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One of Canada's most
gifted yet most unsuccessful politicians
was Rt Hon. Arthur Meighen. He was prime
Minister on two occasions for an
aggregate of less than nine months, but
was in and out of politics over a period
of 34 years.
He was born in Perth
county, Ontario, June 16, 1874 and
became a Toronto barrister. In 1908 he
was elected to the House of Commons for
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. He was
Borden's right hand man during and after
the war years and at various times held
the portfolios of Solicitor General,
secretary of State, Mines and Interior.
While Prime Minister, he also served as
Secretary of State for External Affairs.
When Borden resigned in
1920, Meighen held office from July
10th, 1920 to December 29, 1921. His
party was defeated in the election of
December 6th, 1921 and he suffered
personal defeats in Portage la Prairie
which he had held since 1908. He won a
seat in a by-election in Grenville in
1922 and was back in the House.
In 1925, the
Conservatives made a strong come-back
but Mackenzie King was able to carry on
with the Progressive Party support till
1926 when faced by a censure vote, he
asked for dissolution of Parliament. The
Governor General, Lord Byng refused and
called on Meighen who had no majority,
but had courage and ingenuity.
In those days, when a
member entered the ministry he had to be
re-elected. If he formed a ministry,
Meighen and his cabinet colleagues would
be unable to sit until by-elections
could be held, and defeat in the House
would be certain without their numbers
present. So he had himself sworn in and
appointed a cabinet of acting ministers
who came to be known as "The Shadow
Government", which he directed from a
seat in the gallery, pending his own
confirmation at the polls. But the
Government was beaten in a House vote
after less than three months and in the
general election that followed, Meighen
was defeated in Portage la Prairie, and
the Liberals again formed the
government.
Meighen retired to
private life in Toronto. When R.B.
Bennett (later Viscount Bennett) became
leader, he appointed Meighen to the
Senate in 1932 and he was government
leader in that chamber. In 1941, he was
lured from the Senate to again lead the
Conservatives and in 1942 sought a seat
in a York South by-election. He was
defeated by a CCF candidate, and left
politics for his Toronto law practice.
He died on August 5th, 1960 and is
buried at St Mary's, Ontario.
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