In 1910, he was Fred Dixon's campaign manager in the latter's unsuccessful bid for election to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
[3] Farmer's early years as party leader were marked by conflict between the ILP and the newly formed Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).
There were ideological differences between the two groups: the ILP was exclusively a labour party, while the CCF wanted to reach out to farmers as well.
Pressure from David Lewis and J. S. Woodsworth brought the two parties back in alignment, but their relationship remained tenuous.
At the start of World War II, Farmer approved of federal CCF leader Woodsworth's pacifist stance in the House of Commons of Canada.
Throughout the 1930s, Manitoba premier John Bracken had attempted to bring the province's opposition parties into a "non-partisan" coalition government.
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.
The campaign was a disappointment to the party; although it received more votes than the governing Liberal-Progressives (35% to 33%), it won only ten seats in the legislature.