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Alberta Elections: 1926 Farmer Herbert Greenfield Turfed as UFA Stumbles Through Term in Office

With the election of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1921, Alberta suddenly became the most politically radical province in Canada. And as historian David Leonard explains, the new government got off to a shaky start since no one had any experience in the legislature:

They stumbled along for a few years. The government still had its deputy ministers, even though the ministers were not very familiar with the workings of government and the workings of cabinet. To emphasize their non-partisan nature, they did appoint a Labour individual named Alex Ross to become the Minister of Public Works. And he was a good administrator, and therefore, he handled the building of the roads and building of the bridges and that sort of thing. And George Hoadley had earlier run as a Liberal. He switched parties, and he agreed to serve as the Minister of Agriculture. So there was a little bit of talent in there.

The first years of the 1920?s were marked by the turmoil of Prohibition, which had devastated the hotel industry. And the drastic fall in grain prices forced many farms into foreclosure. It was a time for strong leadership. But the Premier, Herbert Greenfield, was more concerned about running his farm in Westlock than running the province. And it wasn?t long before the rank and file of the UFA were ready to mutiny.

Yes, the performance of Herbert Greenfield was pretty slipshod. He didn?t know the runnings of government. Whenever confronted by the press about an issue of the day, he was becoming notorious for shrugging his shoulders and simply saying, I don?t know. And it was soon evident to people that the real power behind the premiership in Alberta was not Premier Greenfield but in fact the UFA party?s lawyer, John Brownlee.

And finally in 1924, on the eve of about to be turfed out of office, Mr. Greenfield resigned as premier. And John Brownlee agreed to run in a bye election, which he won, and then began to serve as the Premier of Alberta. And run a fairly effective, middle of the road sort of government, emphasizing fiscal responsibility and paying a lot of attention to rural issues. But the thrust of the government was not necessarily just to promote farmers? interests. It?s running an effective administration.

As luck would have it, Brownlee took over just as Alberta was turning the corner and times were changing for the better.

On the Heritage Trail, I?m Cheryl Croucher.

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