Robert Stanfield
Robert Lorne Stanfield was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1967 to 1976.
Born into an affluent Nova Scotia clothing manufacturing and political family in Truro, Stanfield graduated from Dalhousie University and Harvard Law School in the 1930s. He was a lawyer before becoming the leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party in 1948, with the goal of reviving the party that did not have a single seat in the legislature. After a rebuilding period, Stanfield led the party to a majority government in 1956; their first victory since 1928. Leading the party to four majorities in total, Stanfield's government established Industrial Estates Limited to attract new industry in Nova Scotia, introduced hospital insurance and a provincial sales tax to fund half of it, prioritized human rights for Black Nova Scotians, and drastically increased funding for education.
In 1967, he resigned as premier and was elected the leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party, thus becoming the leader of the Official Opposition. In the 1968 federal election, he suffered a landslide defeat to the incumbent Liberals led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 1972, Stanfield recovered the PCs' standing and narrowly lost to Trudeau for a second time. In 1974, he lost to Trudeau's Liberals for a third time by a wide margin. Stanfield was a strong supporter of bilingualism, putting him at odds with some members of the PC Party. He resigned as leader in 1976 and from politics in 1979.
In retirement, he lived mostly in Ottawa, and campaigned for the Meech Lake Accord, the Charlottetown Accord, and free trade in the 1980s and early 1990s. He died in Ottawa in 2003 from complications due to pneumonia. He was one of only several people granted the style "The Right Honourable" who were not so entitled by virtue of an office held.
Early life (1913–1947)
Stanfield was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, the son of Sarah Emma and entrepreneur Frank Stanfield, and was named after Robert Borden, a fellow Nova Scotian who was prime minister at the time. Stanfield's family owned Stanfield's Limited, a large textile company. Stanfield studied economics and political science at Dalhousie University and was awarded the Governor General's Silver Medal for achieving the highest standing when he graduated in 1936 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.Stanfield then studied at Harvard Law School, where he was an honours student near the top of his class and the first Canadian editor of the Harvard Law Review. During his student days in the 1930s, he witnessed the poverty that the Great Depression produced, causing him to become interested in John Maynard Keynes's economic theories. Stanfield then considered himself a socialist. Over time, he was less attached to socialism, but its influence on him remained, as he was considered a Red Tory for his appreciation of the common good. Stanfield graduated from Harvard in 1939 and was called to the bar in 1940. From 1939 to 1945 during World War II, he worked as a member of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board's Halifax staff.
Provincial politics (1947–1967)
Stanfield decided to enter Nova Scotia politics. In 1947 he became president of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia which was in poor shape as it did not have a single seat in the legislature, while the Liberals dominated the province. In 1948, Stanfield was elected leader of the party, and began the process of reviving the party. In the 1949 election, the PCs won 8 seats and in 1953, they won 12. In the 1956 election, the PCs won a majority government, their first victory since 1928. This ended 23 consecutive years of Liberal rule.Premier of Nova Scotia (1956–1967)
Known as "Honest Bob" for his straightforward manner, Stanfield served as premier of Nova Scotia, governing as a moderate and pragmatist. He led reforms on education, human rights, and health care. He led the PCs to three re-elections in 1960, 1963, and 1967, each time with larger majorities.Economic policy
In 1957, Stanfield's government established the crown corporation Industrial Estates Limited to attract new industry in Nova Scotia. By the time Stanfield left office in 1967, the IEL had invested $74 million into 25 new firms and created nearly 2,300 jobs in the province.In 1963, Stanfield's government established the Nova Scotia Voluntary Planning Board to assist the minister of finance in creating measures to increase the rate of economic growth through voluntary economic planning.
Stanfield's government raised the limit on agricultural loans from $8,000 to $100,000. To aid livestock farmers in building a million dollar slaughterhouse, his government contributed three dollars for every dollar the farmers raised. His government also created a provincial parks system.
Stanfield's government introduced hospital insurance, as well as a provincial sales tax to fund half of it. The PST, which became effective on January 1, 1959, was initially 5 percent but was later raised to 7 percent. The PST applied to all goods and services except food and children's clothing.
Stanfield strongly opposed the Bell Telephone Company's takeover bid of Nova Scotia's Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company in 1966, arguing that a takeover would lead to sharp increases in the cost of the service. After the Bell declined to negotiate with his government within a five-day time frame, Stanfield called a special session in the legislature; during the session, the legislature passed a bill that prevented the Bell from taking control of M.T. & T., allowing the latter to remain in Nova Scotian control.
Human rights
Stanfield prioritized human rights, particularly for Black Nova Scotians. In 1959, Stanfield's government passed the Fair Accommodation Practices Act to protect against discrimination in public spaces. In 1962, Stanfield created and led the Interdepartmental Committee on Human Rights to support the work of William Oliver and other Black Nova Scotians. The year later, Stanfield's government codified and extended earlier legislation in the first Human Rights Act of 1963. In 1965, the Stanfield government established the Education fund for Negros and in 1967, created the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission with Oliver.Education policy
Stanfield's government increased funding for schools and training colleges. His government started to contribute funding towards universities beginning in 1960; between 1960 and 1967, the Stanfield government's contributions towards universities jumped from $250,000 to $25,000,000. His government also introduced a capital assistance program in which the government would fund up to 90 percent of the cost of university buildings. In addition, Stanfield's government improved French-language education in Nova Scotia by introducing French textbooks and expanding French-language education to Grade 12.Leader of the Official Opposition (1967–1976)
1967 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Stanfield did not express interest in entering federal politics during the early and mid-1960s. He turned down the federal Progressive Conservative Party leader and then-prime minister John Diefenbaker's proposal that he should enter federal politics in the 1962 federal election, and did not express interest in becoming party leader following the Diefenbaker-led PCs' second defeat in the 1965 federal election.In the mid-1960s, the federal Progressive Conservative Party was racked by disunity between supporters and opponents of Diefenbaker. A vocal opponent of Diefenbaker was party president Dalton Camp, who forced a leadership convention for 1967. Camp was a strong proponent of a potential Stanfield leadership bid. After months of hesitating, Stanfield finally bowed to Camp's pressure and on July 17, 1967, announced his intention to run for leader, on the condition that his finance minister George Isaac Smith agrees to succeed him as premier. Stanfield had strong delegate support in the Atlantic provinces but struggled in the Prairies and Quebec. Nonetheless, on the convention that was held on September 9, he led on the first four ballots, and won on the fifth ballot, taking 54.3 percent of the delegate vote. Stanfield resigned as premier on September 13.
Early months
Stanfield was elected to the House of Commons in a by-election for the riding of Colchester—Hants on November 6, 1967. He brought the Progressive Conservatives high in the polls, prompting many to expect him to defeat the Liberal government of the aging Lester B. Pearson. In February 1968, Stanfield almost forced an election after defeating Pearson's government on a tax bill, leading to several days of confusion over whether or not this counted as a de facto motion of no confidence in the government. Ultimately, it was ruled by the Governor General, Roland Michener that it did not, and while Stanfield immediately called an explicit motion of no confidence in Pearson's government, it failed to pass after the New Democratic Party and Ralliement créditiste declined to support it.1968 federal election
Pearson would soon retire, prompting the Liberals to choose Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau as its new leader in April 1968. Trudeau subsequently called an election for June 25. Trudeau was a charismatic intellectual and perfectly bilingual. Stanfield's unilingualism and uninspiring speaking style contrasted poorly with the new Liberal leader. The PCs started the election campaign with an internal poll showing them trailing the Liberals by 22 points.Stanfield proposed introducing guaranteed annual income, though failed to explain the number of citizens that would be covered, the minimum income level, and the cost to implement it. Due to concerns that the term "guaranteed annual income" sounded socialist, he eventually switched to using the term "negative income tax". These mistakes made the policy impossible for voters to understand and harmed the PCs. What also damaged the PCs was the idea of deux nations. Marcel Faribault, the PCs' Quebec lieutenant and MP candidate, was unclear on whether he supported or opposed deux nations and Stanfield did not drop him as a candidate. This led to the Liberals positioning themselves as the party that supported one Canada. In mid-June, they ran a full-page newspaper advertisement that implied that Stanfield supported deux nations; Stanfield called the ad "a deliberate lie" and insisted he supported one Canada.
On election night, the Liberals increased their support to form a strong majority government. Though the PCs' popular vote share slightly dropped from 32.4 percent in 1965 to 31.4 percent, their seat count considerably reduced from 94 to 72. The PCs dominated Atlantic Canada but saw a significant decline in popularity in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.