Hugh Guthrie

For the Australian politician, seeHugh Guthrie (Australian politician).For the Scottish politician, seeHugh Guthrie (Scottish politician).

The Honourable Hugh Guthrie PCKC
Guthrie,c. 1917
Leader of the Opposition
In office 11 October 1926 – 11 October 1927
Preceded by	W. L. Mackenzie King
Succeeded by	R. B. Bennett
Personal details
Born	(1866-08-13)13 August 1866 Guelph,Canada West
Died	3 November 1939(1939-11-03)(aged 73) Ottawa,Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal(1900-1917) Liberal-Unionist/Unionist(1917-1921) Conservative(1921-1939)
Profession	Lawyer

Hugh GuthriePCKC(13 August 1866 – 3 November 1939) was aCanadianlawyer and politician who served as a minister in the governments of SirRobert Borden,Arthur MeighenandR. B. Bennett.

Biography

He was born inGuelph,Canada West,the son ofDonald Guthrie,and studied there and atOsgoode Hall,becoming a barrister. Guthrie was named aKing's Counselin 1902. He married Maude Henrietta, the daughter of Guelph businessman Thomas H. Scarff.

Guthrie was first elected to theHouse of Commonsas aLiberalin 1900 from theridingofWellington South.He sat inWilfrid Laurier's caucus for 17 years, but crossed the floor to join theUnionistgovernment ofRobert Bordenas a result of theConscription Crisis of 1917.The former Liberal backbencher became a leading light in his new party, serving assolicitor generalunder Borden. With the end ofWorld War I,mostLiberal-Unionistseither rejoined the Liberal Party or joined the newProgressive Party.Guthrie, however, stayed with theConservatives,becomingminister of militia and defenceand running for re-election as a Conservative in the1921 election.After the election, he joined the Conservatives on the Opposition benches.

As a result of the 1926 "King-Byng Affair",Meighen's Conservatives formed a government in which Guthrie served asMinister of JusticeandMinister of National Defence(acting until July 13). This second stint in Cabinet ended with the defeat of the Meighen government in thatfall's election.Meighen lost his seat, and Guthrie served asLeader of the Oppositionandinterim leaderof the Conservative Party for a full year.

Guthie sought the party leadership at theleadership conventionthat the party held in 1927, but was defeated byR.B. Bennett.John Diefenbakerwas a delegate to that convention and he wrote in his memoirs that Guthrie's candidacy was hurt when the former Liberal absent-mindedly declared in his speech to delegates that the Conservative meeting was the "greatest Liberal convention in history".

Bennett led the Conservatives to victory in the1930 election,and Guthrie was appointed Minister of Justice andAttorney General.In 1931, he led the Canadian delegation to theLeague of Nations.In 1933, he introduced legislation making it illegal to carry a concealed weapon without authorization. In 1935, he clashed with oppositionMember of ParliamentAgnes Macphailwho demanded an inquiry into inhumane conditions in Canada'sprisonssuch as the whipping of prisoners.

Guthrie as Leader of the Opposition, 1927

As theGreat Depressionworsened and millions were unemployed, the government became increasingly concerned about political instability and the growth of radical movements. Guthrie's department was responsible for the persecution of theCommunist Party of Canada,and the arrest and incarceration of Communists, including leaderTim Buck,forsedition.

In 1933, Tim Buck was shot at by soldiers in an apparentassassinationattempt while he was in his cell during aprison riot.Guthrie was forced to admit that the attack was deliberate, but claimed the intent was only to frighten him; however, the public outcry at this incident lead to Buck being released.

In 1935, unemployed workers inBritish Columbiadeserted the remoterelief campsestablished by the Bennett government, and began the "On to Ottawa Trek".Thousands of unemployed workers hopped on freight trains heading east intending to converge in Ottawa and press their demands on the government. Bennett's cabinet saw this as an insurrectionary movement and panicked. In the House of Commons, Guthrie charged that the protesters" were a distinct menace to the peace, order and good government of Canada. "

As the protesters enteredSaskatchewan,Guthrie had the Trek banned, over the objections of SaskatchewanPremierJames G. Gardiner.He and Bennett ordered theRoyal Canadian Mounted Policeto use tear gas and revolvers to break up the Trek when it enteredRegina.The city was but under siege with hundreds of police officers moved in blocking all exits from the city. On July 1, 1935, the police attacked a meeting attended by 3,000 people resulting in one death, dozens of injuries and national outrage.

Guthrie, now 69, did not run in the1935 electionthat routed Bennett's government, preferring to retire from politics. He died four years later.

Electoral record (Wellington South)

1900 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Guthrie	2,755	51.0	2.4
	Conservative	Christian Kloepfer	2,649	49.0	-2.4
Total valid votes			5,404	100.0

1904 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Guthrie	3,694	52.7	1.7
	Conservative	Christian Kloepfer	3,315	47.3	-1.7
Total valid votes			7,009	100.0

1908 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Guthrie	3,873	55.0	2.3
	Conservative	John Newstead	3,172	45.0	-2.3
Total valid votes			7,045	100.0

1911 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hugh Guthrie	3,368	55.1	0.1
	Conservative	Arthur Thomas Kelly Evans	2,744	44.9	-0.1
Total valid votes			6,112	100.0

1917 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Government (Unionist)	Hugh Guthrie	7,358	77.5
	Labour	Lorne Cunningham	2,139	22.5
Total valid votes			9,497	100.0

1921 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Guthrie	6,208	36.6	-40.9
	Labour	James Singer	6,077	35.9	13.4
	Liberal	Samuel Carter	4,662	27.5	27.5
Total valid votes			16,947	100.0

1925 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Guthrie	9,096	52.9	16.3
	Liberal	Robert Gladstone	8,088	47.1	11.1
Total valid votes			17,184	100.0

1926 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Guthrie	8,515	53.3	0.4
	Liberal	William A. Burnett	7,471	46.7	-0.4
Total valid votes			15,986	100.0

1930 Canadian federal election:Wellington South
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Guthrie	8,887	53.0	-0.3
	Liberal	John Burr Mitchell	7,893	47.0	0.3
Total valid votes			16,780	100.0

By-election: On Mr. Guthrie being appointed Minister of Justice, 25 August 1930: Wellington South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Guthrie	acclaimed

References

• Canadian Parliamentary Guide (1934),AL Normandin

External links

• Hugh Guthrie – Parliament of Canada biography