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36-538: At the start of the 20th century the North-West Elevator Association, closely associated with the Winnipeg Grain Exchange , controlled over two thirds of the grain elevators on the prairies. The elevator companies, working together, could force the farmers to accept low prices for their grain. When there were shortages of rail cars the railways gave preferential treatment to the companies over

72-718: A crucial role in the 1911 federal election on reciprocity by putting his electoral machine at the disposal of the federal Conservative Party . Roblin thus helped to defeat Sir Wilfrid Laurier and put Robert Borden in power. Borden in turn enacted legislation to expand Manitoba's boundaries to their current limit. Like his counterpart James Whitney , in Ontario , Roblin expanded the role of government in Manitoba and promoted many initiatives that would be regarded today as progressive. As railway commissioner, he reached an agreement with Canadian Northern Railways to build an alternate route to

108-634: A position in favor of women's suffrage in 1911. In 1912 women were admitted as associate members, and in 1914 the constitution was changed to recognize women as full members. In 1917 a women's section was organized as the United Farm Women of Manitoba. During the January 1917 annual meeting of the MGGA there was much discussion of the question of conscription. Chipman took the position that if there were to be conscription, wealth should be conscripted first, and this

144-670: A reduced margin by winning 28 seats against 20 for the Liberals in an expanded legislature. When Roblin rejected calls for a formal investigation into the legislative buildings scandal, the Liberal opposition petitioned the Lieutenant Governor to take direct action. The Lieutenant-Governor convened his own commission of enquiry, popularly known as the Mathers Commission, as it was led by Chief Justice T.A. Mathers . After only two weeks,

180-436: A state-owned system of grain elevators to assist farmers, but that was less successful. A scandal involving the elevators weakened his government's hold on power in the early 1910s. Roblin was more conservative on social issues. He is often remembered today for his opposition to women's suffrage and for clashing with Nellie McClung on the issue. McClung made Roblin appear foolish in her famous "parliament of women" parodying

216-470: The 1903 election against 9 for Greenway's Liberals. The extent of that victory may be credited to Greenway's leadership of the Liberal Party since he was increasingly uninterested in provincial politics and was spending much of his time looking for a federal patronage appointment. Roblin's machine also coasted to easy victories in 1907 and 1910 by winning 28 of 41 seats on both occasions. Roblin played

252-833: The Alberta Farmers' Association was founded. In 1906 the TGGA renamed itself the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association (SGGA). In 1909 the Alberta Farmers' Association combined with the American Society of Equity, another Alberta group, to form the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA). The first local grain grower association in Manitoba was founded at Virden, Manitoba on 7 January 1903. The Manitoba Grain Growers' Association

288-511: The Social Gospel movement began to spread among organized farmers, particularly Methodists. The basic concept was that Christianity should be concerned with eradicating injustice and promoting cooperation rather than competition. In 1915 Salem Bland of Wesley College in Winnipeg addressed delegates to the MGGA convention. He supported their decision to demand taxation of unused land, and said that

324-406: The prohibition issue was also controversial. Macdonald's government had passed prohibition legislation in 1900, after two separate referendums had confirmed public support for the initiative. Roblin was reluctant to enforce the legislation, however, because his government received significant revenues from the sale of alcohol. He called a third referendum in 1902. When temperance supporters boycotted

360-480: The 1907 convention, in part because the company's original cooperative structure had been modified to meet the requirements of the Grain Exchange, in part because he was not interested in running the company he had launched. Early in 1908 Partridge convinced the Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association (SGGA) to endorse the principle that inland grain elevators should be owned by the province and terminal elevators by

396-559: The Dominion of Canada. The Manitoba association passed a resolution supporting this proposal at their convention. In 1917 the GGGC merged with the Alberta Farmers' Co-operative Elevator Company , founded in 1913, to form the United Grain Growers (UGG), which provided grain marketing, handling and supply until 2001. The Grain Growers' Guide first appeared in 1908, edited by Partridge. It

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432-505: The MGGA. The next year the guide was made a weekly, and George F. Chipman was appointed associate editor. The Guide was tightly controlled by the parent company and the associations of grain growers, who ensured that it was independent of political parties. From 1911 the editor in chief was George Fisher Chipman . By 1918 it was the largest farm publication on the prairies by circulation. The Manitoba Grain Growers Association took

468-671: The Manitoba Grain Growers' Association changed its name to the United Farmers of Manitoba (UFM) in an effort to broaden its base and in preparation for becoming a political party. The UFM began to get involved in local political contests. In 1921 the UFM fielded candidates in the federal election. In the provincial elections the next year the UFM won the majority of seats. Winnipeg Grain Exchange The Winnipeg Grain Exchange (Known too as ICE Futures Canada )

504-431: The act which was passed that year. Duncan William McCuaig was president from 1904 to 1910. For many years the former clergyman Richard Coe Henders (1853–1932) was president of the association. The farmers were mainly Protestant, including Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Anglicans. Church attendance was high, and the churches served as important social institutions. By the start of World War I (1914–18)

540-558: The co-op movement was "part of the divine plan of human brotherhood." The Grain Act did not solve the problems of the grading system and re-inspection machinery. On 27 January 1906 the Grain Growers' Grain Company (GGGC) was founded as a cooperative company to handle marketing of the grain, under the leadership of Edward Alexander Partridge . The GGGC found itself engaged in a lengthy struggle with

576-442: The commission had uncovered enough evidence to force the government's resignation. Roblin formally resigned as premier on May 12, 1915, and the Liberal leader, Tobias Norris , was called to form a new administration. A new general election was called, which the Liberals won a landslide. The commission's report concluded that Roblin, Attorney General James H. Howden , and the developer Thomas Kelly had conspired to commit fraud in

612-546: The dominant line, and transportation costs remained high. Confronted with Greenway's failure, Roblin abandoned the government in 1889 and caucused with the small Conservative opposition. With the death of John Norquay in the same year, Roblin emerged as the party's leading spokesman and was the Conservative Party's de facto leader in the legislature between 1890 and 1892. In opposition, Roblin spoke against Greenway's proposed education reforms. After his failure to reform

648-399: The existing grain companies over its seats on the Winnipeg Grain Exchange . It was expelled for paying patronage dividends to its member clients, then reinstated when the MGGA exerted pressure on the government of Rodmond Roblin . The president of the MGGA, D. W. McCuaig, sued three of the exchange's members for combining to obstruct trade. Partridge resigned as president of the GGGC at

684-493: The farmers. The 1908 "Partridge Plan" of the Manitoba Grain Growers listed other "ill practices" that included "the taking of heavy dockage, the giving of light weight, misgrading the farmers' grain sold on the street or graded into store, failure to provide cleaning apparatus, changing the identity of the farmers' special binned grain, declining to allot space for special binning and refusing to ship grain to owner's order, even when storage charges are tended. The Manitoba Grain Act

720-441: The government and the provincial Conservative Party: his control over both would be unquestioned for 14 years. While Greenway had won elections on single-issue populism, Roblin relied on machine politics for his electoral success. Despite (or because of) some coercion, he was able to effectively dispense patronage and could rely on the support of many loyal followers at the community level. Roblin's Conservatives won 31 seats in

756-513: The lakehead, and he put control of the rates into the hands of the province. His government also promoted significant, expansions in health, education, and road services, all of which were required to service Manitoba's rapidly-increasing population. Roblin created Manitoba's first crown corporations by expropriating Bell's telephone services to create a state-owned system, the first effective public utilities system in Canada. The government also started

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792-438: The official leader of the party in 1897. The 1899 provincial election was very different from the previous two campaigns. The schools question had been resolved in 1896, and Greenway was forced to defend a fairly-mediocre record on other issues against a more organized opposition. The result was a narrow victory for Macdonald's Conservatives, who won 22 of 40 seats. Macdonald was inaugurated as premier early in 1900. Roblin, who

828-411: The poll, prohibition was defeated by a narrow margin. The 1914 provincial election was the start of a watershed period in Manitoba politics. Roblin's government went into the election weakened by a scandal involving the construction of new legislative buildings. His opponents accused the government of corruption and claimed misappropriation of funds and overspending. The Conservatives were re-elected by

864-454: The premier's patronizing comments on traditional gender roles. Roblin also resisted demands to enact a labour code to protect workers and was sometimes reluctant to enforce the province's existing legislation. Roblin is also remembered for folding to pressure from Winnipeg's business community. In 1904, he took the step of reducing the ages for child labour and increasing the maximum hours of work for women and children. Roblin's handling of

900-491: The provincial railway system, Greenway repudiated an earlier pledge and withdrew state support for Manitoba's Catholic and francophone education system. His reforms triggered a national political crisis known as the Manitoba Schools Question . Many Canadian francophones regarded Greenway's policy as discriminatory, but it was extremely popular with Manitoba's anglophone and Protestant majority. Greenway's government

936-403: Was agreed after some debate. Fred Dixon was known to support the rights on conscientious objectors, which was an unpopular position with most of the delegates, but was allowed to talk on the question of trade. The association was in favor of free trade rather than a protectionist system that would first favor Britain and her allies, next neutral countries and last the enemies of Britain. In 1920

972-569: Was also a school trustee in the community. He entered provincial politics in the 1886 Manitoba election , running as a Liberal Party candidate against the Conservative cabinet minister David H. Wilson in the constituency of Dufferin North . He lost the race by five votes but won a subsequent by-election held on May 12, 1888. The by-election took place shortly after Thomas Greenway had been inaugurated as Manitoba's first Liberal premier . Roblin

1008-839: Was born in Sophiasburgh , in Prince Edward County , Canada West (later Ontario ). The Roblin family was established in Sophiasburgh by the Loyalist farmers Philip and Elizabeth Roblin from Smith's Clove (now known as Monroe) in Orange County, New York . He was educated at Albert College in Belleville , arrived in Winnipeg in 1877, and worked as a grain merchant . Roblin served as reeve of Dufferin for five years and as warden for two and

1044-638: Was established in 1887, and dissolved in 1986. It was also the predecessor of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange . The exchange had 97 presidents, Of which: This article about an organization in Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rodmond Roblin Sir Rodmond Palen Roblin KCMG (February 15, 1853 – February 16, 1937) was a businessman and politician in Manitoba , Canada . Roblin

1080-512: Was formed at a meeting March 3–4 in Brandon, Manitoba . The first president was James William Scallion (1847–1926) from Virden. In 1903 two officers of the MGGA accompanied Motherwell and J.B. Gillespie of the TGGA to Ottawa where they met with representatives of the railways and grain companies to tighten up the wording of the Manitoba Grain Act. The next text was introduced as an amendment to

1116-639: Was founded in Indian Head , in what is now Saskatchewan , in a meeting of farmers organized to address the issue. William Richard Motherwell was the driving force behind the TGGA. In 1902 the TGGA won a case against the CPR that forced it to comply with the Manitoba Grain Act. Farmers became increasingly interested in the TGGA, and the Manitoba Grain Growers Association was formed as a TGGA branch. In 1905 Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces, and

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1152-554: Was passed in 1901, designed to prevent these abuses and ensure fair practices and prices in the booming grain trade in the prairie provinces of Canada. There was a bumper crop that year, and farmers found they could not get their produce to market because the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the grain companies were still failing to conform to the act. In 1901 the Territorial Grain Growers' Association (TGGA)

1188-521: Was published by the Grain Growers' Grain Company through its subsidiary, Public Press Limited. The Guide represented the interests of the MGGA and its sister organizations the SGGA and the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA). Partridge thought the guide should be a militant paper, but was not supported in this view. He resigned after the first issue, and was temporarily succeeded by Roderick McKenzie, secretary of

1224-708: Was re-elected in Woodlands, but despite being was the main architect of the Conservative victory, he was left out of cabinet. Macdonald resigned as premier on October 29, 1900, to run for the Conservative Party of Canada against Clifford Sifton in the federal riding of Brandon . Roblin became premier in his place and also took the powerful cabinet position of Railway Commissioner . In December, he also appointed himself as Minister of Agriculture . That consolidation of power reflected Roblin's personal authority over both

1260-475: Was re-elected in the 1892 election , and Roblin was personally defeated in the rural constituency, including the town of Morden . Greenway won another landslide victory in the 1896 election , but Roblin was this time returned to the legislature for the constituency of Woodlands . He became the parliamentary leader of the Conservatives for a second time but stood aside to allow Hugh John Macdonald to become

1296-402: Was then a supporter of Greenway and was re-elected by acclamation when the new premier called another provincial election for July 1888. Although Greenway's Liberals won the election with a landslide majority, the new premier was unable to fulfill a campaign promise for the development of local railways. The Canadian Pacific Railway had lost its formal monopoly in the region, but it remained

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