Profile of Richard C. Bennett on Famous Like Me

For the British composer named Richard Bennett, see Richard Rodney Bennett.

Richard Bedford Bennett

Rank:	11th
Predecessor:	Mackenzie King
Successor:	Mackenzie King
Term of Office:	August 6, 1930 - October 23, 1935
Date of Birth:	July 3, 1870
Place of Birth:	Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick
Spouse:	never married
Profession:	lawyer
Political Party:	Conservative
Religion:	Anglican

The Right Honourable Richard Bedford 1st Viscount Bennett, PC , KC , LL.B (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was the eleventh Prime Minister of Canada from August 7, 1930 to October 23, 1935.

He was born in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada, and studied at Dalhousie University, graduating in 1893 with a law degree. Bennett spent time as a school teacher, principal, lawyer, and businessman, before entering local politics. Before moving to Alberta, he was a partner in a law firm in Chatham, New Brunswick. Max Aitken (later known as Lord Beaverbrook) was his office boy.

In 1905, Bennett became the first leader of the Alberta Conservative Party and, in 1909, won a seat in the provincial legislature before switching to federal politics.

He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1911, was appointed Minister of Finance in 1926 and became Conservative leader in 1927 at the first Conservative leadership convention.

He was elected Prime Minister of Canada in 1930, defeating William Lyon Mackenzie King. This occurred as the worst depression of the century was hitting the country. Bennett tried to fight the depression by expanding trade within the British Empire and imposing tariffs for imports from outside the Empire promising that his measures would blast Canadian exports into world markets, but his success was limited, and his impersonal style and reputation for wealth alienated many struggling Canadians.

When his imperial preference policy failed to generate the desired result, Bennett's government had no alternative plans to enact. The party's pro-business, pro-banking inclinations provided no relief to the millions of unemployed who were now becoming increasingly desperate and agitated. The Conservatives seemed indecisive and unable to cope and rapidly lost the confidence of Canadians becoming a focus of hatred, ridicule, and contempt. Car owners who could no longer afford gasoline reverted to having their vehicles pulled by horses and dubbed them Bennett Buggies.

R. B. Bennett faced pressure for radical reforms from within and without the party. The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, formed in 1932, prepared to fight its first election on a socialist programme; the Social Credit movement was gaining supporters in the west and shocked the country by winning the Alberta provincial election and forming the provincial government in September, 1935; Bennett's own government suffered a defection as his Trade minister, Henry Herbert Stevens, left the Conservatives to form the Reconstruction Party of Canada when Bennett refused to enact Stevens' plans for drastic economic reform and government intervention in the economy to deal with the crisis.

Reacting to fears of communist subversion, Bennett used the controversial Section 98 of the Canadian Criminal Code. That section allowed for the imprisonment of anyone who was a member of an organisation that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government, even if the accused had never committed an act of violence or even personally supported such an action. With this law, the leaders of the Communist Party of Canada, including Tim Buck were arrested and imprisoned for sedition. However, this action proved to be a damaging embarrassment for the government, especially when Buck was the victim of an apparent assassination attempt when he was shot at while confined to his cell during a prison riot, despite the fact he was not participating in any way. Bennett's government was forced to admit that they ordered the shooting, allegedly only to scare Buck. Regardless, Bennett's case against Buck lost all credibility, and ultimately backfired, as Buck was soon released and fêted as a hero who championed civil liberties.

Bennett attempted to prevent social disorder by evacuating the unemployed to relief camps, located far from most cities. This only served to exacerbate social tensions, culminating in the On to Ottawa Trek of unemployed protesters; they intended to ride the rails from Vancouver to Ottawa (gathering new members along the way), in order to bring their demands for relief to Bennett personally. The trek ended in Regina on 1 July 1935, when the RCMP, on orders from the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Hugh Guthrie, attacked a public meeting of 3,000 strikers, leaving one dead, and dozens injured.

Following the enacting of the New Deal policies of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bennett changed tactics, introducing his "New Deal" of public spending and federal intervention in the economy. Bennett proposed progressive income taxation, a minimum wage, a maximum number of working hours per week, unemployment insurance, health insurance, an expanded pension programme, and grants to farmers. The Conservative's conversion to the concept of a welfare state was seen as too little, too late, and the Tories were routed in the October 1935 election, winning only 40 seats to 173 for Mackenzie King's Liberals.

Richard Bennett retired to Britain in 1938, and, in 1941, became the first, and only, former Canadian Prime Minister to be elevated to the British House of Lords (as Viscount Bennett), of Mickleham, Surrey.

He died on 26 June 1947, at Mickleham, England, and is buried in St Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham, Surrey, England. He is the only former Prime Minister not buried in Canada.

Supreme Court Appointments

Bennett appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada:

• Oswald Smith Crocket
• Frank Joseph Hughes
• Henry Hague Davis
• Patrick Kerwin

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