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The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) were a political party in Ontario, Canada. A social democratic party, the UFO was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) were a political party in Ontario, Canada. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... For other uses, see Progressivism (disambiguation). ... Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy. ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ... A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... This article is about the Canadian province. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... The United Farmers movement in Canada rose to prominence after World War I. With the failure of the wartime Union government to alter a tariff structure that hurt farmers, various farmers movements across Canada became more radical and entered the political arena. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

History

Foundation and rise (1914-1919)

Ernest C. Drury, UFO premier and leader.

The UFO was founded in 1914 by the union of various farmers' organizations that had been created over the previous fifteen years.^[1] James J. Morrison was the leading figure in the party, serving as its general secretary and secretary of the United Farmers Co-operative Company Ltd. (the purchasing co-operative the UFO operated on behalf of its members). Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... James J. Morrison (1861-1936) was a farm leader in Ontario. ... The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ...

The UFO entered politics by contesting and winning a by-election in Manitoulin in 1918, in which Beniah Bowman was elected as the party's first Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). In the subsequent 1919 provincial election, with over 50,000 members,^[1] the party sought to hold the balance of power so it could introduce legislation friendly to farmers. The UFO would shock everyone, including itself, when it won 45 seats and formed a minority government in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario despite having no leader. A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... A Member of the Legislative Assembly, or MLA, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to the Legislature or legislative assembly of a subnational jurisdiction. ... The Ontario general election, 1919 was the fifteenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. ... In parliamentary politics, balance of power usually refers to the position held by a political party, or a coalition of minor parties whose support of a minority government in a parliamentary chamber can give the governing party enough voting strength to maintain stable government. ... For minority governments in general, see dominant minority. ... The Provincial Parliament of Ontario, is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario. ...

As the United Farmers were initially a single-issue party, Morrison opposed forming a government, believing that the party should concern itself solely with agricultural issues and that it would not be able to represent the entire province. Furthermore, he viewed the Independent Labour Party as inimical to farmers' interests and opposed a coalition with them to form a majority government. Morrison was offered the position of UFO caucus leader and Premier of Ontario following the election but declined; the position instead went Ernest C. Drury.^[1] Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... Labour Party of Canada is Liberal Social democratic party emerged as an imperative need for all Canadian in the 21st Century. ... In the Westminster System, a majority government is one in which the government enjoys an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or Parliament. ... The Premier of Ontario is the first minister for the Canadian province of Ontario. ... Ernest Charles Drury (January 22, 1878-February 17, 1968) was a farmer, politician and writer who served as Premier of Ontario from 1919 to 1923 as the head of a United Farmers of Ontario - Labour coalition government. ...

Forming the government (1919-1923)

Despite Morrison's objections, the UFO joined with 11 Independent Labour Party MLAs and one Independent to form a coalition government, with Drury as Premier and two of the ILP MLAs in the cabinet.^[2] Morrison remained outside of the legislature and government as the general secretary of the UFO. Morrison opposed a number of the coalition's initiatives, perceiving the UFO's actions as a broad-based Progressive government rather than a "class-based" United Farmer government and believed that the party should not be in government but should hold the balance of power in order to force the government of the day to pass pro-farmer legislation.^[2] A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a cabinet in parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. ... This is a list of the premiers of the province of Ontario, Canada, since Confederation (1867). ... Balance of power is a central concept of realist theories of international relations. ...

The UFO government created the Province of Ontario Savings Office^[2] (essentially a state-owned bank) in order to provide low-interest loans to farmers, improved rural education and improved transportation and promoted rural electrification.^[1]

However, the party's base of farmer supporters began to turn away from the party, causing the Drury government to lose the election of 1923. A mere seventeen United Farmer and four Labour members returned to the legislature, compared to 75 Conservatives. Drury lost his own seat. The Ontario general election, 1923 was the sixteenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. ... The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party of Ontario, also known as Tories) is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. ...

Decline (1923-1929)

This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after Tuesday, 26 February 2008.

Though the United Farmers of Ontario remained the second largest party in the legislature, they were denied Official Opposition status by Conservative premier Howard Ferguson. The position was instead given to the Liberals with W.E.N. Sinclair as Leader of the Opposition, despite the party having three fewer seats than the UFO. Morrison had previously announced that the UFO would be withdrawing from politics, which Ferguson had used as justification for the move. Manning Doherty, interim leader of the UFO caucus, could do nothing aside from win a ruling from the Speaker that, as leader of a caucus of more than 15 MLAs, he was entitled to an extra salary.^[3] The Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party of Ontario) is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. ... George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870-February 21, 1946) was a Conservative politician and Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1923 to 1930. ... The Ontario Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. ... William Edmund Newton Sinclair (1873-1947) was a Canadian politician. ... The Leader of the Opposition in Ontario is usually leader of the largest party in the Ontario legislature which is not the government. ...

Eighteen months following the general election, William Raney became leader of what was now referred to as the "Progressive" bloc of MLAs. William Edgar Raney, K.C. (1859-1933) was a lawyer, politician and judge in Ontario, Canada, in the early twentieth century. ...

In the 1926 provincial election, only thirteen Progressive MLAs, three UFO MLAs and one Labour MLA were elected. Several weeks later, the UFO convention voted to formally cease running its own candidates. Though some local UFO clubs continued to nominate candidates for some years, the UFO considered the Progressives as their party and, for all intents and purposes, the UFO and the Progressive Party became the same organization in Ontario. The Ontario general election, 1926 was the seventeenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. ...

End of the movement (1929-1940)

Farquhar Oliver, last UFO MLA in the provincial legislature.

Raney resigned from the legislature the next year, and former UFO cabinet minister Harry Nixon emerged as Raney's successor. In the 1929 election, only five Progressives, one Labour and one UFO MLA won re-election. In the early 1930s, Nixon and the Progressives agreed to an alliance with former UFO activist Mitchell Hepburn who, in 1930, became leader of the Liberal Party. A group of four Liberal-Progressive MLAs were elected in the 1934 election, who joined Hepburn to form a government and were ultimately absorbed into the Liberal Party. (see Liberal-Progressives (Ontario) for more information) Harry Corwin Nixon (April 1, 1891-October 22, 1961) was a Canadian politician and briefly Premier of Ontario. ... The Ontario general election, 1929 was the eighteenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. ... Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 - January 5, 1953) was Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. ... Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1926 and 1953. ... The Ontario general election, 1934 was the nineteenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. ... Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1926 and 1953. ...

In 1932, leading UFO member Agnes Macphail (originally elected to the Progressive Party) encouraged the United Farmers of Ontario to affiliate with Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) when it was formed.^[1] It did so, and MacPhail became the first President of the Ontario CCF in 1932, but the UFO disaffiliated from the CCF in 1934 due to allegations of Communist influence in the party and, like United Farmers groups in the provinces of western Canada, ultimately decided to withdraw entirely from electoral politics. Many United Farmers joined the CCF as individuals. The UFO's newspaper, the Farmer's Sun was sold to Graham Spry and Alan Plaunt and became an organ for the League for Social Reconstruction. Agnes Campbell Macphail (March 24, 1890 — February 13, 1954) was the first woman to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons, and one of the first two women elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. ... The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. ... The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction. ... The Ontario New Democratic Party (formerly known as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Ontario Section) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... Graham Spry (February 20, 1900 - November 24, 1983) was a Canadian intellectual, political activist, business executive and socialist. ... The League for Social Reconstruction was a circle of Canadian socialist intellectuals formed in 1931 by academics advocating radical social and economic reforms and political education as a response to the Great Depression. ...

By the mid 1930s, the UFO had become a lobby group who advocated through sitting UFO politicians such as Macphail and Farquhar Oliver, who were allowed to continue to run for office under the UFO banner. In 1940, Oliver, the last remaining UFO member of the legislature and a supporter of the Hepburn government since 1934, joined the Hepburn cabinet and formally became a Liberal. MacPhail lost her seat as the last United Farmers MP in the House of Commons in 1940. She turned to provincial politics and won election to the Ontario legislature on behalf of the CCF in the 1943 provincial election while Oliver became Liberal Party leader in 1945. Farquhar Robert Oliver (March 6, 1904-January 22, 1989) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. ... The Ontario general election of 1943 was held on August 4, 1943, to elect the 90 Members of the Legislative Assembly (Members of Provincial Parliament, or MPPs) of the Province of Ontario, Canada. ...

In 1944, the UFO joined with other farmers' organizations to form the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and ceased to exist as a formal organization.^[1] In 1948 the United Farmers' Co-operative became the United Co-operatives of Ontario and remains one of the largest farmer-owned co-operatives in Canada.^[1] A cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) comprises a legal entity owned and democratically controlled by its members, with no passive shareholders. ...

UFO/Progressive leaders

1. E.C. Drury, 1919-1923
2. Manning Doherty, 1923-1924
3. William Edgar Raney, 1924-1927
4. Harry Nixon, 1927-1934

Ernest Charles Drury (January 22, 1878-February 17, 1968) was a farmer, politician and writer who served as Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1919 to 1923 as the head of a United Farmers of Ontario - Labour coalition government. ... Harry Corwin Nixon (April 1, 1891-October 22, 1961) was a Canadian politician and briefly Premier of Ontario. ...

UFO Secretaries

1. J.J. Morrison, 1914-1933
2. H.H. Hannam, 1933-1942

See also

• List of United Farmers/Labour MLAs in the Ontario legislature
• Ontario New Democratic Party
• Progressive Party
• List of Progressive/United Farmer MPs
• Cooperative Commonwealth Federation
• Labour Party
• United Farmers
• United Farmers of Alberta
• List of Ontario political parties
• List of Ontario general elections

The Ontario New Democratic Party (formerly known as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, Ontario Section) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. ... The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. ... List of Members of the Canadian House of Commons who sat as members of the Progressive Party of Canada or representing the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) or United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) or the United Farmers elsewhere. ... The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups as well as the League for Social Reconstruction. ... Labour Party of Canada is Liberal Social democratic party emerged as an imperative need for all Canadian in the 21st Century. ... The United Farmers movement in Canada rose to prominence after World War I. With the failure of the wartime Union government to alter a tariff structure that hurt farmers, various farmers movements across Canada became more radical and entered the political arena. ... The United Farmers of Alberta was founded in 1909 as a lobby organization representing the interests of farmers. ... This article lists political parties in Canada. ... Beginning with the 2003 election, Ontario elections are held every 4 years in October. ...

Notes

External links

• Labour and Farmers in Ontario, 1919-1932
• Canadian Encyclopedia entry
• United Farmers of Ontario, The Challenge of Agriculture from Internet Archive

v • d • e Provincial political parties in Ontario
Represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario	Liberal - Progressive Conservative - New Democratic
Other parties recognized by Elections Ontario	Green - Family Coalition - Libertarian - Freedom - Communist - People with Special Needs - Reform - Republican - Confederation of Regions
Historical parties represented in the legislature	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation - (Independent) Labour - Labour Progressive Party - Liberal-Labour - Liberal-Progressive - Patrons of Industry - Soldier - Protestant Protective Association - United Farmers of Ontario
Pre-confederation parties	Clear Grits - Reform Party - Family Compact