillor in 1928 and 1929, and again in the 1930s.

Farmer was also elected to the provincial legislature for Winnipeg in the 1922 election, along with fellow ILP members Fred Dixon, John Queen and William Ivens. Winnipeg at the time was a 10-seat district electing MLAs through STV.

He was re-elected in the 1927 and 1932 elections,^[1] and replaced Queen as party leader in 1935.^[3] At the time the Independent Labour Party and the CCF were both in existence and in a partial merger.

Farmer's early years as party leader were marked by conflict between the ILP and the newly formed Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. L In 1933, the ILP had affiliated with the CCF and agreed to support the CCF's skeletal network in the province. By 1936, the CCF had grown into a more powerful organization, and many ILP members were concerned about their autonomy. There were ideological differences between the two groups: the ILP was exclusively a labour party, and the CCF wanted to reach out to farmers as well.

For the provincial election of 1936, Farmer and other candidates campaigned under the "ILP-CCF" banner. The Social Credit movement, with its victory in Alberta under its sails, tried for success in Manitoba. Farmer responded by writing pamphlet "Social Credit or Social Ownership".^[4] In it he called for social ownership of utilities and industries and for a Social Dividend which was to be arrived at in different means than the Social Credit dividend espoused by Alberta SC Premier Aberhart. ILP/CCF increased their representation to seven seats.

After the election, a group of disgruntled ILP members forced a temporary disaffiliation from the CCF. Pressure from

At the start of World War II, Farmer approved of federal CCF leader J.S. Woodsworth's pacifist stance in the House of Commons of Canada. Farmer endorsed the CCF's call to conscript "wealth rather than men" for the war effort. Most of the ILP supported an all-out war effort, however. This exacerbated tensions between the groups. The ILP finally dissolved in 1943 after its internal operations had been taken over by CCF loyalists.

Throughout the 1930s, Manitoba Premier John Bracken had attempted to bring the province's opposition parties into a "non-partisan" coalition government. Bracken's Progressives absorbed the provincial Liberals in 1932, but the other parties turned down his requests on two separate occasions. With the start of the war, however, "non-party" government became a more viable option. The Conservatives and Social Credit joined the government in 1940; despite opposition from David Lewis, Farmer convinced the CCF to do the same.

Farmer argued (somewhat dubiously) that Bracken was willing to adopt labour-friendly policies, and that the CCF would benefit more from joining government than from being the sole group in opposition. He also argued that an all-party government would defer the next provincial election for a year, ll and allow the CCF more time to organize.^{[citation needed]} Lewis eventually resigned himself to the alliance, and the CCF entered Manitoba's government in late 1940. Farmer was the first member of a social democratic party in Canada to receive a cabinet portfolio and was sworn in as Minister of Labour on 4 November.

By any measurement, the CCF's tenure in government was a disaster for the party. While the Conservatives were fully integrated into the management of the province, Social Credit and the CCF were marginalized. Bracken forced Farmer's labour legislation to face free votes in the legislature, which soon took the form of party votes, with the CCF invariably on the losing side.

The

Support for the CCF rose nationally throughout 1942, and there was a growing desire among many in the Manitoba party to leave the coalition. Farmer resigned from cabinet in December 1942, and the CCF formally left the government the following year.[3]

Farmer continued as party leader through the

Farmer did not contest the election of 1949 and died on January 16, 1951.^[1]

References