1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt

It was a rebellion against Premier William Aberhart by a group of backbench (not part of the cabinet) members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from his Social Credit League.

The dissidents were unhappy with Aberhart's failure to provide Albertans with CA$25 monthly dividends through social credit as he had promised before his 1935 election.

Aberhart also faced criticism for planning to attend the coronation of George VI at the province's expense and for stifling a recall attempt against him by the voters of his constituency.

During the Great Depression, Calgary schoolteacher and radio evangelist William Aberhart converted to a British economic theory called social credit.

[2] In the runup to the campaign, Aberhart promised to increase Albertans' purchasing power by providing monthly dividends to all citizens in the form of non-negotiable "credit certificates".

[3] Though he noted that these figures were given "only for illustrative purposes", he repeated them so often that, in the assessment of his biographers David Elliott and Iris Miller, "it would have been impossible for any regular listener not to have gained the impression that Aberhart was promising him $25 a month if Social Credit should come to power.

[8] In December 1936, John Hargrave, the leader of the Social Credit Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, visited Alberta.

[7] Hargrave met with Aberhart and his cabinet, who told him that the Canadian constitution (which made banking a matter of federal, rather than provincial, jurisdiction) was an obstacle to introducing social credit.

Hargrave proposed a plan for implementing social credit in Alberta; while he acknowledged that it was unconstitutional, he believed that the federal government would not dare enforce its jurisdiction in the face of broad popular support for the program.

[9] After presenting his plan to a group of Social Credit MLAs, the news media reported that Aberhart intended to implement radical and unconstitutional laws.

"[10] Two weeks later, Hargrave left the province, telling the press that he "found it impossible to co-operate with a government which [he considered] a mere vacillating machine.

A group of them, reported as numbering anywhere from five ("soon joined by eight or ten others")[12] to 22,[13][14] or 30[15] held meetings in Edmonton's Corona Hotel to discuss government policy and strategise their next political actions.

[15] Author Brian Brennan identifies their leader as Pembina MLA Harry Knowlton Brown,[13] while the academic T. C. Byrne names Ronald Ansley, Joseph Unwin, and Albert Blue.

He suggested that, in light of poor spring road conditions in rural areas, these meetings be delayed until early June, during which time he would remain in office.

[11] The media objected to Aberhart's plan to place his government's future in the hands of the 10% of Albertans who were Social Credit members; the Calgary Herald called for an immediate election.

[26] Though the bulk of the revolt took place in and around the legislature over the issue of social credit and government fiscal policy, Aberhart was also under attack on other fronts.

In the same speech in which he threatened to bring down the government on the supply motion, Blue attacked the trip as an extravagance that depression-ridden Alberta could ill afford.

[26] On April 9 their petition was endorsed by the riding's Social Credit constituency association,[29] and by fall it had gathered the signatures of the required two-thirds of the electorate.

[30] In the aftermath of the insurgent victory on Brown's adjournment motion, Aberhart gave notice of closure on the budget debate on March 29, the first time a premier in Canada used this rule against members of their own party.

[25] That evening, Aberhart negotiated with the insurgents for four hours until a compromise was accepted: the insurgents would support the supply bill, in exchange for which the cabinet would introduce a bill amending the Social Credit Measures Act to establish a board of MLAs empowered to appoint a commission of five experts to implement social credit.

[47] A petition calling for Aberhart's resignation circulated among backbenchers, and proved to be a plant by the cabinet to test MLAs' loyalty.

[48] One of Powell's first actions on arriving in Edmonton was to prepare a "loyalty pledge" committing its signatories "to uphold the Social Credit Board and its technicians.

[52] Powell was not discouraged, stating that the acts "had been drawn up mainly to show the people of Alberta who were their real enemies, and in that respect they succeeded admirably.

[55] The Bank Taxation Act increased provincial taxes on banks by 2,230%, while the Accurate News and Information Act gave the chairman of the Social Credit Board a number of powers over newspapers, including the right to compel them to publish "any statement ... which has for its object the correction or amplification of any statement relating to any policy or activity of the Government or Province" and to require them to supply the names of sources.

[56] Bowen reserved approval of the bills until the Supreme Court of Canada could comment on them; all were ruled unconstitutional in Reference re Alberta Statutes.

The pamphlet also listed eight alleged toadies, including Conservative leader Duggan, former Attorney-General John Lymburn, and Senator William Antrobus Griesbach.

[62] Aberhart won re-election by running in Calgary;[63] his replacement as Social Credit candidate in Okotoks–High River was soundly defeated.

Eight middle aged white men, seven wearing three piece suits and one wearing an overcoat that obscures what he's wearing beneath, stand in two rows in front of some steps.
William Aberhart 's first cabinet, pictured with him in 1935, remained intact until late in 1936. By August 1937, four of its eight members had resigned or been fired.
A bald, heavyset white man wearing round-rimmed glasses.
William Aberhart won the 1935 Alberta election on the strength of his advocacy of social credit , an economic theory that he said could restore prosperity to the depression-ridden province.
A balding white man in a three piece suit sits at a desk, pen in hand, with documents laid out before him.
Provincial Treasurer Charles Cockroft 's January 1937 resignation caused the public to notice the conflict within the Social Credit caucus
Three men stand in a field. The left-most is casually dressed and of aboriginal heritage, the middle one is a white man wearing ecclesiastical robes, and the right-most is a white man wearing a three piece suit.
The budget of Solon Low (right) was the catalyst to the insurgents' decision to make their discontent public.
A smiling man with a white moustache and a fedora
The Social Credit Board hoped that C. H. Douglas would come to Alberta to serve as its expert advisor. While Douglas declined to come himself, he did send two of his lieutenants.
Two men in the foreground walk down a sidewalk, followed by three men in the background. The man in the left of the foreground is portly and wears a fedora, round-rimmed glasses, and a three piece suit. The man on the right is wearing an overcoat and a bowler hat, and holds a cane in his right hand and some documents in his left.
John Hugill 's (right) honest assessment of the constitutionality of government legislation was viewed by Aberhart (left) as insubordination; he asked for and received Hugill's resignation in August 1937. [ 52 ]