CANADA HISTORY

King's Return

By 1935, Canada was emerging from the darkest days of the Great Depression, and signs of economic recovery were beginning to show across the country. However, the scars of the Depression, which had caused widespread unemployment, poverty, and disillusionment, were still fresh in the minds of Canadians. It was against this backdrop that Prime Minister R.B. Bennett, who had initially resisted large-scale government intervention, made a last-minute shift towards more active government policies in hopes of securing his political future. However, Bennett’s sudden conversion to government action, including the introduction of policies that mirrored aspects of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the United States, failed to sway the public, who had grown weary of his leadership.

In contrast, Mackenzie King, leader of the Liberal Party, had spent the years in opposition rebuilding his party’s base and refining his political strategy. King’s campaign slogan for the 1935 federal election, “It’s King or Chaos,” resonated with an electorate that had lost faith in Bennett’s Conservatives and was hesitant to embrace the emerging political alternatives, such as the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and Social Credit Party, which offered more radical solutions to Canada’s economic woes.

On election day, the Liberal Party emerged victorious, securing 171 seats in Parliament. The Conservative Party's support collapsed, leaving them with just 39 seats, while the CCF managed to win 7 seats and Social Credit captured 17 seats, primarily in Alberta. King’s success was rooted in his ability to secure a strong base of support in Quebec, where he appealed to the province's desire for stability and opposition to conscription, and then expand his reach across the country. This victory marked the beginning of a new era of Liberal dominance, with King at the helm, which would last for the next 20 years.

As King returned to office, he was immediately faced with a significant international crisis involving the Italian invasion of Ethiopia. Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, had launched an aggressive campaign to conquer Ethiopia in 1935, an act of blatant imperialism that violated international norms. As a member of the League of Nations, Canada was drawn into the debate over how to respond to Italy’s actions. W. Riddell, Canada’s representative to the League, had taken the lead in advocating for the imposition of sanctions on Italy, including the prohibition of exports of key resources such as oil, coal, and steel.

However, King, who had not authorized Riddell’s actions, was caught off guard by this bold stance. He quickly backtracked, issuing a public statement distancing his government from Riddell's position. King’s statement in Parliament reflected his cautious approach: "What was my amazement when on reading a morning newspaper I found Doctor Riddell at Geneva was reported to have proposed to add oil, coal, and steel to the list of commodities which by sanctions were to be prohibited from export to Italy. No instructions whatever had been sent to him authorizing anything of the kind...word was immediately to be sent that no action of any kind was to be taken by Doctor Riddell without specific instructions from the government."

This retreat marked King’s first major foreign policy challenge since returning to office, and it revealed his reluctance to engage deeply in European affairs. King’s instinct was to avoid entanglement in international conflicts, especially those that might lead Canada into another war. His decision to scale back Canada’s involvement in sanctions against Italy allowed fascism to continue its march across Europe unchecked. The invasion of Ethiopia went forward, and the League of Nations, weakened by the failure of its members to take decisive action, proved ineffective in stopping Mussolini.

King’s cautious approach to foreign policy extended to his response to Germany's reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936, another flagrant violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler’s decision to send German troops into the Rhineland was a direct challenge to the post-World War I settlement, but once again, King opted to remain aloof from European affairs. His preference was to focus on domestic issues, particularly as Canada was still recovering from the economic devastation of the Depression. This policy of non-intervention, which mirrored the isolationism of Franklin D. Roosevelt's United States, reflected King’s deep-seated desire to avoid the kind of political divisions that had plagued Canada during the First World War.

King was especially wary of the conscription issue, which had nearly torn the country apart in 1917. The conscription crisis had alienated French Canadians, particularly in Quebec, and King was determined to avoid repeating that mistake. For King, avoiding involvement in European conflicts was not only a matter of foreign policy but also of maintaining national unity. He feared that any commitment to military action in Europe might reopen the bitter wounds of the conscription debate and threaten his political base in Quebec.

At the same time, King supported Britain’s policy of appeasement. In 1937, during a speech in the Canadian Parliament, he stated: "In any action this Parliament takes, we shall do well to have regard for the world situation as it is today and for the way in which our action may be viewed by other parts of the world. If ever there was need for unity on the part of nations and peoples who hold certain cherished ideals of freedom and liberty, that need exists today. We have need for unity in our own country. Nothing can do this country more injury than internal disruptions and differences."

King’s participation in the Imperial Conference in London in 1937 reaffirmed his support for British policies, and it was during this trip that King made his fateful visit to Germany. There, he met with Adolf Hitler and came away with the impression that Hitler was a simple, unassuming man who did not pose a significant threat to global peace. King’s misjudgment of Hitler's ambitions reflected the widespread underestimation of the Nazi threat at the time, especially among political leaders in Britain and the British Commonwealth.

As the situation in Europe deteriorated, King gradually began to accept that war was inevitable. By 1939, the global political landscape had changed dramatically, and the rise of Nazi Germany under Hitler, combined with the failure of appeasement, had made conflict unavoidable. King’s initial reluctance to involve Canada in European affairs was slowly replaced by a recognition that Canada would have to play a role in the looming conflict.

The end of the Great Depression was finally in sight by 1939, but an even greater test awaited King and Canada. The outbreak of the Second World War would demand more from the country than the economic hardships of the 1930s. King’s leadership during the Depression laid the groundwork for his future role in guiding Canada through the war, but his policies of isolationism and appeasement in the face of rising fascism would remain a controversial aspect of his legacy.

In conclusion, Mackenzie King's return to power in 1935 marked a pivotal moment in Canadian history. His cautious approach to foreign policy, his avoidance of entanglement in European conflicts, and his support for appeasement reflected both the mood of the Canadian public and his desire to maintain national unity. However, as global tensions mounted, King’s policies came under scrutiny, particularly as the threat of fascism in Europe became more apparent. While his actions in the mid-1930s helped stabilize Canada’s economy and solidify his political power, they also delayed Canada’s involvement in the fight against fascism, a fight that would soon consume the world.