August 7, 1919
Howick Hall, Lansdowne Park, Ottawa
Chairs: Sir Lomer Gouin (Premier of Quebec), George Henry Murray (Premier of Nova Scotia)
Sir Wilfrid Laurier died earlier in the year after leading the party since 1887.
For the first time in Canada, a federal party’s leadership would be decided by a full convention, which was originally intended by Laurier to renew the party after eight years in opposition.
Previous leaders had been chosen by caucus or the outgoing leader. According to political scientist John C. Courtney, the shift came because the Liberal caucus was no longer seen as representative of Canada’s religious and linguistic diversity.
The Liberals also needed to heal their wartime division over conscription. Many Liberals joined with Sir Robert Borden and the Conservatives to form a union government. Laurier and his supporters, opposed to the measure, remained in opposition.
THE CONTENDERS
Candidates spent the days prior wooing delegates in Ottawa.
Four men were on the ballot: two former cabinet ministers (W.S. Fielding and William Lyon Mackenzie King) and two MPs (George Perry Graham and Daniel Duncan McKenzie, the party’s interim leader).
Alex Smith, the fifth candidate, withdrew before voting began.
Fielding was long seen as a potential successor to Laurier. They disagreed over conscription. The former Nova Scotia premier was strongly opposed by Quebec delegates and even within his own province.
King, a former labour minister, had been out of Parliament since being defeated in the 1911 election. Observers viewed him as a potential compromise choice and ended up with support from Quebec and “Laurier Liberals,” who were seen to control the local associations.
There was also an unsuccessful push to draft Saskatchewan Premier William Martin, a former MP, into the race at the last minute.
THE VOTE
Senators, MPs, defeated candidates, premiers and provincial party leaders, presidents of provincial Liberal associations, and three delegates from each riding were guaranteed votes.
Nominations were accepted in writing up to the first ballot, which began at 3:45p.m. Delegates marked their ballot at their seat.
King led Fielding after the first and second ballots. Graham left the race, followed by McKenzie.
Both the third and fourth ballots were cancelled because of voting confusion brought upon by their withdrawals.
King, meanwhile, “meditated and prayed as the balloting proceeded,” according to biographer Allan Levine.
The final result came just before 8 p.m. King defeated Fielding head-to-head by 38 votes to take the leadership – which he held for nearly three decades.
The Quebec Telegraph called the 44-year-old a “brilliant young statesman” whose victory led to “tremendous applause which swelled to a roar.”
Fielding, 70, conceded winning “would have brought with it great responsibilities and burdens” that he was now relieved of.
With Laurier’s widow present (a Fielding supporter), King told the convention:
“So putting behind us all those things which are of the past, and looking forward only to those things which are before us we must start this moment, a great and mighty force, making for greater freedom for all and greater righteousness in public affairs and press on till we reach the goal which has been laid down in the platform adopted by you on this occasion.”
MORE:
- A men's dormitory with sleeping space for 800 was created inside one of the buildings at Lansdowne Park. Another building housed a women's dormitory.
- A portrait of Laurier anchored the 80-foot-long stage.
- King’s first tasks the following day were to meet with Borden and lay a wreath of magnolias at Laurier’s Ottawa grave.
King’s infamous diary contains a detailed recap of his ascension to Liberal leader. Some highlights:
- He did not campaign much before the convention. Fielding seemed to have provincial party machines and many premiers at his back. Graham’s team “tried to create the impression that I had no support in Ontario.”
- His nomination came courtesy of delegates from North York, Ont. – the area where his grandfather, William Lyon Mackenzie, helped lead the 1837 Upper Canada rebellion.
- King’s speech was supposed to be limited to 15 minutes. But he added a tribute to Laurier and continued to speak despite the chair's efforts.
- Graham and McKenzie supporters gravitated to Fielding. And without the support of party elites, the press, and industry, “everything seemed pretty well arrayed against me...How then came the victory – Through God alone.” That, and labour and farmer support, according to the diary.
- "The majority was greater than I anticipated...my thoughts were of dear mother & father & little Bell all of whom I felt to be very close to me, of grandfather & Sir Wilfrid also....It has come from God....It is to His work I am called, and to it I dedicate my life." (The Diaries of William Lyon Mackenzie King - Library and Archives Canada)
