December 9, 1942. It was on this day in 1942 that the federal Conservative Party’s leadership convention opened. By the time it ended, Manitoba Progressive John Bracken would be the convention’s choice. (My fellow political history junkies will know that one of the contenders Mr. Bracken defeated was a rookie MP from Saskatchewan named Diefenbaker – more on him later!)
And true to his populist roots in Manitoba, ones he demonstrated as Premier of the province for a record-setting 21 years, the new leader made his candidacy contingent on the party re-branding itself as 'Progressive Conservatives'. In fact, he had sent a letter in the lead-up to the leadership convention declaring: "If, therefore, the convention were prepared to give visible evidence of its progressive intent by association of these two names, Progressive and Conservatives, I would be willing to become a candidate for the leadership."
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John Bracken/caption
While the phrase “progressive conservative” might seem confusing (and perhaps oxymoronic to some), it was anything but to some of Canada’s greatest-ever Conservatives. The greatest Tory of them all, my hero Sir John A. Macdonald, once said, “Anyone desirous of being a progressive conservative, should follow me.”
And voters over many decades did just that, sending Macdonald back to the Prime Minister’s Office over and over.
John Bracken, however, did not fare as well. He was defeated by Prime Minister Mackenzie King when the pair faced off in 1945 and left politics soon after.
Mr. Bracken is buried just north of Kingston and I stopped by his grave a few years back. A past Premier of Manitoba and Leader of the Opposition mostly forgotten today, his name is rarely invoked.
So, I’m proud to buck the trend and honour Mr. Bracken. He was a pioneering premier, and principled Leader of the Opposition at the time of the Second World War.
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He proudly served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity, under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
John Bracken/caption
While the phrase “progressive conservative” might seem confusing (and perhaps oxymoronic to some), it was anything but to some of Canada’s greatest-ever Conservatives. The greatest Tory of them all, my hero Sir John A. Macdonald, once said, “Anyone desirous of being a progressive conservative, should follow me.”
And voters over many decades did just that, sending Macdonald back to the Prime Minister’s Office over and over.
John Bracken, however, did not fare as well. He was defeated by Prime Minister Mackenzie King when the pair faced off in 1945 and left politics soon after.
Mr. Bracken is buried just north of Kingston and I stopped by his grave a few years back. A past Premier of Manitoba and Leader of the Opposition mostly forgotten today, his name is rarely invoked.
So, I’m proud to buck the trend and honour Mr. Bracken. He was a pioneering premier, and principled Leader of the Opposition at the time of the Second World War.
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He proudly served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity, under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel. Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.