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43-502: The United Newfoundland Party was the name of two conservative parties in Newfoundland. The first UNP was a conservative party in the Dominion of Newfoundland led by Frederick C. Alderdice from 1928 to 1934. It was organized by Alderdice when disaffected Liberals joined his Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party sitting in opposition and won the 1932 general election . His government

86-455: A Newfoundland National Convention would be elected to advise on what constitutional choices should be voted on by referendum. Union with the United States was a possibility, but Britain rejected the option and offered instead two options: return to dominion status or continuation of the unpopular Commission. Canada cooperated with Britain to ensure that the option of closer ties with America

129-664: A railway across the island , which was completed in the 1890s, and by raising its own regiment during the First World War . In November 1932, the government warned that Newfoundland would default on payments on the public debt. The British government quickly established the Newfoundland Royal Commission to inquire into and report on the position. The commission's report, published in October 1933, recommended that Newfoundland give up self-government temporarily and allow

172-477: A riot which brought down the previous government , the government of Prime Minister Frederick C. Alderdice asked the British and Canadian governments to establish a royal commission (the Newfoundland Royal Commission ) to investigate the dominion's continuing crisis and to suggest a solution to its problems. The commission (commonly known as the "Amulree Commission") was chaired by Lord Amulree , appointed by

215-518: A Scottish peer, Lord Amulree . Its report, released in 1933, assessed Newfoundland's political culture as intrinsically corrupt and its economic prospects as bleak, and advocated the abolition of responsible government and its replacement by a Commission of the British Government. Acting on the report's recommendations, Alderdice's government voted itself out of existence in December 1933. In 1934,

258-466: A colony until the 1907 Imperial Conference resolved to confer dominion status on all self-governing colonies in attendance. The annual holiday of Dominion Day was celebrated each 26 September to commemorate the occasion. Newfoundland's own regiment, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment , fought in the First World War . On 1 July 1916, the German Army wiped out most of that regiment at Beaumont Hamel on

301-513: A commission of enquiry, headed by Thomas Hollis-Walker, reviewed the scandal. Soon after, the Squires government fell. Squires returned to power in 1928 because of the unpopularity of his successors, the pro-business Walter Stanley Monroe and (briefly) Frederick C. Alderdice (Monroe's cousin), but found himself governing a country suffering from the Great Depression . The Judicial Committee of

344-471: A national flag and established an external affairs department in 1931. Although the legislature of Newfoundland gave its assent to the passage of the Statute of Westminster, when the Statute was finalised the Newfoundland delegation requested that it not come into effect in Newfoundland until the legislature had consented to the application of the statute. The legislature of Newfoundland never gave its consent, so

387-756: A native of Prince Edward Island , won a parliamentary majority over Sir Hugh Hoyles and the Conservatives . Little formed the first administration from 1855 to 1858. Newfoundland sent two delegates to the Quebec Conference in 1864 which resulted in Canadian Confederation , but the option of joining was not popular in Newfoundland. In the 1869 general election, Newfoundlanders rejected confederation with Canada. Sir John Thompson , Prime Minister of Canada , came very close to negotiating Newfoundland's entry into Confederation in 1892. Newfoundland remained

430-476: A vote for responsible government) took part. No party advocated petitioning Britain to continue the Commission of Government. Canada had issued an invitation to join it on generous financial terms. Smallwood was the leading proponent of confederation with Canada, insisting, "Today we are more disposed to feel that our very manhood, our very creation by God, entitles us to standards of life no lower than our brothers on

473-479: A vote of 52 to 48 percent for confederation. Newfoundland joined Canada in the final hours of 31 March 1949. Commission of Government Newfoundland's economic difficulties were exacerbated by debt incurred during the First World War and the collapse of fish prices during the Depression. In 1933, following a prolonged period of economic crisis and severe budgetary deficit , and civil unrest culminating in

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516-525: The House of Assembly ) and forced Prime Minister Squires to flee. Squires lost an election held later in 1932. The next government, led once more by Alderdice, called upon the British government to take direct control until Newfoundland could become self-sustaining. The United Kingdom, concerned over Newfoundland's likelihood of defaulting on its war-debt payments, established the Newfoundland Royal Commission , headed by

559-543: The Newfoundland Act, 1933 , and on 16 February 1934, the British government appointed six commissioners, three from Newfoundland and three from the United Kingdom, with the governor as chairman. The system of a six-member Commission of Government continued to govern Newfoundland until Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949 to become Canada's tenth province. The official name of the dominion was "Newfoundland" and not, as

602-470: The first day on the Somme , inflicting 90 percent casualties. Yet the regiment went on to serve with distinction in several subsequent battles, earning the prefix "Royal". Despite people's pride in the accomplishments of the regiment, Newfoundland's war debt and pension responsibility for the regiment and the cost of maintaining a trans-island railway led to increased and ultimately unsustainable government debt in

645-520: The 1940s caused an economic boom and allowed the Commission of Government to consider how to reintroduce a system of democratic government. However, the British government believed that wartime prosperity would be short-lived. So it established the Newfoundland National Convention in 1946 to debate constitutional options, which were submitted to the people in two referendums in 1948. By a slender majority, Newfoundlanders chose to become

688-664: The British Parliament passed the Newfoundland Act, 1933 which suspended Newfoundland's Legislature and established the Commission of Government . Letters patent passed under the act provided that Newfoundland was ruled by the governor, who reported to the Colonial Secretary in London, and the commission, appointed by the British government. Newfoundland remained a dominion in name only. The Newfoundland Supreme Court held that

731-532: The British government, and also included Charles Alexander Magrath , appointed by the Canadian government, and Sir William Ewen Stavert , who represented the Newfoundland government. The commission recommended the temporary suspension of responsible government in Newfoundland, and replacing it with a Commission of Government made up of the British-appointed Governor and six commissioners appointed by

774-464: The Crown made up of three British officials and three Newfoundland-born appointees. Alderdice was in favour of this recommendation and accordingly put it to the House of Assembly , which duly approved the proposals and thus voted itself out of existence. The Commission of Government was sworn in on 16 February 1934, with Alderdice as vice-chairman, and immediately set about reforming the administration of

817-571: The Privy Council resolved Newfoundland's long-standing Labrador boundary dispute with Canada to the satisfaction of Newfoundland and against Canada (and, in particular, contrary to the wishes of Quebec , the province that bordered Labrador) with a ruling on 1 April 1927. Prior to 1867, the Quebec North Shore portion of the "Labrador coast" had shuttled back and forth between the colonies of Lower Canada and Newfoundland. Maps up to 1927 showed

860-506: The United Kingdom to administer it by an appointed commission. The Newfoundland parliament accepted the recommendations; it then presented a petition to the King to ask for the suspension of the constitution and the appointment of commissioners to administer the government until the country became self-supporting again. To enable compliance with the request, the British Parliament passed

903-522: The United States". Advocates of union with Canada denounced the Economic Union Party as republican, disloyal and anti-British. No American initiative for union was ever created. As soon as prosperity returned during the war, agitation began to end the commission. Newfoundland, with a population of 313,000 (plus 5,200 in Labrador), seemed too small to be independent. In 1945, London announced that

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946-561: The United States, which could be a major source of capital. The result proved inconclusive, with 44.5 percent supporting the restoration of dominion status, 41.1 percent for confederation with Canada, and 14.3 percent for continuing the Commission of Government. Due to no option getting at least 50 percent of the vote, a second referendum with the top two options from the first referendum was scheduled to be held on 22 July. The second referendum, on 22 July 1948, asked Newfoundlanders to choose between confederation and dominion status, and produced

989-507: The ballot. After much debate, the first referendum took place on 3 June 1948, to decide between continuing with the Commission of Government, reverting to dominion status, or joining Canadian Confederation . Three parties participated in the referendum campaign: Smallwood's Confederate Association campaigned for the confederation option while in the anti-confederation campaign Peter Cashin 's Responsible Government League and Chesley Crosbie 's Economic Union Party (both of which called for

1032-566: The coastal region as part of Newfoundland, with an undefined boundary. The Privy Council ruling established a boundary along the drainage divide separating waters that flowed through the territory to the Labrador coast, although following two straight lines from the Romaine River along the 52nd parallel , then south near 57 degrees west longitude to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence . Quebec has long rejected

1075-541: The country in hopes of balancing the government's budget. With the help of grants in aid from the United Kingdom , the Commission attempted to encourage agriculture and reorganize the fishing industry. While it did much to expand government health services to rural areas, for example, it could not solve the basic economic problems of a small export-oriented country during a time of worldwide economic stagnation. American and Canadian military spending in Newfoundland during

1118-418: The dominion was the " Ode to Newfoundland ", written by British colonial governor Sir Cavendish Boyle in 1902 during his administration of Newfoundland (1901 to 1904). It was adopted as the dominion's anthem on 20 May 1904, until confederation with Canada in 1949. In 1980, the province of Newfoundland re-adopted the song as a provincial anthem. The "Ode to Newfoundland" continues to be heard at public events in

1161-507: The first paycheques they had seen in years by working on construction and in dockside crews. National income doubled as an economic boom took place in the Avalon Peninsula and to a lesser degree in Gander , Botwood , and Stephenville . The United States became the main supplier, and American money and influence diffused rapidly from the military, naval, and air bases. Prosperity returned to

1204-544: The fishing industry by 1943. Government revenues, aided by inflation and new income, quadrupled, even though Newfoundland had tax rates much lower than those in Canada, Britain, or the United States. To the astonishment of all, Newfoundland started financing loans to London. Wartime prosperity ended the long depression and reopened the question of political status. The American Bases Act became law in Newfoundland on 11 June 1941, with American personnel creating drastic social change on

1247-625: The island. This included significant intermarriage between Newfoundland women and American personnel. In October 1943, the weather station Kurt was erected in Newfoundland, marking Nazi Germany 's only armed operation on land in North America. A new political party formed in Newfoundland to support closer ties with the US, the Economic Union Party , which Karl McNeil Earle characterizes as "a short-lived but lively movement for economic union with

1290-453: The leader of the confederates and moved for the inclusion of a third option – that of confederation with Canada. The Convention defeated his motion, but he did not give up, instead gathering more than 5,000 petition signatures within a fortnight , which he sent to London through the governor. Britain insisted that it would not give Newfoundland any further financial assistance, but added this third option of having Newfoundland join Canada to

1333-581: The mainland." Due to persistence, he succeeded in having the Canada option on the referendum. His main opponents were Cashin and Crosbie. Cashin, a former finance minister, led the Responsible Government League, warning against cheap Canadian imports and the high Canadian income tax. Crosbie, a leader of the fishing industry, led the Party for Economic Union with the United States, seeking responsible government first, to be followed by closer ties with

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1376-410: The outcome, and Quebec's provincially issued maps do not mark the boundary in the same way as boundaries with Ontario and New Brunswick . Newfoundland only gradually implemented its status as a self-governing dominion. In 1921, it officially established the position of High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (for which Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring had already assumed the role in 1918), and it adopted

1419-680: The post-war era. After the war, Newfoundland along with the other dominions sent a separate delegation to the Paris Peace Conference but, unlike the other dominions, Newfoundland neither signed the Treaty of Versailles in her own right nor sought separate membership in the League of Nations . In the 1920s, political scandals wracked the dominion. In 1923, the attorney general arrested Newfoundland's prime minister, Sir Richard Squires , on charges of corruption. Despite his release soon after on bail,

1462-504: The province; however, only the first and last verses are traditionally sung. Newfoundland was the oldest English colony in North America, being claimed by John Cabot for King Henry VII , and again by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583. It gradually acquired European settlement; in 1825, it was formally recognised as a Crown colony by the British government. The British government granted representative government in 1832, and responsible government in 1854. In 1855, Philip Francis Little ,

1505-488: The statute was not in force in Newfoundland until it joined Canada. As a small country which relied primarily upon the export of fish, paper, and minerals, Newfoundland was hit hard by the Great Depression . Economic frustration combined with anger over government corruption led to a general dissatisfaction with democratic government. On 5 April 1932, a crowd of 10,000 people marched on the Colonial Building (seat of

1548-711: The surrender of responsible government and the establishment of the commission of government "... reduces the Island to the status of a pure Crown colony". The severe worldwide Great Depression persisted until the Second World War broke out in 1939. Given Newfoundland's strategic location in the Battle of the Atlantic , the Allies (especially the United States of America) built many military bases there. Large numbers of unskilled men gained

1591-408: The two orders of government had run its course. While two UNP MHAs were elected in 1959, Higgins was defeated. Gus Duffy succeeded Higgins as UNP leader. He sat with fellow UNP MHA John R. O'Dea , who stepped down after one term. In the 1962 provincial election , Duffy was defeated in his St. John's Centre riding. The party became defunct soon after. Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland

1634-471: Was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador . It included the island of Newfoundland , and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the original dominions under the Balfour Declaration of 1926 , and accordingly enjoyed a constitutional status equivalent to the other dominions of the time. Its dominion status

1677-474: Was confirmed by the Statute of Westminster, 1931 , although the statute was not otherwise applicable to Newfoundland. In 1934, Newfoundland became the only dominion to give up its self-governing status, which ended 79 years of self-government. The abolition of self-government came about because of a crisis in Newfoundland's public finances in 1932. Newfoundland had accumulated a significant amount of debt by building

1720-414: Was formed immediately prior to the election when two Tory MHAs, led by James D. Higgins , supported Premier Joey Smallwood 's stance in favour of Newfoundland receiving financial assistance from the federal government indefinitely. Provincial Conservative leader Malcolm Mercer Hollett supported the position of Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker , who maintained that the funding agreement between

1763-530: Was not on the referendum. In 1946, an election took place to determine the membership of the Newfoundland National Convention, charged with deciding the future of Newfoundland. The Convention voted to hold a referendum to decide between continuing the Commission of Government or restoring responsible government . Joey Smallwood was a well-known radio personality, writer, organizer, and nationalist who had long criticized British rule. He became

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1806-578: Was replaced by an appointed Commission of Government in 1934 (a change his party promised in its 1932 platform as a means of getting the Dominion out of fiscal trouble), resulting in the termination of responsible government in the Dominion. (See also Conservative parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation) .) The second United Newfoundland Party was formed prior to the 1959 provincial election , made up of some Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador caucus members and supporters. The party

1849-489: Was sometimes reported, "Dominion of Newfoundland". The distinction is apparent in many statutes, most notably the Statute of Westminster that listed the full name of each realm, including the "Dominion of New Zealand", the "Dominion of Canada", and "Newfoundland". The Newfoundland Red Ensign was used as the de facto national flag of the dominion until the legislature adopted the Union Flag on 15 May 1931. The anthem of

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