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Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Serving
Agriculture

Canada's Ministers of Agriculture

1867-1997

Canada

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2011 with funding from

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada

http://www.archive.org/details/servingagricultuOOmcgr

Preface

Agriculture is one of the most complex and demanding portfolios in
the Government of Canada. The industry is diverse, encompassing
everything from conservation and resource issues to processing
technology and international trade. The agriculture and food sector
represents businesses both big and small; it is simultaneously the
subject of sophisticated international trade negotiations and a
traditional way of life for thousands of farm families. Finally, it
affects not only rural communities but also urban manufacturing,
processing and transportation conglomerates. From early settlers
stepping off boats at Grosse Isle to Asian businesspeople sampling
maple syrup on a trade mission, the department has presided over an
industry that in many ways defines Canada's unique character.

Summarizing each of these ministers' careers and contributions has
not been easy. Some of these gentlemen served for many years or over
multiple terms. Others served only for a few months. It 's hard to
profile a minister who served for 22 years in the same manner as
someone who served for only three months, but I've done my best. If
I've omitted something important or made an error, please let us
know.

The department has had a spectacular array of personalities and
talents in its minister's office over the years. Some were farmers, some
were not. Some were veteran politicians for whom this was just one of
many roles. For others, their time as minister of agriculture defined
their professional and political careers. Through crisis, triumph or
controversy, each minister left a unique legacy with the department.
Some went on to serve in other portfolios, to lead provincial
governments, or to accept appointments as board members, senators
or lieutenant-governors. We've not yet seen one become prime
minister, but perhaps this is still to come.

The following profiles tell the story of our department, our industry
and our country over the last 130 years. I'd like to thank my library
colleagues for all their help, and former ministers Bud Olson, Eugene
Whelan, John Wise, Don Mazankowski and Charlie Mayer for
agreeing to be interviewed for this project.

Janyce McGregor

Canadian Agriculture Library

September 1997

Introduction

When I reflect upon the Ministers of Agriculture who have preceded
me, I confess it is a little humbling.

I know something of the fabric of my recent predecessors, but there
are so many more. That 's why this book is valuable to me. On each
page, there is evidence of the stimulating, and indeed, demanding
nature of this portfolio. Canada 's first agriculture minister, Jean-
Charles Chapais, had hardly begun his term when he was faced with
a possible plague of "texian fever" carried on imported horned
cattle. Our third Minister, John Henry Pope was already grappling
with exhausted virgin soils as early as the 1880s. And by the 1890s,
the department under John Carting was experimenting with 300
varieties of potatoes and mailing information to some 30,000
farmers.

What this book captures, above all, is the humanity in the job; its
trials and triumphs come in a surprising number of forms. After the
First World War, for example, the department sponsored egg-laying
contests to stimulate poultry flock performance: Canada's champion
hen produced a world record 351 eggs in a single year.

I can quite honestly say that I have a passion for stories such as
this — and in fact for the agriculture and agri-food industry in
Canada. I have lived and breathed agriculture all of my life.
It's an incredible industry with incredible opportunities for growth.

As Canada's 27'h agriculture minister, I will have the privilege of
guiding the department in the next few years — years in which the
sector stands to figure prominently in meeting Canada's goals: to
spur economic growth and reap the benefits of liberalized trade.

These are not new directions for Canada. In 1876, our fourth
Minister Luc Letellier de Saint-Just, exhibited some international
acumen when Canada participated in its first trade show: the
Philadelphia World Fair. Through 130 years of nationhood, trade
has become increasingly important, and, thanks in large part to the
efforts of my predecessors, we're doing very well indeed. We
produce some of the best food products in the world and, clearly, the
world knows it.

A key trademark of the nineties is partnership: the industry is
actively involved in taking Canada into the global arena. It's
through partnership that Canada continues to solidify its reputation
for food quality and safety, for world-class agricultural science and
technology, and for innovation. These are our tickets to expanding
our markets throughout the world, for the benefit of all Canadians.

My long involvement in agriculture has taught me to have a
profound respect for the sector and its people. History has
demonstrated, generation after generation, what can be
accomplished by those who work to put food on the tables of the
nation, and indeed, tables around the world.

Our strong foundation was laid in years past, and ably maintained
by determined and talented people across the country. It's this strength,
this ability to work together, that will enable us to continue to meet
the challenges of the marketplace. I am proud to be a part of it.

Lyle Vanclief

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

and Minister Coordinating Rural Affairs

III

Canadian Ministers of Agriculture Since Confederation

Jean-Charles Chapais
1867/07/01 - 1869/11/15

Martin Burrell
1911/10/16 - 1917/10/12

John J. Greene
1965/12/18 - 1968/07/05

Christopher Dunkin
1869/11/16 - 1871/10/24

Thomas Alexander Crerar
1917/10/12 - 1919/06/11

Horace Andrew (Bud) Olson
1968/07/06 - 1972/11/26

John Henry Pope

1871/10/25 - 1873/11/05
1878/10/17 - 1885/09/24

Simon Fraser Tolmie
1919/08/12 - 1921/12/29
1926/07/13 ■ 1926/09/25

Eugene Francis Whelan
1972/11/27 - 1979/06/03
1980/03/03 - 1984/06/29

Luc Letellier de Saint-Just
1873/11/07 - 1876/12/14

Charles Alphonse Pantaleon Pelletier

1877/01/26 - 1878/10/08

John Carling
1885/09/25 - 1892/11/24

Auguste-Real Angers

1892/12/07 - 1895/07/12

Walter Humphries Montague
1895/12/21 - 1896/01/05
1896/01/15 - 1896/07/08

William Richard Motherwell
1921/12/29 - 1926/06/28
1926/09/25 - 1930/08/07

Robert Weir
1930/08/08 - 1935/10/23

James Garfield Gardiner
1935/11/04 - 1957/06/21

Douglas Scott Harkness
1957/06/21 - 1960/10/10

Francis Alvin George Hamilton
1960/10/11 - 1963/04/22

John Wise

1979/06/04 - 1980/03/02

1984/09/17 - 1988/09/14

Ralph Ferguson
1984/06/30 - 1984/09/16

Donald Frank Mazankowski
1988/09/15 - 1991/04/20

William Hunter McKnight
1991/04/21 - 1993/01/04

Charles James Mayer
1993/01/04 - 1993/11/04

Sydney Arthur Fisher
1896/07/13 - 1911/10/06

Harry William Hays
1963/04/22 - 1965/12/17

Ralph Goodale
1993/11/04 - 1997/06/11

* Excluding interim acting ministers

Compiled in 1997.

Publication 1990/E

Available from

Canadian Agriculture Library

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Ottawa, Ontario Kl A 0C5

Egalement disponible en frangais : 1990/F - Au service de I 'agriculture

Ministres de V Agriculture du Canada
1867-1997

Printed on recycled paper with vegetable ink.

Serving
Agriculture

Canada's Ministers
of Agriculture

1867-1997

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Jean-Charles Chapais

July I, 1867- November 15, 1869

Jean-Charles Chapais

(1811-1885)

Birthplace

Riviere-Ouelle, Lower Canada

Federal Constituency

Kamouraska (Quebec)

Education

Nicolet College (1824-1830)

Professional Background

General retail merchant, fishery owner and
cattle farmer; helped establish local church,
library

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"As a farmer and longtime representative
of one of the most beautiful farming
regions of Quebec, working for
agricultural prosperity is, to my way
of thinking, more than a duty. It is also
a source of immense pleasure. "
— Jean-Charles Chapais, letter to his
supporters, July 8, 1867

Political Career

The Chapais were one of the wealthy,
politically active families that guided the
development of the parish community of
St-Denis. Jean-Charles Chapais was the first
mayor, while his father-in-law, the wealthy
merchant and seigneur Amable Dionne,
served in the colonial government
representing Kamouraska.

Dionne encouraged Chapais to run for
election to the legislative assembly when a
seat became vacant. After one unsuccessful
attempt, Chapais was elected in 1851 and
re-elected in four consecutive elections.

In 1 864, a coalition of parties agreed to
prorogue the assembly and concentrate on
achieving Confederation to end the political
stalemate in Upper and Lower Canada,
which are now the provinces of Ontario and
Quebec. Chapais was appointed
commissioner of public works and served in
cabinet through the Confederation
conferences and debates. He established the
Intercolonial Railway and developed the
Grand Trunk Railway — infrastructure that
laid the groundwork for Confederation.

On July 1, 1867, Chapais became Canada's
first minister of agriculture. He understood
the industry well, having written a 13-part
report on Quebec agriculture in 1851.

Later that summer, he ran to represent
Kamouraska at both the provincial and
federal levels. Rioting and a scandal over
irregularities in voting procedures cancelled
the election and the riding lost its right to
representation for two years. Chapais was
acclaimed for Champlain in the Quebec
national assembly in December 1 867 and
was appointed to the Senate in January 1868.

Chapais' agriculture portfolio became
onerous over time. His party's popularity
also was waning under the pressures of
governing a new country. Prime Minister
John A. Macdonald needed to bring new
people into cabinet — especially MPs from
the House of Commons. Chapais was
transferred to the receiver general portfolio,
a less demanding but thankless job. In 1873,
he resigned from cabinet because he was
disenchanted with Ottawa life and wanted
to spend more time with his family and
business. He continued to serve as a senator
until his death in 1885.

Industry Issues

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

Canadian agriculture in the 19th century
reflected a diversity of farm climates, soil
types and growing seasons. Some regions,
such as Quebec, had been farmed for
generations. Others, such as the Northwest
Territories, hadn't yet been settled.

Early farmers and new settlers lacked the time
and resources to solve their own problems. The
department acted first in an area of immediate
concern: the impact of animal disease on dairy
and livestock production.

Departmental Developments

Before Confederation, the province of
Canada had a small and relatively ineffective
bureau of agriculture. Chapais oversaw a
small Ottawa office of just 23 clerks — a far
cry from the thousands of professionals
employed by the department in the 1990s.

In 1 868, the federal government passed an
Act to organize and establish the Department
of Agriculture. Its mandate went beyond
traditional agriculture concerns to include
immigration and emigration; public health
and quarantine; the marine and emigrant
hospital at Quebec; arts and manufacturing;
census activities, statistics and registration;
patents; copyright; and industrial designs and
trademarks.

Chapais' first recorded action was an Order
in Council on August 13, 1868 prohibiting
imports of horned cattle from the United
States into Ontario and Quebec. A plague of
"texian fever" in cattle threatened to
contaminate livestock transported by rail.
Chapais appointed Canada's first two
agricultural inspectors to enforce the ban at
two Ontario border crossings.

The first departmental legislation was An Act
Respecting the Contagious Diseases of
Animals, passed in 1869. Farmers trying to
establish livestock herds needed protection
from rinderpest and other European diseases.

Canada's first chief veterinary inspector
oversaw early inspections and quarantines at
maritime ports and American border
crossings to prevent diseased animals from
entering Canada. Existing diseases were
monitored and controlled. These basic
principles of inspection and disease control
still exist in the current Health of Animals
Act (1990).

Canada's first prime minister, John A.
Macdonald, nicknamed Chapais "my
little nun" for his dedication to the
Catholic Church and the civil institutions
of French Canadians.

Chapais was a delegate to the Quebec
Conference of 1 864, where the 72
Resolutions that led to Canadian
Confederation were debated and passed.
He is one of the Fathers of Confederation
seated around the table in Robert Harris'
famous portrait.

Dr. J.C. Tache, the first deputy minister
of the department, was both a nephew of
former Quebec leader Etienne-Pascal
Tache and Chapais' trusted ally from
Kamouraska.

Two of Chapais' political rivals in
Kamouraska also became ministers of
agriculture.

Early annual reports hardly mention
agriculture, focusing on more immediate
colonial concerns such as immigration.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Christopher Dunkin

November 16, 1869 - October 24, 1871

Christopher Dunkin

(1812-1881)

Birthplace

Walworth, England

Federal Constituencies

Drummond-Arthabaska, Brome (Quebec)

Education

University of London, Glasgow University,
Harvard University

Professional Background

Harvard professor; editor of Montreal's
Morning Courier, secretary of Lord
Durham's education commission (1838) and
the postal service commission (until 1842);
assistant provincial secretary, Canada East,
1842-1847; called to the bar in 1846.
practised law in Montreal and later in
Knowlton, Quebec; served on the Council of
Public Instruction in 1859

Political Affiliation

Conservative

Political Career

Christopher Dunkin was defeated in his first
attempt to represent Drummond in the
colonial legislative assembly in 1844. His
second attempt at politics was more
successful, although his tenure was brief: he
was elected to the assembly in 1 858 to
represent Drummond-Arthabaska, but he lost
the seat in 1861. Finally, the resilient Dunkin
was elected to represent Brome, a seat he
held from 1862 until Confederation.

Dunkin contributed to the crisis in
government that eventually led to Canadian
Confederation when he refused to support
the government of fellow Conservatives John
A. Macdonald and Etienne-Pascal Tache in
1864. The loss of his vote denied their
ministry the majority it needed to stay in
power. The legislative gridlock that resulted
from the government's fall led to the
desperate coalition of parties that eventually
achieved Confederation. Ironically, Dunkin.
who represented the English Protestant
minority in Quebec's Eastern Townships,
opposed Confederation during the
parliamentary debates of 1865. He predicted
that the new country would have too many
regional, racial, religious and political
differences to develop as a nation.

In 1867, Dunkin was elected to both the
House of Commons and the Quebec national
assembly for Brome. He turned down a
Quebec cabinet position because premier-
designate Joseph Edouard Cauchon would

not introduce and support a bill giving
Protestants their own schools. Pierre Joseph
Olivier Chauveau, a former associate of
Dunkin's, was more willing to address
Protestants' needs. Chauveau became
premier and formed Quebec's first provincial
government. Dunkin was his treasurer from
1867 to 1869 and was so influential that
people nicknamed it the "Chauveau-Dunkin"
government.

In 1869, Prime Minister Macdonald
rearranged his cabinet and needed a new
English-speaking Quebec representative.
When his first choice, John Henry Pope,
refused — only to accept two years later —
Macdonald appointed Dunkin minister of
agriculture. Dunkin, however, was in poor
health and losing political support. In 1871,
Dunkin resigned and left politics to become a
puisne judge of the Superior Court of
Quebec until his death in 1881.

Departmental Developments

Dunkin owned a 316-acre industrial-sized
farm in Knowlton on Lac Brome and was no
stranger to agricultural issues. Like Chapais
before him, most of his concerns at the
Department of Agriculture had little to do
with what would appear to be important to
agricultural policy today. Annual reports of
the period dwell on immigration issues and
the collection of statistics.

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

The only agricultural concern Dunkin
appears to have faced was a brief scare over
a resurgence of the cattle plague that caused
Chapais to ban American horned cattle
imports for several weeks in 1868. In 1870,
after an investigation by Ontario government
officials, Dunkin concluded there was no
cause for alarm.

Dunkin's political legacy may have more
to do with his role as Quebec's minister
of finance than his achievements as
Canada's minister of agriculture.

Dunkin started a tradition in Quebec
politics that lasted over a century:
appointing an English-speaking member
of the assembly as Quebec's treasurer.

Dunkin might have been ahead of his
time on federal-provincial issues,
strongly advocating the equality of
federal and provincial governments and
espousing what biographer Pierre Corbeil
calls a "true Quebecker's view of politics
and the Constitution." Dunkin believed
the provincial government had to take an
active role in Quebec's economic
development, even though provinces
depended on Ottawa for revenue.

■*l

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

John Henry Pope

October 25, 1871 - November 5. 1873

and October 17, 1878 - September 24, 1885

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John Henry Pope

(1824-1889)

Birthplace

Eaton Township, Lower Canada

Federal Constituency

Compton (Quebec)

Education

Compton High School, Eastern Townships

Professional Background

Farmer, investor and promoter in Cookshire,
Quebec; owner, president or director of
lumber mill, railway, bank, public utility and
woollen mill

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"This Department, although charged . . .
with the subject of Agriculture, has not
hitherto, except incidentally, dealt with
it . . . The subject is, however, of the
greatest importance to Canada, and
the branch, properly organized, would
be of very great service. . .in facilitating
improvements in agriculture. . . to
enable our farmers to compete with
those of other countries. "
— John Henry Pope, 1 87 1 Department of
Agriculture annual report

Political Career

Pope represented his township on
Sherbrooke county council in the 1 840s. He
ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the colonial
government in 1851, 1853 and 1854 before
being acclaimed to the legislative assembly
in 1857. He represented the riding of
Compton in the assembly and, later, in the
House of Commons until he died in 1889.
Once in office, he proved to be a popular
representative. He often ran unopposed or
won with large margins.

As was the case with many Confederation-
era politicians, Pope's mix of politics and
business was frequently controversial. He
was involved in questionable land deals and
his efforts to secure a railway link for his
county and his businesses tangled him in a
web of deal-making with local, provincial
and federal government officials.

Pope's farm was his original and constant
business interest. He was one of the first
Canadians to try to improve cattle herds by
importing thoroughbred stock. When he was
appointed minister of agriculture in 1871, he
became the first minister to focus on
agricultural issues. Pope resigned with the
rest of Macdonald's cabinet over the Pacific
railway scandal of 1873. When the
Conservatives were re-elected in 1 878, Pope
went back to his old portfolio.

Later in Pope's second term, he also became
acting minister of railways and canals. When
the government could not find British capital
to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway
(CPR), Pope took action to secure the
necessary construction contract, persuading
Macdonald to offer the CPR a controversial
$30-million loan in 1884 so it could finish
construction. In 1885, Pope officially became
minister of railways and canals. Even though
he had cancer of the liver, he continued to
serve in that portfolio until he died in 1889.

Industry Issues

Canadian agriculture was in a "transition
state" between a system where farmers
depended on virgin soil — fast becoming
exhausted from use — and a more
sophisticated system of soil maintenance.
Farmers needed new farming techniques to
diversify and improve productivity and
sustainability on farms.

The Conservatives' "National Policy", a
scheme of preferential tariffs designed to
promote east-west trade across Canada, also
developed agriculture. As shipping methods
for livestock improved, disease and injury in
transit decreased. More valuable, pedigreed
animals were imported to improve the
quality of Canadian herds and exports.
Farmers established large cattle ranches at
the foot of the Rocky Mountains in the
Northwest Territories.

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

By 1878, the department oversaw the new
Library of Parliament, an infant public
archives, and the national census. It
continued to be responsible for immigration,
since many settlers arrived ready to buy
farms or land thanks to an agricultural
depression in the United Kingdom.

The department also expanded its efforts in
animal disease control. It began actively
discouraging the use of American ports with
inferior health facilities after some Canadian
animals had to be destroyed because of foot
and mouth disease before reaching the
United Kingdom. Pope banned the import of
American cattle in 1879 and 1884, except at
points where quarantine and inspection were
available, to avoid an outbreak of pleuro-
pneumonia and to maintain Canada's strong
reputation for disease control in the eyes of
British trade officials.

Pope presided over early attempts to gather
agricultural statistics. By 1883, he was
supervising a comprehensive system of crop
reporting for Manitoba and the Northwest
Territories. The findings showed great
potential for wheat production, settlement
and economic development in the Canadian
West.

International and domestic exhibitions
promoted Canadian agricultural products at
home and abroad. Pope presided over the
awarding and distribution of medals as well
as the organization and funding of these
events.

In 1883, Pope responded to recent crop
damage due to insect attacks by appointing
the first departmental entomologist.

Pope served in the militia during the
Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837.

Pope was a loyalist and opposed the
American annexationist movement. He
became friends with John A. Macdonald
at a meeting of the British American
League in Kingston. He later acted as an
intermediary between Macdonald and
George Brown in the Confederation
negotiations.

Department inspectors were dispatched to
implement quarantines to control livestock
diseases in Canadian communities. Pope was
the first minister to recognize that producers
would co-operate with disease control
measures only if they realized a net benefit
from the government's interventions. For the
first time, farmers whose diseased animals
were slaughtered received compensation.

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Luc Letellier de Saint-Just

November 7, 1873 - December 14, 1876

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Luc Letellier
de Saint-Just

(1820-1881)

Birthplace

Riviere-Ouelle, Lower Canada

Federal Constituencies

Kamouraska, Grandville (Quebec)

Education

College of Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere,
Petit Seminaire de Quebec

Professional Background

Trained as a notary, admitted as a
notary public in 1841 and practised in
Riviere-Ouelle

Political Affiliation
Liberal

"His initiative and daring, legal

knowledge and speaking proficiency
predestined him to take up a career

in politics. "

— Philippe-Baby Casgrain, Letellier de

Saint-Just et son temps

Political Career

Letellier's first political rival was Canada's
first minister of agriculture, Jean-Charles
Chapais. Letellier won only the first of five
electoral contests he waged in Kamouraska
against Chapais and served briefly in the
colonial legislative assembly in 1851. These
political confrontations were bitter and hard-
fought — violence and corruption plagued
both sides. Both candidates received support
from family connections and local rivalries.

Alter 10 years of defeats, Letellier was
appointed to the legislative council
representing Grandville in 1860. He served
briefly as minister of agriculture for the
united colonies of Canada East and Canada
West in 1863 when the Grit/Rouge coalition
government sent the struggling Conservative/
Bleu alliance to the opposition benches

Letellier originally opposed Confederation
because he feared for the future of French
culture. He eventually came to support the
union and agreed to lead the Liberals in the
Senate. Like other political leaders of the
period, Letellier also sought election to the
Quebec national assembly but w as
unsuccessful in winning a seat.

When the Macdonald government fell in the
face of the Pacific scandal of November 1873,
the new Liberal prime minister, Alexander
Mackenzie, appointed Letellier minister of
agriculture and leader of the Senate.

Three years later, when the lieutenant-
governor of Quebec died, Mackenzie
reluctantly parted with Letellier, his second-
in-command, and appointed him to that post.
Letellier was a controversial lieutenant-
governor, dismissing Boucher de
Boucherville's government in March 1878
over a railway policy of which he did not
approve. The federal government refused to
tolerate what Quebec Conservatives saw as a
"coup d'etat". Prime Minister Macdonald,
who had recently been re-elected, removed
Letellier from office in July 1879. Letellier
retired, and died two years later of a heart
attack at his home in Riviere-Ouelle.

Industry Issues

As minister, Letellier actively encouraged the
import of foreign seeds, grains and plants to
enhance the quality and variety of Canadian
agricultural products. To support this kind of
international exchange, Letellier advocated
the establishment of agronomic institutes.
These institutes, along with institutions of
higher education and technical training in
agriculture, would supply the kind of
specialists needed to direct agricultural
development in Canada.

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

Threats of contagious disease in cattle, this
time originating in the United Kingdom and
Europe, were averted in 1875-76 through
conscientious monitoring of cattle imports at
Canadian ports and strict quarantine
measures. Importers supported these
preventative measures.

An invasion of grasshoppers devastated
Manitoba crops in the summer of 1876.
Letellier visited Manitoba to investigate the
extent of the losses and lent $60,000 to
affected farmers "to prevent actual
starvation, and to enable the purchase of
necessary seed grains". At the same time,
Letellier was impressed by the potential for
agriculture in Manitoba.

Letellier was more of a politician than an
administrator. But he was active in
organizing funding and committees to ensure
Canada's participation in the Philadelphia
World's Fair of 1876. For the first time,
Canadian industries and products were put
on display internationally to promote trade.

As lieutenant-governor, Letellier meddled
in electoral contests and once outright
refused to sign an order-in-council "on
principle". Quebec's Attorney General at
the time, Auguste-Real Angers, refused
invitations to functions at Letellier's
official residence, and eventually the
mutual distrust between Letellier and
Angers peaked when he dismissed the
government over a controversial railway
policy. The public approved of Letellier's
stand on the issue, but his fellow Liberals
in Ottawa, did not. Angers became
Canada's seventh minister of agriculture
in 1892.

The department also had to contend with the
effects of the gradual spread of the potato
beetle eastward across Canada. In 1 876, the
insects were found on steamers bound for
Germany, and the Imperial government in the
United Kingdom asked for an investigation
by departmental officials into precautionary
measures that could be taken in Canada to
prevent the spread of the pest into Europe.
The department recommended monitoring
the situation at ports, while handpicking,
crushing and poisoning insects and their eggs
to help control their spread across Canada.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Charles Alphonse Pantaleon Pelletier

January 26, 1877 - October 8, 1878

Charles Alphonse
Pantaleon Pelletier

(1837-1911)

Birthplace

Riviere-Ouelle, Lower Canada

Federal Constituency

Kamouraska (Quebec)

Education

College of Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere,
Laval University, Military School

Professional Background

Called to the bar in 1860, practised law
in Quebec City; director for Quebec and
Charlevoix Navigation Co. and Quebec
Fire Insurance Co.

Political Affiliation

Liberal

Political Career

Pelletier's first election campaign was over
before voters had a chance to have their say.
Recruited by the Liberals and supported by
Jean-Charles Chapais' longtime rival Luc
Letellier de Saint-Just, Pelletier challenged
Chapais in the first election for the House of
Commons in 1867. Irregularities in voters'
lists and rioting caused officials to refuse to
hold the vote, denying Kamouraska
constituents a representative for two years.

Pelletier eventually won the seat in a special
double by-election, held in 1 869 to select
members for both the provincial and the
federal governments. Pelletier sat as MP for
Kamouraska until 1877. He also represented
Quebec East in the Quebec national
assembly from 1873 until dual representation
was abolished in 1874.

In 1877, Pelletier was appointed minister of
agriculture and called to the Senate. His
term as minister of agriculture ended with
the defeat of the Liberal government in
September 1878.

Pelletier was selected speaker of the Senate
in 1896 and served until 1901. He resigned
from the Senate to accept an appointment as
puisne judge of the Superior Court of
Quebec in 1904.

In 1908 he resigned from the Superior Court
to serve as lieutenant-governor of Quebec
until his death in Quebec City in 1911.

Departmental Developments

In 1877, Pelletier found it necessary to
further modify the cattle quarantine
regulations and ban the import of neat cattle,
as well as cattle parts, straw, fodder or other
products capable of carrying disease, in order
to protect against rinderpest from England
and other parts of Europe. Diligent
quarantine efforts also helped prevent the
introduction of contagious hog typhoid into
Canada that year.

By 1878, the department's annual report
stated that "owing to the selection and care
of our importers, and partly owing to our
Cattle Quarantine establishments, no disease
has been introduced into the country". The
Imperial Government in the United Kingdom
found Canada's new inspection and
quarantine system so reliable in preventing
the spread of contagious animal diseases that
Canada was exempt from the provisions of
imperial disease control legislation, which
required all animals imported into the United
Kingdom to be slaughtered immediately.
Even 1 20 years ago, Canadian efforts to
prevent and control animal disease facilitated
international trade in livestock.

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

Pelletier oversaw the creation of the first
Dominion Council of Agriculture in 1877.
Thirteen representatives of agricultural
societies, provincial agriculture councils and
commodity groups from every province were
appointed to the council. Pelletier became
honorary president, while David Christie, the
speaker of the Senate from Paris, Ontario,
was selected president. Twelve standing
committees were formed to study timely
agricultural concerns.

Based on the department's success in
promoting Canadian agriculture at the 1 876
World's Fair in Philadelphia, Pelletier
organized a Canadian exhibition for the
Metropolitan Exhibition held in Sydney,
Australia in 1877. Exhibitors and the
department had little time to research what
types of products might be suitable for
Australian trade — some goods were shipped
directly from Philadelphia to Sydney — but
the exhibits, totalling 550 cubic tons of ocean
freight, were well received. Some exhibits
won prizes, while others helped spark trade
in several industries and commodities. The
total cost to the department was $26,433, a
sum Pelletier called "moderate" in his annual
report.

Additional awards, trade opportunities and
national recognition resulted from Canada's
participation in a similar international
exposition in Paris in 1878.

Pelletier was a major in the 9th Battalion
Voltigeurs de Quebec during the Fenian
Raids of 1866.

Pelletier founded Quebec's Parti National
in 1872, a party that went on to form a
nationalist government in Quebec under
Honore Mercier in 1887.

Adolphe Routhier, a lawyer from
Kamouraska defeated by Pelletier in the
1 869 election, wrote the French words of
our national anthem: "O Canada! Terre
de nos a'ieux!"

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

John Carling

September 25, 1885 - November 24, 1892

John Carling

(1828-1911)

Birthplace

London, Upper Canada

Federal Constituency

London (Ontario)

Education

London Common School

Professional Background

President of Carling Brewing and Malting
Co.; director of Great Western Railway.
London-Port Stanley Railway and London-
Huron-Bruce Railway

Political Affiliation

Conservative

Political Career

Carling inherited his family's brewing and
malting company and was an established
businessman long before he entered politics.
He started as a city alderman in London in
1854 and stayed in municipal politics for
four years. He also represented London in
the colonial legislature from 1857 until
Confederation. In 1862 he was appointed
receiver general.

In the first general election after
Confederation, Carling was elected to both
Ontario's legislative assembly and the House
of Commons, representing London.
Provincially, he served as minister of
agriculture and public works from 1867 to
1871. He was re-elected as London's
representative to the Ontario legislative
assembly in 1871 but resigned in 1872 to
concentrate on federal politics.

Carling served as the federal MP for London
from 1 867 to 1 874 but was defeated along
with Macdonald's Conservative government
in the 1874 general election. He was re-
elected when the Conservatives regained
power in 1878 and appointed to cabinet.

Carling served as postmaster general from
1882 to 1885 and minister of agriculture
from 1885 to 1892. When he was defeated as
an MP in the election of 1891. Carling was
appointed to the Senate and continued to

serve as minister of agriculture. He was re-
elected MP for London in 1 892 and served as
minister without portfolio from 1 892 to 1 894.

Carling was recalled to the Senate in 1896,
where he served until his death in 1911.

Industry Issues

In Carling's time, farmers urgently needed
advanced agricultural knowledge to help
them farm in new Canadian climates. Prairie
farmers needed a spring wheat that would
ripen before early western frosts; if the
government could develop a superior baking
wheat for this climate, opportunities for
immigration and economic development
would follow. Experimental stations in other
countries and government stock farms in the
Maritimes already had proved valuable in
agricultural development. International trade
also inspired agricultural research. For
example, an American tariff on Canadian
barley encouraged the development and
promotion of a new malting barley for the
British market.

Departmental Developments

Disease control efforts of the period further
underscored the need for experimental
stations. The testing and development of
vaccines for diseases such as anthrax
required proper scientific laboratories and
controlled test environments.

After a 1889 convention of dairymen's
associations in Ottawa, the department
extended its activities to cover the dairy
industry. Departmental bulletins, conventions
and lectures educated farmers about
manufacturing butter and cheese and feeding
cattle for milk production. Uniform methods
for processing dairy products improved their
quality and enhanced their potential for
export. Experimental dairy stations and
systems of co-operative dairying were
established in each province after 1891.
A dairy school also was established at
St-Hyacinthe, Quebec in 1892.

Accomplishments as Minister

Carling's legacy as minister of agriculture
was the experimental farm research program.
Based on a 1884 House of Commons
committee's recommendation and research
done by Professor William Saunders, the
eventual director of the first experimental
farms, the Experimental Farm Station Act
was given royal assent in June 1886.

The legislation was so well conceived that
only minor amendments, mostly to establish
additional farms or make administrative
changes, were necessary for 110 years.

The land for the central farm in Ottawa was
purchased first, followed by sites for the
other regional farms in Brandon, Manitoba;
Indian Head, Northwest Territories (now
Saskatchewan); Nappan, Nova Scotia; and
Agassiz, British Columbia. The first research
activities on the farms were testing crop
varieties and cultural methods, and gathering
information about climate conditions. Once
they identified new crops for a region,
researchers distributed samples of the
improved varieties to local farmers and
published information in public bulletins.

India and the already-popular Red Fife wheat
led to the development of Marquis wheat,
world famous for its milling quality and high
prairie yields. Indian corn and spring rye
were developed as effective hay substitutes
for use in years where the prairie hay crop
was insufficient to feed livestock through the
winter. Upwards of 12,000 seed samples
were distributed to farmers and more than
30,000 people were on the farms' mailing list
for information.

Thoroughbred livestock available from the
farms for breeding also improved local dairy
and beef herds. Carling took a keen interest
in the farms' development and frequently
visited the Ottawa property.

Worth Noting

• The French-speaking assistant to
Canada's first dairy commissioner,
Dr. James Robinson, was Jean-Charles
Chapais, the son of Canada's first
agriculture minister.

Records from 1 890 show that the Central
Experimental Farm in Ottawa was already
experimenting with 300 varieties of potatoes,
100 varieties of wheat, 100 varieties of oats
and 80 varieties of barley. Crosses made in
1892 between an early-ripening wheat from

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Auguste-Real Angers

December 7, 1892 - July 12, 1895

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Auguste-Real Angers

(1838-1919)

Birthplace

Quebec City, Lower Canada

Federal Constituency

Montmorency (Quebec)

Education

Nicolet College, Laval University (1888)

Professional Background

Called to the bar in 1 860, practised law in
Quebec City; director of Credit Foncier
Franco-Canadien and La Societe
d' Administration Generate

Political Affiliation

Conservative

Political Career

Angers' political career began when he was
elected to the legislative assembly of Quebec
in 1 874 in a by-election for Montmorency.
He was immediately appointed solicitor
general in Boucher de Boucherville's
government, and served until appointed
attorney general in January 1876. Angers was
also government leader in the assembly
from 1875 to 1878.

In 1878, the lieutenant-governor of Quebec,
Luc Letellier de Saint- Just, dismissed
Angers' government over a controversial
railway policy. Angers became leader of the
opposition, and in the next election the
public supported Letellier's dismissal of the
Conservatives. Angers lost his seat.

Undeterred from public life, Angers was
elected to represent Montmorency in the
House of Commons in a February 1 880 by-
election. In November, he resigned his seat
to serve as puisne judge for the Superior
Court of Quebec. In October 1 887, Angers
resigned from the Superior Court to become
lieutenant-governor of Quebec. This time it
was Angers' turn to dismiss a government of
which he did not approve, when Honore
Mercier's nationalist government became
tangled in a railway scandal of its own.

In December 1892, Angers resigned as
lieutenant-governor and was called to the
Senate and appointed federal minister of
agriculture. He served under the short-lived
administrations of John Thompson and
Mackenzie Bowell. Bowell's leadership on
the Manitoba schools controversy so
dissatisfied Angers that he resigned from
cabinet in 1895. Angers briefly resumed his
law practice but declined an appointment to
the Supreme Court — he wasn't ready to end
his political career just yet.

After Charles Tupper replaced Bowell as
Conservative leader and prime minister,
Angers served briefly as president of the
Privy Council from May to July 1 896. He
subsequently resigned from the Senate to run
for the House of Commons representing
Quebec City in the general election of 1896.
He failed to win the seat as Wilfrid Laurier's
Liberals swept to power. Angers resumed his
law practice in Montreal as head of the
successful firm A. De Lorimier & Godin. He
died in Montreal in 1919.

Industry Issues

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Minister Angers wanted to diversify
Canadian agriculture. Mixed farming, he
believed, offered the best protection for
Canadian farmers and the broader agriculture
industry against market fluctuations, poor
growing conditions and other unforeseen
obstacles. His 1893 trip to Manitoba and the
Northwest Territories illustrated the need for
farmers to look beyond wheat and grains. A
combination of poor weather and low prices
that summer adversely affected communities
entirely dependent on grains. Mixed farming
fostered home industries and offered settlers
additional products to trade locally. Although
Angers no longer had immediate responsibility
for immigration, the well-being of new
settlers in farm communities was still a
concern.

Canada's impressive presence at international
exhibitions such as the 1893 World's Fair in
Chicago proved that the country's agriculture
industry was coming of age. The United
Kingdom was starting to feel real agricultural
competition from its former colony, thanks to
superior training and research. The Central
Experimental Farm's Agriculture Museum
opened in 1895, with more than 12,000
visitors each year.

Disease control and animal inspection
remained a priority, with new quarantine
stations and inspection points established
along the American boundary with the
Northwest Territories in 1894. That same
year, bovine tuberculosis emerged as a
serious threat to animal health. A tuberculin
test developed at the Central Experimental
Farm was used across Canada and at points
of entry to control disease by identifying sick
animals for isolation and slaughter.

Canadian cattle exports faced a serious
setback during Angers' tenure. In October
1892, the British government imposed an
embargo on Canadian cattle because of
suspected pleuro-pneumonia in cattle shipped
from Montreal. False rumours also circulated
in the United Kingdom that cattle from the
United States, where pleuro-pneumonia did
exist, were imported into Manitoba and the
Northwest Territories without inspection.
Despite the department's best efforts to
investigate and disprove the allegations, the
British government refused to relent on its
embargo.

Angers continued the work begun by Carling
to promote and regulate Canada's emerging
dairy industry. The Dairy Products Act of
1 893 provided for the branding of dairy
products and prohibited the sale of filled or
imitation cheese. By 1895, the Dairy Branch
was also carrying out non-dairy activities,
such as investigating the export possibilities
for Canadian hay, apples, bacon and other
pork products. Successful shipments of
butter and cheese to British ports were made
possible because the department fitted
commercial steamers with insulated and
refrigerated food storage chambers.
Experimental shipments of other fruits and
preserved eggs, which also needed these
cold-storage facilities, weren't as successful.

Angers was responsible for the first tobacco
grown on Canadian farms in 1893.
Departmental research identified the ideal
varieties and growing techniques for use in
eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

1*1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Walter Humphries Montague

December 21, 1895 - January 5, 1896
and January 15, 1896 - July 8, 1896

Walter Hump hies Montague
1895-1896

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'Cafiada

Walter Humphries
Montague

(1858-1915)

Birthplace

Adelaide Township, Canada West

Federal Constituency

Haldimand-Monck (Ontario)

Education

Woodstock College; Victoria University,
Cobourg; Toronto School of Medicine

Professional Background

Obtained MD in 1 882 and practised
medicine in Dunnville, Ontario and
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Political Affiliation

Conservative

Political Career

Montague's political career started slowly.
He lost his bid to represent Monck in the
Ontario legislative assembly's general
election of 1883. In 1887, he was elected to
the House of Commons for Haldimand,
Ontario — but the election was declared void.
Later in the year, he won a second election,
which was also plagued by controversy and
voided in court. Montague was defeated
again in a by-election in 1889.

Montague finally won the Haldimand seat in
a 1890 by-election. He was re-elected as MP
for Haldimand (later Haldimand-Monck) in
1891, 1895 and 1896. He also served as vice-
president of the Conservative Union of
Ontario in 1892.

Montague was appointed to the Privy
Council in 1894 and served as minister
without portfolio from December 1894 to
March 1895. and as secretary ol state from
March to December 1S95. In December
1895, he was appointed minister of
agriculture.

Montague resigned briefly in January 1 896
as one of the cabinet ministers Prime
Minister Mackenzie Bowell called a "nest of
traitors" for deserting the government in
protest of Bowell's inaction on the Manitoba
schools issue. Montague returned to cabinet
when the controversy passed, but the
Conservative caucus was slowly unravelling.
Charles Tupper (the Conservatives' fifth
leader since Macdonald's death in 1891)
became prime minister before the 1896
election, but the Conservative government
was soundly defeated by Wilfrid Laurier's
triumphant Liberals.

Montague lost his Haldimand-Monck seat in
the 1900 election and left politics to return to
his medical practice. In 1908 he moved to
Winnipeg, and five years later he again ran
lor public office. In November 1913
Montague was elected to the legislative
assembly of Manitoba, representing
Kildonan-St. Andrews. He was re-elected in
1914 and appointed minister of public works
in the Roblin government from November
1913 to May 1915. Montague died in
Winnipeg in 1915.

Accomplishments as Minister Worth Noting

Montague's seven-month tenure as minister • Montague's predecessor, Angers, also
coincided with a turbulent period in the life resigned as minister of agriculture to

of his government. As a result, his legacy is protest Prime Minister Bowell's

one of maintenance of existing programs leadership,

rather than considerable policy or
organizational innovation.

■+■

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Sydney Arthur Fisher

July 13, 1896 - October 6, 1911

Sydney Arthur Fisher

(1850-1921)

Birthplace

Montreal, Canada East

Federal Constituency

Brome (Quebec)

Education

McGill University and Trinity College,
Cambridge (B A, 1871)

Professional Background

Owner-operator of Alva Farm in Knowlton,
Quebec; president of Montreal Ensilage and
Stock Feeding Association; founder and
president of Quebec Fruit Growers'
Association; member of Canadian National
Livestock Association, Provincial Dairy
Association and Brome Agricultural
Association; charity board member and
founder of arts organizations

Political Affiliation

Liberal

Political Career

Fisher was elected as a Liberal MP in 1882
and served until he lost by a majority of one
in the face of Prime Minister Macdonald's
Conservatives' final electoral victory in
1891. Fisher accepted an appointment to the
Quebec Council of Agriculture. Five years
later, he was re-elected when Laurier's
Liberals swept to power. His passion and
experience as a farmer and agricultural
activist as well as an MP made him a logical
choice for agriculture minister. He served as
an MP and as minister of agriculture for the
next 15 years.

Laurier and his Liberal party — including
Fisher — lost the 1911 general election over
the reciprocity issue. Fisher retired from
public life and died in Ottawa in 1921.

Industry Issues

In 1896, the public land once available in the
American west was closed. The Canadian
Prairies became the "Last Best West" and a
new era of settlement and agricultural
expansion began. Rising prices and
inexpensive shipping created a world market
for hard spring wheat, and prairie production
grew from 29 to 209 million bushels a year.
Marquis wheat, developed mostly by Charles
Saunders (son of experimental farms director
William Saunders), was introduced in 1907
and soon accounted for 90 per cent of prairie
production. Western settlement and
development led to the creation of two new
provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta, in 1905.

In 1901, bad management kept the CPR from
moving more than a third of a bumper wheat
crop before freeze-up on Lake Superior.
National Policy tariffs prevented western
farmers from buying inexpensive American
machinery and manufactured goods.
Dissatisfied farmers formed co-operatives to
advance their political and business interests.
By the fall of 1910, grievances climaxed as
1 ,000 farmers staged the "March on Ottawa"
to protest government inaction on tariffs,
freight rates and land policies. Laurier
drafted a reciprocity (free trade) agreement
with the Americans, but both Laurier and
farmers were defeated when eastern business
interests and blue-collar workers would not
support reciprocity.

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

Fisher's legacy as agriculture minister
includes a major expansion of the scope and
activities of the department. Amendments to
the Experimental Farms Stations Act in 1900
extended the branch farm system and new
research stations opened in every province.
The Tobacco Branch was organized in the
department in 1905 to encourage and
develop this new industry.

In 1 897, the Canadian and American
departments of agriculture agreed to co-
operate in the reporting and tracking of
livestock diseases. The new co-operative
inspection agreement significantly increased
livestock trade between the two countries. In
1899, the department appointed a livestock
commissioner. A biological laboratory was
established on the Central Experimental Farm
in 1902 to research animal disease control.

After 1907, the Meat and Canned Foods Act
provided for the inspection of meat packing
plants and canning factories. Departmental
veterinarians and inspectors have worked at
food establishments ever since.

A seed laboratory was established in Ottawa
in 1903 to test seeds for their germination
and purity. The Seed Control Act of 1905
allowed the government to regulate the
quality of Canadian seeds under the authority
of a new seed commissioner. Additional seed
laboratories across Canada continued this work.

The Grains Act (1900) regulated and
provided inspectors for the western wheat
industry.

An Animal Contagious Diseases Act
amendment (1904) compensated livestock
owners whose animals were slaughtered to
control the spread of disease.

The Act Respecting the Incorporation of
Livestock Records (1900, 1905) created
one record association to validate
credentials for each breed, making it
easier to export purebred animals.

The Fruit Marks Act (1901) standardized
fruit grades and grade marks on fruit
packaging, and introduced inspection at
ports to facilitate commercial production
and trade.

New dairy products legislation (1903)
prohibited margarine and introduced
quality control regulations for butter and
cheese to facilitate exports.

The Cold Storage Act (1907) and similar
regulations encouraged the use of public
cold storage warehouses and refrigerated
shipping for dairy products and fruit.

The San Jose Scale Act ( 1 898) and
Destructive Insect and Pest Act (1910)
introduced inspection and quarantine to
prevent pests and disease spreading
through fruit trees and crops.

The prairie protest movement that was
active during Fisher's tenure started the
political careers of two future Liberal
ministers of agriculture: Thomas Crerar,
founder of what became the United Grain
Growers, and W.R. Motherwell, founder
of the Territorial (Saskatchewan) Grain
Growers' Association.

Reports show that the government was
recovering costs for services even at the
turn of the century. Fees charged for
livestock inspection ranged from two
cents to one dollar per animal.

■+i

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Martin Burrell

October 16, 1911 - October 12, 1917

Martin Burrell

(1858-1938)

Birthplace

Faringdon, Berkshire, England

Federal Constituency

Yale-Cariboo/Yale (British Columbia)

Education

St. John's College, Hurstpierpont, England;
Queen's University (LLD (Hon.), 1928)

Professional Background

Bank clerk; fruit farmer in Niagara and
Grand Forks, B.C.; lecturer for Farmers'
Institute and Ontario Fruit Growers'
Association; member, B.C. Board of
Horticulture; B.C. fruit commissioner;
lecturer in England

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"Our laws would be better — there
would be less bitterness in our strife — //
we were oftener moved by a sincere
desire to lighten the work and brighten
the lives of those, who, in the silence
and solitude of the fields and the woods,
are doing the foundation work of our
common country. "

— Martin Burrell, speech in the House of
Commons, 1913

Political Career

Burrell began his political career as mayor of
Grand Forks in 1903. He was elected to the
House of Commons as MP for Yale-Cariboo
on his second attempt in 1908. Burrell's
background as a fruit farmer and horticulturalist
in both Ontario and B.C. gave him a
different perspective from prairie wheat
farmers'. In the 1911 election, he opposed
free trade — a position that brought his
Conservative party into power. Prime
Minister Robert Borden appointed Burrell
minister of agriculture.

Burrell served as an MP until 1920. But by
the election of 1917, his health had
deteriorated and he could no longer handle
the demands of the agriculture portfolio. The
face of the Borden government changed to
reflect the increasingly serious consequences
of the First World War. Party lines had
blurred and partisanship was on hold:
Borden masterminded a coalition Union
government dedicated to conscription,
wartime prohibition and the elimination of
political patronage.

The new government agenda needed a new
team to execute wartime policy, and in the
subsequent cabinet adjustments, Burrell left
the agriculture portfolio to become secretary
of state and minister of mines from October
1917 until December 1919 (after the end of

the war). Burrell also served as minister of
customs and inland revenue (December 1919
to July 1920) before quitting politics in 1920.

After his public life, Burrell served as
librarian for the Library of Parliament until
his death in 1938.

Industry Issues

A major drought in Palliser Triangle in 1913
and 1914 slowed once-prosperous prairie
wheat production to a comparative trickle.
But then came a blessing in disguise: the
First World War. With Russia unable to
export, world demand for North American
wheat raised grain prices to a level
previously unseen and new crops, such as
flax, could be grown profitably. Burrell
called for an all-out war effort and Canadian
farmers responded. Even as yields fell later
in the war, world consumers accepted what
they believed were temporarily higher prices
and kept grain production profitable for
farmers.

Departmental Developments

The Census and Statistics Office was
transferred to the Department of Trade and
Commerce in 1912. The Publications Branch
was created to distribute information, handle
correspondence and, eventually, maintain a
departmental library.

The department launched educational and
marketing campaigns to inspire the war
effort — for example, wool growers, whose
product was in demand for military
uniforms, learned to grade and pack wool
and to form co-operative marketing
associations. Department officials were in
charge of securing supplies of hay, oats and
grain for wartime food production and
shipment overseas. Telegraphic market
reporting between Canada and Europe
improved trade after 1915.

When a rust epidemic in 1916 threatened the
supply of seed for the next year's crop, a
seed purchasing commission was appointed
to purchase, clean, store and distribute the
necessary inspected seed grain at cost.

The war affected the department's research.
By 1916, more than 100 employees from
experimental farms alone had enlisted in the
military, threatening the quality of the
research service. Still, researchers overcame
a threat to Canadian cheese production
during the war. Rennet imported from eastern
Europe was no longer available. Pepsin,
developed in 1916 at Ontario's Finch Dairy
Station, proved to be an effective alternative.

The experimental farms started a publicity
division in 1915 to organize exhibits and
promote their research work.

Accomplishments as Minister

• The Agricultural Instruction Act (1913)
offered $10 million to the provinces over
a 10-year period to establish and improve
agricultural colleges and other forms of
agriculture-related training. The
Agricultural Instruction Branch was
formed to administer these programs.

• In 1914, a system of certified field
inspection and tuber examination for
potato exports not only lifted an
American embargo, but also improved
the quality of seed stock and exports.
Today's seed potato certification program
evolved from these measures.

• The Municipal Testing Order (1914)
fought bovine tuberculosis by licensing
dairies and encouraging communities to
test all dairy cattle every two years.

• First attempts at co-operative marketing,
quality control regulations and inspection
for eggs were implemented.

• An Act Respecting Livestock (1917)
authorized the minister of agriculture to
supervise the management, fees and
conditions of public stockyards.

Worth Noting

• In 1915, a future experimental station in
the Abitibi district served as a prisoner-
of-war camp. Prisoners cleared 155 acres
of forest and 2,500 cords of wood were
sold for pulp.

• Burrell was trapped and seriously injured
in the 1916 fire in the Parliament
Buildings.

• Between 1924 and 1938, Burrell wrote a
weekly literary column, Literature and
Life, for the Ottawa Journal. His articles
became the basis for two books: Betwixt
Heaven and Charing Cross (Toronto:
1928) and Crumbs are Also Bread
(Toronto: 1934).

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Thomas Alexander Crerar

October 12, 1917 - June 11, 1919

Thomas Alexander
Crerar

(1876-1975)

Birthplace

Molesworth, Ontario

Federal Constituencies

Marquette, Brandon, Churchill (Manitoba)

Education

Portage la Prairie Collegiate

Professional Background

Rural schoolteacher; grain farmer and
manager of Farmers' Elevator Co-op;
president of Grain Growers Grain Company
(later United Grain Growers Limited);
director of Great West Life Assurance
Company, Canada Steamship Lines Ltd.,
Algoma Steel Corp. Ltd. and Modern
Dairies Ltd.

Political Affiliation

Liberal (Unionist) (1917-21), Progressive
(1921-25), Liberal (1925-66)

"In T.A. Crerar, Minister of Agriculture
for the Unionists, the farmers had a
leader who even wrote his ministerial
letters on United Grain Growers'
paper. "

— Canadian historian Desmond Morton,
A Short History of Canada

Political Career

Crerar developed his taste for politics as the
first reeve of Silver Creek, Manitoba. He
entered the national political scene when he
was elected as MP for Marquette in 1917.

Crerar's impressive credentials as a farmer,
grain buyer and rural activist made him an
ideal candidate for the agriculture portfolio.
He was appointed minister of agriculture in
October 1917, serving in a wartime coalition
(Union) government dedicated to non-
partisanship and to the effective channelling
of Dominion resources toward the war effort
in Europe.

The Canadian Council of Agriculture drafted
a farmers' platform in 1916. Farmers
proposed a different national policy:
reciprocity, lower freight rates, bank reforms,
railway nationalization and a graduated
income tax. In 1918, farmers were furious at
the cancellation of their sons' exemption
from conscription.

Minister Crerar was listening and fought for
farmers' interests around the cabinet table.
But he didn't succeed. When Finance
Minister Thomas White's 1919 Budget again
fell short of farmers' expectations, Crerar
quit the cabinet.

Farmers' parties were governing Ontario,
Manitoba and Alberta. While Crerar was
reluctant to support these political

movements — he was a pragmatist and
recognized the appeal of these policies to the
soft Liberal vote — his party wasn't listening
to farmers. Crerar worked to form a national
farmers' party, the Progressives, and became
its leader in 1920.

In the 1921 election, Crerar was re-elected as
an MP, and the Progressives won 65 seats in
Ontario and the West. Crerar refused
opposition leader status, hoping instead for
the accommodation of farmers' policies
within the government agenda. The strategy
didn't work, and his party became divided
over policy. Frustrated, Crerar resigned as
party leader in 1922. He sat as an MP until
the end of the 14th parliament but didn't run
in the general election of 1925.

After a brief absence from politics, Crerar re-
emerged as a Liberal cabinet minister under
King in 1929. He served as minister of
railways and canals from December 1929
until August 1930 and was re-elected as an
MP in a 1930 by-election for Brandon. Later
in 1930, he was defeated in the general
election that removed Mackenzie King's
Liberals from power.

In 1935, Crerar became MP for Churchill
and returned to cabinet as minister of mines,
of immigration and colonization, and of the
interior and as superintendent-general of
Indian affairs (October 1935 to November
1936). His appointment was later simplified
to minister of mines and resources

(December 1936 to April 1945). As the
cabinet minister responsible for natural
resources, Crerar was an important decision-
maker in King's cabinet during the Second
World War.

Crerar was re-elected as MP for Churchill in
1940 and sat in the House of Commons until
the dissolution of 19lh parliament in April
1945. King called him to the Senate, where
he served until his resignation in May 1966.
Crerar died in 1975.

Industry Issues

Prompted by the soaring world demand for
Canadian wheat at a time of declining prairie
yields, the government closed the Winnipeg
Grain Exchange in 1917 and created a single
wheat board to market the Canadian product.
Wheat prices soared to $3.15 per bushel,
offering farmers relative prosperity despite
the psychological strain of watching their
sons go to war. After the 1919 harvest, the
wheat board was dissolved and free
enterprise returned to prairie farming.

Departmental Developments

Matters unrelated to agriculture were
removed from the department's jurisdiction
in 1917: exhibitions, patents, copyrights,
trademarks, public health and quarantines
were transferred to the Department of
Immigration and Colonization.

Oleomargarine was prohibited as a butter
substitute under the Dairy Industry Act
(1903). But in 1917, the Canada Food Board
passed an order permitting the use of
oleomargarine under the provisions of the
War Measures Act. The department
supervised its manufacture and sale.

Near the end of the war, livestock feed
contaminants became an issue — mill feeds
were being mixed with harmful weed seeds.
In 1918, the Seed Branch began microscopic
studies of allegedly contaminated feeds.
These investigations placed pressure on feed
suppliers to improve the overall quality and
accuracy of labelling on feeds offered for
sale in Canada.

Worth Noting

• Crerar is the only minister to have
resigned over farmers' issues.

• In 1974, Crerar became the first
politician recognized as a companion of
the Order of Canada.

At the end of the war, Canadian breeders had
difficulty shipping cattle to the United States
because of Canada's inadequate tuberculosis
control record. The department responded
with regulations providing for accredited
tuberculosis-free herds in September 1919.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Simon Fraser Tolmie

August 12, 1919 - December 29, 1921
and July 13, 1926 - September 25, 1926

Simon Fraser Tolmie

(1867-1937)

Birthplace

Victoria, British Columbia

Federal Constituency

Victoria (British Columbia)

Education

Ontario Veterinary College, Guelph;
University of British Columbia (LLD (Hon.))

Professional Background

Farmer and breeder of purebred cattle in
Victoria, British Columbia; chief inspector,
B.C. Health of Animals Branch; Dominion
livestock commissioner for B.C.; Dominion
organizer for the Conservative Party

Political Affiliation

Conservative

Political Career

Tolmie was elected MP for Victoria in 1917
and served in the Union government under
prime ministers Robert Borden and Arthur
Meighen. He was appointed minister of
agriculture after the resignation of Thomas
Crerarin 1919.

The Conservatives lost the 1921 general
election to Mackenzie King's Liberals.
Tolmie retained his seat but lost his cabinet
portfolio. Tolmie again held the agriculture
portfolio for a few months in the summer of
1926 when Meighen's Conservatives were
asked to form a government during the
King-Byng constitutional crisis. King's
Liberals were re-elected in 1926 and Tolmie
returned to the opposition benches.

Tolmie became active in provincial politics
and was elected leader of the B.C.
Conservative Party in November 1926. He
resigned his federal seat in 1928 and was
elected to represent Saanich in the legislative
assembly of British Columbia. He became
premier of British Columbia and minister of
railways until November 1933, when his
government lost the election and he lost his
seat. Tolmie was re-elected to represent
Victoria in the House of Commons in a 1936
by-election but died in office in 1937.

Industry Issues

The Prairies had a problem: declining
productivity. Farmers were beginning to
experience serious crop failures from their
fast-depleting soils. And as world market
conditions returned to normal after the First
World War, grain prices plummeted to 45 per
cent of their wartime peak within two years.
Buoyed by their relative prosperity several
years earlier, many prairie farmers had
heavily invested in land and machinery, only
to see their industry falter. Farmers' political
parties were in power in Ontario, Manitoba
and Alberta, and the federal government was
under pressure to improve farmers' fortunes
or risk losing their votes.

Departmental Developments

Once the war ended, the department's
research work, previously limited by
employee absences and diffused by unique
wartime demands, resumed at full strength.
But new staffing challenges emerged. As the
Canadian economy strengthened, technically
trained employees were often lost to the
private sector, where salaries were higher.
Jobs were plentiful and, unfortunately for the
department, Canadian universities were only
just beginning to produce agriculture
graduates.

With the war effort over, the department
could discontinue some areas of research and
begin new projects. The Seed Purchasing
Commission, for example, was no longer
needed to guarantee stock in peacetime.
New research activities investigated
everything from binder twine to sunflowers.
The Horticulture Division was expanded
and began investigating not only fruit and
vegetable culture, but also ornamental
gardening, greenhouses and canning. The
Fruit Branch was created to oversee the
marketing, grading, inspection and transport
of fruits for export. New botanical
laboratories were established at branch
farms, and new experimental stations and
substations were established according to
research needs.

Accomplishments as Minister

• A 1920 federal-provincial agreement
established that grading dairy products
for export was within federal jurisdiction,
while grading for home consumption was
a provincial concern.

• Grading was introduced for eggs and
hogs, in consultation with industry. These
quality-control measures helped exporters
obtain premium prices, particularly for
bacon-type hogs in the British market.

• Regulations were also passed for the
inspection, grading and sale of
commercial feeds, fertilizers and
vegetables.

Worth Noting

• In 1926, the Agassiz Experimental Farm
received worldwide publicity from an
egg-laying contest when a bird owned
by the University of British Columbia
produced a world record 35 1 eggs in
365 days.

Market information, both national and
international, became more important as the
agriculture industry expanded. The
department assembled telegraph services for
daily markets and interstockyard
communication. It created weekly reports
and distributed them through the Canadian
Press wire and by regular mail. Newspapers
and other organizations used these reports
and services to disseminate standardized,
reliable market information.

Performance testing was introduced for
poultry. Department-sponsored
inspections and egg-laying contests
motivated producers to improve flock
quality and performance.

Under 1920 amendments to the Criminal
Code, the minister of agriculture was
assigned responsibility for horse racing.
RCMP officers under departmental
supervision enforced regulations at
racetracks.

1*1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

U^SA

William Richard Motherwell

December 29, 1921 - June 28, 1926
and September 25, 1926 -August 7, 1930

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William Richard
Motherwell

(1860-1943)

Birthplace

Perth, Canada West

Federal Constituencies

Regina, Melville (Saskatchewan)

Education

Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph (1882);
University of Saskatoon (LLD (Hon.) 1928)

Professional Background

Farmer; secretary of Abernethy school
district; magistrate of the peace for the
Northwest Territories; founder and president
of Central Canada Seed Growers
Association; co-founder and president of
Territorial (later Saskatchewan) Grain
Growers' Association

Political Affiliation

Liberal

"Motherwell is not what I call a
political farmer. He has been in politics
for many years, but during all those
years he has always been regarded as a
good farmer, even among his
neighbours; and this is the acid test. "
— Yorkton, Saskatchewan banker, as quoted in
the Country Guide and Nor-West Farmer, 1941

Political Career

Although he was born and educated in
Ontario, Motherwell's economic and political
roots took hold in the wheat fields of
Saskatchewan. He ran unsuccessfully to
represent Qu'Appelle North in Northwest
Territories assembly in 1894 and 1896. But
after the CPR failed to transport prairie
wheat to lake ports before freeze-up in 1901,
Motherwell founded the Territorial Grain
Growers' Association, took the CPR to court,
and lobbied for legislation to curb railway
and line elevator monopolies. This success
led to his election to the Saskatchewan
assembly in 1905.

Motherwell was Saskatchewan's first
commissioner of agriculture from 1905 to
1909, and its first minister of agriculture
from 1909 to 1918. As minister, Motherwell
initiated co-operative schemes to manage
creameries, grain marketing and hail
insurance. He supported research into prairie
dry belt cultivation and oversaw the founding
of the college of agriculture at the new
University of Saskatoon in 1908. Motherwell
was also provincial secretary between 1905
and 1912. He served as a member of the
assembly almost continuously until his
resignation in 1918 over a school language
controversy.

Motherwell continued his political career in
federal politics. Defeated in a by-election for
Assiniboia in 1919, he was elected as MP for
Regina from 1921 to 1925 and for Melville
from 1925 to 1940. In 1921, Motherwell was
the only Liberal MP from Alberta or
Saskatchewan and a natural candidate for
minister of agriculture, given his experience.
He served until 1930, except when the
Conservatives held power during the
King-By ng constitutional crisis of 1926.

By 1930, the Liberals were in as much
trouble as the prairie economy. They lost the
1930 general election, but Motherwell
continued to be active in agricultural issues
as an opposition MP through the Depression.
When he retired in 1 940 at age 80, he
reflected that his farm took more out of him
than politics. He died in Regina in 1943.

Industry Issues

Departmental Developments

Worth Noting

The 1920s brought rapid technological
change. But with limited resources, farmers
couldn't test new machinery, seeds or
techniques without considerable risk. They
needed non-partisan departmental research to
keep up.

After several years of prairie crop losses, a
conference on rust control for wheat was
held in September 1924. Researchers from
the experimental farms, the National
Research Council, and Canadian and
American universities co-operated to found
the Dominion Rust Research Laboratory at
the Manitoba Agricultural College in
Winnipeg. New rust-resistant varieties of
wheat, oats and other cereals were
developed.

After a bountiful harvest in 1928, the Wheat
Pool had an excess of wheat to sell. The
pool-guaranteed price paid to farmers was no
longer competitive on the world market; a
market correction was inevitable. Farmers
and other businesspeople cancelled orders
and cut consumption. Inventories were large
and terms of credit came due. The stage was
set for an economic downturn — the drought
of 1929 only served to make things official.

In 1923, the British embargo against
Canadian cattle ended, providing new export
options for Canadian producers. Departmental
veterinarians supervised quarantines and
inspections and accompanied the shipments of
cattle overseas. To facilitate cattle exports to
the United States, Canada adopted a new
restricted areas plan to control tuberculosis.
Other supervised and accredited herd plans
registered cattle free of disease and suitable for
breeding and export.

Despite the department's best efforts, foot
and mouth disease from the United Kingdom
penetrated Canadian livestock. By 1927,
rabies also crossed the Canadian border from
the United States. Sheep scab, however, was
successfully eradicated.

In 1923, bacteriology became a division of
the Experimental Farms Service. By 1929,
186 illustration (experimental project)
stations were established across Canada.

The Agricultural Economics Branch, formed
in 1929, was a first: never before had a
government department focused so intently
on economics and the integrated management
of scientific and financial issues.

In 1882, Motherwell became one of the
first graduates of the Ontario Agricultural
College.

Motherwell was recommended for the
Saskatchewan agriculture portfolio in
Premier Walter Scott's cabinet by some
of the CPR staff he took to court for
mismanagement and monopolistic
practices.

The shared field of agriculture policy continued
to require federal-provincial co-ordination to
maintain quality standards. Federal grading
regulations developed for international trade
were extended to interprovincial trade by
enabling provincial legislation.

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Robert Weir

August 8, 1930 - October 23, 1935

,*i^

.< A

Cerf>a$a

/ /

Robert Weir

(1882-1939)

Birthplace

Wingham, Ontario

Federal Constituency

Melfort (Saskatchewan)

Education

University of Toronto (BA, 1911)

Professional Background

Teacher in Huron County, Ontario and
Regina, Saskatchewan; actuary with
Confederation Life; major, 78lh Battalion,
Canadian Expeditionary Force;
Saskatchewan public school inspector;
farmer and breeder of horses, cattle and hogs

Political Affiliation

Conservative

Political Career

Robert Weir was elected MP for Melfort in
the general election of 1930 and served the
department during one of the most challenging
periods in Canadian agricultural history.

The Depression was a difficult time to be in
government. Communist organizers agitated
in prairie relief camps and orchestrated the
"On to Ottawa" trek to protest the
Conservative government's policies.
Established Tories and business leaders
deserted Prime Minister R.B. Bennett and his
social policies to organize their own
Reconstruction party, which aimed to reform
capitalism. The Co-operative Commonwealth
Federation (CCF) party gained strength and
popularity in Weir's Saskatchewan, while the
Social Credit party dominated the political
agenda in Alberta. Bennett's Depression-
fighting tariffs hurt more than helped the
economy.

Weir lost both his seat and his portfolio when
the Bennett government was defeated in 1935.
He died in Weldon, Saskatchewan in 1939.

Industry Issues

Some regions and commodities continued to
expand at a satisfactory level during the
Depression. But the prairie wheat pool was
ruined when its payments to farmers exceeded
the world price for wheat in 1929. The
Conservatives kept it alive with secret
subsidies, and Bennett gave $20 million in
emergency relief to ailing prairie farmers
in 1930. '

Prairie winds began lifting topsoil in 1931.
The grasshoppers came in 1932 and in 1933
drought, rust, hail and frost joined them in
destroying the once-prosperous prairie wheat
industry. Land that yielded 23 bushels per
acre in 1928 was reduced to an unviable
three bushels per acre in 1937. Wheat prices
dropped from $1 .28 to 60 cents per bushel
between 1928 and 1931. Many farmers quit
or moved away from the Prairies. Previous
ministers' fears about the vulnerability of
prairie farmers who failed to diversify their
operations were realized.

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

Departmental researchers at Indian Head,
Scott, Swift Current and Lethbridge taught
farmers how to prevent soil drifting. Some of
the less-viable land was returned to pasture,
for which it was more suitable. The
department also provided funding for soil
surveys in dry areas. The new Soil Research
Laboratory at Swift Current studied
moisture, drifting and fertility. The new
Forage Crops Laboratory at the University of
Saskatchewan established an international
reputation for breeding and genetic studies
with grasses and legumes, as well as for
teaching.

Officials from several branches collaborated
on a major grasshopper control campaign in
1933. Working with the provinces, they
succeeded in dramatically reducing crop
losses caused by these pests.

Between 1931 and 1933, the Agricultural
Economics Branch conducted a farm power
and machinery survey to compare the costs
of horse versus tractor power. The survey
was one of the first farm management and
social change studies conducted in Canada.

Weir's Prairie Farm Rehabilitation
Administration Act passed in April 1935. It
provided $1 million per year to help farmers
solve their own problems in three ways: by
improving cultural practices, conserving
water supplies and changing land use. Other
federal agencies and prairie provincial
governments collaborated in these efforts.
Originally, experimental farms staff
administered the Act; today, a separate
administration continues this work.

Weir opposed centralizing all government
research under the National Research
Council (NRC), even though the rest of the
members of the Privy Council committee
studying the issue favoured the change.
Rather than remove research from his
department. Weir suggested a parallel
agricultural research council. By 1934,
committees involving agriculture were
reorganized as joint committees of the
department and the NRC. They also included
representatives from industry, academia,
other departments and provinces. This co-
operative structure still exists in the form of
the Canadian Agricultural Research Council.

Weir was a First World War hero,
wounded at Passchendaele.

The department's 1932 annual report
notes an increase in enquiries about
ornamental horticulture, presumably
because the unemployed had more time
for home improvement.

During the Depression, Newfoundlanders
tried to help by sending salt cod to
destitute prairie farmers. But prairie
settlers didn't know what it was — some
soaked it and used it to plug holes in
their roofs!

Jurisdictional debates arose over the federal
government's right to establish standards for
trade. In 1934, the Natural Products
Marketing Act was declared unconstitutional
for going beyond the federal government's
jurisdiction in creating the single Dominion
Marketing Board.

1*1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

James Garfield Gardiner

November 4, 1935 - June 21, 1957

James Garfield
Gardiner

(1883-1962)

Birthplace

Farquhar (Huron County), Ontario

Federal Constituency

Melville (Saskatchewan)

Education

Manitoba College, Winnipeg (BA, 1911)

Professional Background

School principal; farmer

Political Affiliation

Liberal

"[Gardiner was] so single-minded in
espousing western affairs that he
frequently exasperated his colleagues...
His faith in individual effort and in
limited government... never wavered,
and he consistently applied his ideas to
building his province... through
depression, war and reconstruction.
Notably partisan, he held that a
minister should be fully responsible and
believed frankly in patronage. "
— Biographer Norman Ward

Political Career

Gardiner won his first provincial by-election
for Qu'Appelle North in 1914 and was re-
elected to Saskatchewan's legislative
assembly five times. He served as minister of
highways (1922-26), minister of railways
(1926-27), and treasurer (1926-27 and 1934-
35). When Premier C.A. Dunning was called
to the federal cabinet, Gardiner was chosen
leader of the Saskatchewan Liberals and
served as premier from 1926 to 1929. The
Liberals catered to farmers and the ethnic
community for support, but their affinity for
patronage contributed to their electoral defeat
in 1929.

Gardiner sat as leader of the opposition
through the early years of the Depression.
The Liberals won the 1934 Saskatchewan
election and Gardiner, now MLA for
Melville, became premier for the second time
in July 1934.

Prime Minister Mackenzie King needed a
new federal minister of agriculture and asked
Gardiner to leave provincial politics to join
him in Ottawa. Gardiner agreed and resigned
as premier on November 1, 1935. The
following January, he was elected MP for
Melville. He was re-elected federally five
times.

In addition to his responsibilities in the
agriculture portfolio, Gardiner served as
minister of war services in 1940 and 1941.
His political ambitions went beyond
cabinet — he unsuccessfully contested the
federal Liberal leadership in 1948. Gardiner's
only defeat came during Diefenbaker's
electoral sweep of the Prairies in 1958. He
retired from politics and died in 1962.

Industry Issues

Gardiner continued efforts started by Weir to
rejuvenate prairie soils and rebuild the prairie
economy through farm assistance. The
Second World War required leadership to
secure a supply of agricultural products for
Europe and for Canadian troops overseas.
Canada had bumper crops after 1939, but the
war-stricken United Kingdom could not buy
products without a $1.5-million loan from
the Canadian government.

Until 1947, the agricultural supplies
committee planned and managed food
production and marketing. Commodity-
specific boards conserved materials; secured
seed; bought, sold and stored supplies; and
licensed products for export. Feed freight
assistance was implemented to overcome
shortages in Eastern Canada. When world
production and trade returned to normal after
the war and prices dropped, an appointed
board marketed farm products and provided
subsidies and equalization payments to
ensure adequate farm returns.

Departmental Developments

In 1937, a major departmental reorganization
grouped similar functions under one
administrative head. Four operating
services — production, marketing,
experimental farms and science — were
created in place of the previous nine
branches. The separation of basic research
activities (Science Service) from the applied
research activities (Experimental Farms
Service) caused some controversy and
confusion. A fifth service, administration
service, encompassed the Prairie Farms
Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA),
library, publicity and extension activities.

Important rehabilitation research occurred at
new district experimental substations across
the Prairies. After 1935, the national soil
survey committee, funded by the PFRA and
consisting of provincial, departmental and
university researchers, began analysing soil
samples to better monitor and understand
changing soil resources. With PFRA money
and training, field shelterbelt associations
planted hedges to prevent drifting and to
protect buildings from high winds.

When vegetable seed supplies were cut off
during the war, experimental farms produced
additional stock. Soybeans, sunflowers and
rapeseed provided new forms of industrial
oils. Milkweed was studied as a potential
rubber substitute and as floss for marine life

preservers. Researchers also advised
Department of National Defence officials on
the planting and maintenance of airfield
grasses.

When Newfoundland joined Confederation
in 1949, the department gained a
demonstration farm and agricultural school.

In 1951, forest biologists and entomologists
were almost moved to the Department of
Resources and Development. To keep them
in the department and improve service to
industry, the Department of Agriculture
created a new division of forest
entomologists and plant pathologists to
encourage co-operative research.

When a serious foot and mouth disease
outbreak hit Saskatchewan in 1952, the
department realized that officials diagnosing
the disease worked in a separate service from
those administering quarantines and that this
was inefficient. Gardiner ordered animal
pathology moved from the Science Service
to the Production Service. In 1956, plant
protection moved to the Production Service
lor similar reasons.

Accomplishments as Minister

• The Prairie Farm Assistance Act (1939)
provided direct payments to farmers who
suffered low yields through
circumstances beyond their control.

• The Wheat Acreage Reduction Act (1942)
implemented grain delivery quotas for
the first time to overcome wartime
surpluses. Farmers were compensated for
losses, while additional payments
encouraged seeding coarse grains and
extending summer fallow.

• The Agricultural Prices Support Act
(1944) created a board to market
products and provided subsidies and
equalization payments for farmers during
the post-war transition.

Worth Noting

• Gardiner was the longest-serving cabinet
minister in one portfolio (22 years).

• The South Saskatchewan River dam,
built during the Diefenbaker government
to promote irrigation, is named after
Gardiner. The reservoir it created is
called Diefenbaker Lake.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Douglas Scott Harkness

June 21, 1957 - October 10, 1960

Douglas Scott
Harkness

(1903-)

Birthplace

Toronto, Ontario

Federal Constituency

Calgary North (Alberta)

Education

University of Alberta (BA);
University of Calgary (LLD (Hon.))

Professional Background

Teacher; farmer; lieutenant colonel in Royal

Canadian Artillery

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"He was the only person who could
make both farmers and city folk mad in
the same speech.. .He was against all
forms of subsidies to farmers and you
don 't say that sort of thing to farmers.
Then he 'd go out and blast city people
for trying to get low prices for
agricultural goods when they already
had the lowest priced food in the
world. "
— Alvin Hamilton

Political Career

Harkness returned to Calgary a hero after the
Second World War, and was quickly elected
MP for Calgary North in 1945. He was a
popular local politician, re-elected for either
Calgary North, East or Centre over nine
successive elections.

By June 1957, western farmers were
unimpressed with the governing Liberals and
blamed them for unsold grain stocks left
sitting on the Prairies. After the election that
month, John Diefenbaker's Conservatives
formed a minority government with a margin
of only seven seats. For the first time,
Western Canadians dominated in Ottawa.
Harkness became minister of both northern
affairs and natural resources, and agriculture.
Two portfolios soon proved onerous, and his
Saskatchewan colleague Alvin Hamilton took
over the northern affairs and natural
resources portfolio a few months later.

In 1958, Diefenbaker called another election
and won an unprecedented 53.6 per cent of
the popular vote, taking 208 seats in the
biggest majority government ever. His
government was popular with rural voters,
which made it easier for Diefenbaker,
Harkness and Hamilton, chair of the cabinet
wheat committee and longtime agriculture
policy activist, to introduce and implement
an aggressive national agricultural program
over the next two years.

Harkness was effective but not popular as
agriculture minister, so Diefenbaker moved
Hamilton into agriculture and switched Harkness
to the defence portfolio. Defence was a difficult
assignment in the early 1960s given the Cold
War, Diefenbaker's poor relations with the U.S.
and the recent cancellation of the Avro Arrow
aircraft project. Diefenbaker was always
against nuclear arms, but after the Cuban
missile crisis most Canadians saw a need for
nuclear protection. When Diefenbaker refused
Harkness' recommendation to arm Canadian
missiles with nuclear warheads, a leadership
crisis emerged in cabinet. Ministers wavered in
their support for Diefenbaker, and Harkness
resigned from cabinet on February 4, 1963.

The Conservatives were defeated in the
general election of 1963 but Harkness
remained an MP until he retired in 1972. He
still lives in Calgary.

Industry Issues

Agriculture was one of the few sectors not to
benefit from the post-war boom. Despite the
Conservatives' free enterprise rhetoric,
Harkness' tenure was relatively interventionist.
Harkness and Hamilton believed the long-term
effects of their policies would help farmers
adjust to changing market conditions. But faced
with increasing pressure to help farmers over
short-term financial crises, the government
offered modest acreage payments. Farmers
were not satisfied with this help, and expressed
their frustration to Minister Harkness and the
cabinet wheat committee through petitions and
a march on Ottawa in March 1959.

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

Harkness reorganized the department and
reunited pure science with the experimental
farms in the Research Branch. Production
and marketing formed a second branch, and
administration (including economics) formed
a third.

The Research Branch was organized
geographically into research institutes,
regional laboratories and branch farms.
Senior scientists co-ordinated research on a
problem rather than a discipline basis.
Authority was decentralized among regional
and institute officers so headquarters could
focus on planning and development.
Illustration stations were renamed
experimental project farms and consolidated
in order to better equip the most important
facilities.

The Department of Forestry was created in
1 960 and incorporated the Forest Biology
Division and its 10 regional laboratories.

The Prairie Grain Advance Payments Act
(1957) provided payments for harvested
grain in storage while the Canadian
Wheat Board disposed of surpluses from
the early 1950s.

The Agricultural Stabilization Act (1958)
established a system of flexible
guaranteed prices for key commodities
based on a 10-year moving average
formula.

The Farm Credit Act (1959) established
the Farm Credit Corporation to
encourage and facilitate new farm
investments.

The Crop Insurance Act (1959) allowed
the federal government to make direct
contributions to provinces that
established crop insurance schemes.

The government intervened to help
farmers deal with increasing freight rates
and established a royal commission on
rail transportation in 1959.

The Humane Slaughter of Food Animals
Act (1959) established standards to guide
livestock processing establishments in
dignified killing practices.

Harkness' principal when he taught at
Calgary's Crescent Heights High School
in the early 1930s was William "Bible
Bill" Aberhart, Alberta's famous Social
Credit premier.

Harkness received the George Medal in
the Second World War for "courage,
gallantry and devotion to duty of a higher
order" during the Sicilian campaign.

Douglas Harkness Community School in
Calgary commemorates his accomplish-
ments.

Harkness was admitted to the Order of
Canada in 1978.

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Francis Alvin George Hamilton

October 11, I960- April 22, 1963

Francis Alvin George
Hamilton

(1912- )

Birthplace

Kenora, Ontario

Federal Constituency

Qu'Appelle/Qu'Appelle-Moose Mountain
(Saskatchewan)

Education

Normal School, Saskatoon; University of
Saskatchewan (BA, 1937, LLD (Hon.), 1989)

Professional Background

Teacher; flight lieutenant, Royal Canadian
Air Force; Chairman, Resources and Industries
Associates; partner, Baker Trading Co.;
mining investor; writer/lecturer; consultant

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"...probably the most popular minister
of agriculture in Canadian history... a
true prairie radical and an able
parliamentarian... "

— Peter Newman, Renegade in Power: The
Diefenbaker Years

"If you let Alvin loose in a 40-acre field
with just three cow pies in it, Alvin
would step in all three. "

— John Diefenbaker

Political Career

In university, Hamilton cut his political teeth
writing speeches for John Diefenbaker and
organizing Conservative election campaigns.
Saskatchewan Tories were both unpopular
and disorganized; Hamilton's ideas, papers,
committee work and speeches contributed to
their 1957 comeback.

Hamilton worked full time as federal
Conservative director in Saskatchewan from
1948 to 1957, and although his eyes were on
the federal arena, he was chosen provincial
Conservative leader in 1949. By 1957, after
unsuccessfully contesting the 1948, 1952 and
1956 provincial elections, he became
frustrated with provincial politics and
resigned as Saskatchewan leader to focus on
the 1957 national campaign.

After defeats in the 1945, 1949 and 1953
federal elections, he vowed that if he did not
become an MP, he would quit politics and
look for a job. On the strength of
Diefenbaker's national development policy,
Hamilton was finally elected MP for
Qu'Appelle in 1957. At first he told
Diefenbaker he did not want a cabinet
portfolio, but both his supporters and
Diefenbaker felt he deserved one so he
became minister of northern affairs and
national resources and chaired the cabinet
wheat committee from August 1957. In a
1960 cabinet shuffle, Diefenbaker turned the
agriculture portfolio over to Hamilton.
Hamilton became ill and could not actively

campaign in the 1962 election. The
Conservatives won only a minority
government, retaining most of their rural
ridings but losing the support and confidence
of eastern and urban voters. Many
Diefenbaker-era policies appeared to benefit
only the west — for example, Hamilton
solved the problem of grain surpluses but did
little to overcome surpluses of butter or other
dairy products. Voters were impatient, and
despite efforts to develop new policies in
support of easterners, the Conservatives lost
the 1963 election.

Hamilton resisted the pressure to return to
Saskatchewan politics after 1963. He became
opposition critic for agriculture, finance and
energy, and chaired caucus committees on
agriculture and policy. He also sat on the
House committee on northern affairs and
natural resources and was active in
international trade. Hamilton also
unsuccessfully contested the federal
Conservative leadership in 1967.

Hamilton lost his seat in the 1968 federal
election, but returned as MP for Qu'Appelle-
Moose Mountain in 1972. He held the seat
for the next 16 years. After the Conservatives
won the 1984 election, he served as a policy
advisor to the Mulroney government.

Hamilton retired from federal politics in
1988 and lives in Manotick, Ontario.

Departmental Developments

Hamilton took a hands-off approach to the
department, leaving administration to his
deputy and focusing on trade and
development.

He transferred the Canadian Wheat Board
from the trade and commerce portfolio to
agriculture because he felt that to solve
farmers' cash flow problems, he needed
control over grain sales. The Board of Grain
Commissioners also came under his authority
after 1960.

In 1962, the Health of Animals Division split
from the Production and Marketing Branch.
Hamilton also established the Food Research
Institute, combining three related institutes
into one to study food quality and consumer
acceptance, storage and processing.

Accomplishments as Minister

At the height of the Cold War, Hamilton sold
Canada's surplus grain to communist China.
Beijing had a food shortage and started
buying Canadian wheat in 1958. Under a
I960 agreement, over $422 million worth of
wheat and barley was sent to China over two
and a half years.

The trade and diplomatic negotiations were
controversial. Cabinet almost didn't approve
the credit arrangements. Americans opposed
trading with "enemy communists".
Commonwealth loyalists opposed China's
aggression towards India. And textile
manufacturers feared lost market share if
reciprocal Chinese goods entered Canada.
However, these sales restored western
agricultural prosperity — the average farm
income tripled — and created a lasting legacy
for the Conservative party across the Prairies.
Today, grain sales to China are worth $750
million.

Hamilton helped establish the United
Nations' World Food Program and the
Agricultural Economic Research Council, a
joint industry-government agency dedicated
to independent policy evaluation and
research in agricultural economics and rural
sociology.

His final legacy was the Agricultural
Rehabilitation and Development Act
(ARDA) of 1961. This legislation made it
easier for joint federal-provincial programs
to help farmers operating small or
unprofitable farms pursue alternate land use
or employment, to promote soil and water
conservation, and to fund research and rural
development projects.

Worth Noting

• Hamilton won the Burma Star Decoration
for his service in the Second World War.

• In 1987, Parliament recognized Hamilton
for his 30'h anniversary as a MP. John
Turner toasted and roasted his career,
concluding, "The farmers of this country
will always remember him as a
spectacularly successful minister.. .The
only weakness in judgement he has ever
shown is having hired Brian Mulroney."
(Mulroney worked on Hamilton's 1962
campaign.)

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Harry William Hays

April 22, 1963 - December 17, 1965

Harry William Hays

(1909-1982)

Birthplace

Carstairs, Alberta

Federal Constituency

Calgary South (Alberta)

Education

St. Mary's High School, Calgary

Professional Background

Auctioneer, cattle exporter, rancher/farmer
and Holstein breeder; president of Canadian
Swine Breeders during the wartime "Bacon
for Britain" campaign; founding member/
president. Alberta Poultry Breeders'
Association; president, Alberta Holstein
Breeders' Association; chairman, Calgary
Board of Trade agricultural bureau; radio
broadcaster

Political Affiliation

Liberal

"I don 't want to present myself as
a country bumpkin or a hayseed,
whatever political advantages that folksy
image may have seemed to have...
I don 't believe you have to pose as a
country cousin with barnyard on your
overalls... to do a decent job as minister
of agriculture. "
— Harry Hays

'Wo minister seems more inept inside
Parliament and few get so much done
outside it. "
— Walter Stewart, Toronto Star Weekly, 1965

Political Career

When Harry Hays sold his dairy herd and
became mayor of Calgary in 1959 he said he
had "made his fortune as a rancher and
dairyman and needed something to do in
retirement."

Hays admired Lester Pearson and was
offered the chance to develop Liberal
agriculture policy if he ran in the 1963
election. He became the only Liberal elected
in Alberta or Saskatchewan that year. After
he was appointed minister of agriculture, his
frequent absences in Parliament were
controversial — his time was precious as he
continued to serve briefly as Calgarj 's
mayor, travelled as Rotary Club district
governor and refused to stop auctioneering.

Hays was a colourful politician, using poor
grammar and swearing, then telling reporters
who smoothed the "roughage" from his
quotes that he was misquoted. Hays once
described his goal: "We want a flush-toilet,
not an outhouse, farm economy for Canada".
He was popular in caucus, and would often
invite rural backbenchers to review draft
legislation and offer opinions. But he found
Ottawa's slow pace "a burr under my
saddle". He antagonized farmers' organizations
by shooting down proposals he didn't like.

He thought Canada was behind other
countries in establishing prices to ensure a
strong industry and said subsidies led to
surpluses. He advocated a minimum farm
income and a comprehensive marketing
system for farmers.

In 1965, Hays was defeated as an MP.
Albertans were unimpressed with Liberal
policies on medicare, pensions and the new
Canadian flag. Hays was appointed to the
Senate in 1966 and continued to develop
agriculture policy as member of the Senate
agriculture committee.

Hays also co-chaired the special joint
committee of the Senate and the House of
Commons on the Constitution in 1980, and
played a key role in developing the Charter
of Rights and convincing his fellow senators
to dilute their power to veto legislation. He
died following heart surgery in 1982.

Departmental Developments

• Trade Minister Mitchell Sharp oversaw
the Canadian Wheat Board during Hays'
tenure.

• Computers were used to process milk
production records after 1963.

• In 1 964, the Economics Division became a
branch, responsible for marketing and trade.

• Some experimental stations were closed and
consolidated to improve research efficiency.

Accomplishments as Minister

After successful imports of Charolais cattle
from the United States in 1951, Hays
responded to farmers' demands for quality
exotic breeds and developed a European
importation plan. One hundred and thirteen
Charolais cattle were imported directly into
Canada from Europe in 1965, subject to strict
quarantines and inspections. Simmental,
Limousin, Main Anjou and Brown Swiss
imports followed.

In return, Hays established Canada's
showcase herds of dairy and beef breeds. The
herds were kept on experimental farms; the
Production and Marketing Branch managed
and funded their activities. In 1965, a
travelling exhibit of Canadian Holsteins was
flown to France for a two-month tour of
agricultural shows to promote two-way trade.
Similar European and North American tours
were organized in subsequent years.

Hays' Dairy Commission Act (1966) created
a regulatory agency to purchase, process,
ship, store and dispose of product; make
payments to stabilize prices; investigate
production, processing and marketing; and
promote the use of dairy products and
improvements in their quality and variety.
However, Hays believed farmers needed to
expand and diversify because "price alone
cannot correct the economic difficulties
of.. .small producers".

The Farm Machinery Syndicate Credit Act
(1964) offered groups of farmers loans to
purchase machinery on a co-operative basis
and expanded the size of loans available.

The federal government revised its support
for farm fairs and exhibitions in 1965 and
created controversial new product
classifications emphasizing utility over
appearances.

Hays also established the Veterinary College
at Saskatoon, expanded the crop insurance
system and originated a national farm
accounting system.

Worth Noting

• Hays introduced cattle exports by air,
shipped purebred cattle to the United
Kingdom and Mexico for the first time,
and opened new markets as North America's
biggest livestock exporter in the 1950s. He
once had Canada's largest Holstein herd
and held numerous world records.

• He also developed Hays Converter beef
cattle, the first new breed recognized for
registry in Canada.

• Hays regretted his lack of formal
education and dreamed of running the
experimental farm at Lethbridge. When
he became minister, his wife joked that
he now ran all 38.

• Douglas Harkness (also from Calgary)
was a good friend of Hays. But Alvin
Hamilton was a bitter political opponent.
Hamilton's image, according to Hays,
was inflated "to the dimensions of a
latter-day saint of the back forty". Hays
once challenged Hamilton to go to the
Central Experimental Farm to prove he
could milk cows — but the milking
contest never occurred, much to the
media's chagrin.

• Calgary's federal building on Fourth
Avenue SE is named after Hays.

• Hays' son Dan is currently a Liberal
senator for Alberta.

■*l

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

John J. Greene

December 18, 1965 - July 5, 1968

John J. Greene

(1920-1978)

Birthplace

Toronto, Ontario

Federal Constituencies

Renfrew South, Niagara Falls (Ontario)

Education

University of Toronto (BA, 1948), Osgoode
Hall (LLB, 1950)

Professional Background

Northern Ontario mine worker; flight
lieutenant, Royal Canadian Air Force (1941-
45); established law firm in Arnprior, Ontario
in 1949

Political Affiliation

Liberal

I find it hard not to go like hell. If I
can 't do it, I'll just have to quit.
— J. J. Greene, speaking about his 1969
heart attack

Political Career

Although his upbringing in Toronto was very
different from a farm lifestyle, Greene was
once described in the Toronto Star as "folksy,
friendly and successful... easy-going and
rustic. ..one of the best stump politicians in
the Commons". As one of Canada's few non-
farmer ministers of agriculture, Greene used
his experience in small-town and county
politics in Arnprior and Renfrew County to
gain an understanding of rural communities.

Greene unsuccessfully contested the Ontario
Liberal leadership in 1959. He was elected
MP for Renfrew South in 1963. After his re-
election in 1965, Greene became Lester
Pearson's minister of agriculture — the first
easterner in 54 years to hold the post. He was
criticized for being an urban lawyer who
knew nothing about agriculture and had
simply lobbied harder than anyone else for
the job.

In 1968, Greene contested the federal Liberal
leadership, delivering an inspiring speech on
national unity and making it to the third
ballot before supporting Pierre Trudeau.
Later that year he was re-elected as MP for a
new constituency, Niagara Falls, and
appointed minister of energy, mines and
resources in Trudeau's first cabinet. As
energy minister, he prevented the sale of the
largest oil company under Canadian control
and Canada's largest uranium producer to
American interests.

Greene suffered a heart attack in 1969. In
1971, he suffered a stroke while attending a
nuclear conference in Japan. He retired from
cabinet in January 1972 and was called to the
Senate in September 1972. Greene never
stopped working for Canadians. He was still
participating in Senate debates the week
before he died in Ottawa in 1978.

Departmental Developments

• In 1 966, the Board of Grain Commissioners
computerized the warehouse receipts and
accounting documents of Canadian
government elevators.

• During Canada's Centennial in 1967, the
department produced several special
publications to document the history of
the department and of Canada's
agriculture industry. Higher than average
numbers of visitors were noted at
experimental farm establishments and the
agriculture museum throughout 1967.

• The Sir John Carling building opened in
Ottawa in 1967. For the first time,
administrators from different department
divisions and branches were brought
together at an administrative headquarters
on the Central Experimental Farm.

• In addition to assisting the nine original
commodities it was designed to help, the
Agricultural Stabilization Board provided
subsidies for sugar beets, potatoes, and
milk and cream for manufacturing.

• Departmental research started to place
more emphasis on livestock and
agricultural engineering.

• The Canadian Livestock Feed Board,
created under the jurisdiction of the
minister of forestry in 1966, was
transferred to Greene's portfolio in 1968.

Accomplishments as Minister

Under Greene's leadership, five prominent
agricultural economists were appointed to the
1967 Task Force on Agricultural Policy to
make recommendations to the minister on
how best to ensure farmers' income and
welfare. The task force commissioned 12
studies on current agriculture issues.

In 1965, the Economics Branch began a
long-term appraisal of Canadian agriculture,
researching projected supply and demand
figures for commodities and anticipating the
market behaviour of producers and
consumers. These studies considered the
implementation of marketing boards for a
variety of Canadian commodities and paved
the way for future marketing legislation.

Amendments to the Crop Insurance Act in
1966 made insurance available to more
farmers and reduced the costs of farmer
participation by increasing federal
contributions. The program was also
extended to cover production units such as
fruit trees, berry plants and forage stands, as
well as the costs of preparing summer fallow
should seeding be impossible the following
spring due to excess moisture. Greenes
amendments worked: the 1968-69
departmental annual report notes a 93-per-
cent increase in the number of farmers
participating in provincial insurance schemes
over the previous year.

Greene was elected chairman of the World
Food Program Pledging Conference at the
United Nations in 1966 and led the Canadian
delegation to the Food and Agricultural
Organization Conference in Rome in 1967.

Worth Noting

• Greene won the Distinguished Flying
Cross for his service in the Second
World War.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Horace Andrew (Bud) Olson

July 6, 1968 - November 26, 1972

Horace Andrew (Bud)
Olson

(1925- )

Birthplace

Iddesleigh, Alberta

Federal Constituency

Medicine Hat (Alberta)

Education

Medicine Hat High School

Professional Background

Rancher/wheat farmer; general store
merchant and owner of farm supply business;
member of Farmers' Union of Canada and
Western Stock Growers' Association until
elected to Parliament; member of Economic
Council of Canada (1975-79)

Political Affiliation

Social Credit (until 1967), Liberal

"A man of great civility and intelligence. "

— Jean Chretien, speaking about Olson on
his appointment as lieutenant-governor of
Alberta, 1996

"Farmers regarded the minister and the
Department of Agriculture as their
champion of everything and if you're a
good politician you 'd better accept
that's the vision they have of you and do
something useful for them... "

— Bud Olson

Political Career

Olson became a Social Credit MP for
Medicine Hat in 1957. Although he was
defeated in the 1958 election, he won the
seat again in 1962 and was re-elected in
1963 and 1965. By 1967, the federal Social
Credit party was disintegrating. Though
many of Olson's colleagues switched to the
Conservatives, former Liberal agriculture
minister Harry Hays helped persuade him to
sit as a Liberal MP. Always the pragmatist,
Olson decided his chances of making a
difference with the Liberals, who had no
seats in Alberta at the time, were greater than
with the Conservatives, who dominated
western Canadian seats.

Olson supported Pierre Trudeau's Liberal
leadership campaign and was appointed
minister of agriculture after winning his first
election as a Liberal in 1968. But in the early
1970s, federal Liberal policies were
unpopular in Alberta. (Trudeau even asked
struggling western farmers "Why should I
sell your wheat?") Olson was defeated in the
1972 and 1974 elections.

In 1977, Olson was called to the Senate. He
served as opposition House leader in 1979
and government leader from 1982 to 1984.
Olson's favourite cabinet portfolio was one
he held as a senator — minister of economic
and regional development from 1980 to
1984. As one of Trudeau's most powerful
ministers, he chaired the cabinet committee
on economic development from 1980 to

1983. He was also the minister responsible
for the Northern Pipeline Agency from 1980
to 1984. "Selling" the National Energy
Policy in his home province was a major
political challenge, but he tried to work with
oil company representatives on regulatory
reforms. A 1982 Maclean's article described
him as "low-key, affable, unflappable and
shrewd as a fox".

Olson became Alberta's 14,h lieutenant-
governor in April 1996. Some considered the
appointment controversial, but Olson said,
"If you want someone to do this well, get a
politician".

Industry Issues

In 1969, a special task force studied the
challenges and conditions facing farmers and
processors and released a report called
Canadian Agriculture in the Seventies.
Overproduction was a chronic problem with
many commodities, and marketing systems
were a top priority for policy development.
Olson reflects that his role "was a selling job
all the time. We had great surpluses of wheat,
pork in storage, a mountain of skim milk
powder... and we had to get out in the
international market and sell it. And that was
not easy.. .other countries also had surpluses
and we had to try to get a decent price".

Departmental Developments

Popular ideology suggested a "food systems"
approach would be appropriate for planning
and co-ordinating government activities. In
1972, the Food Systems Branch was created
to "review, evaluate and monitor federal
government food programs as they related to
the production and marketing of agricultural
products". These changes introduced a
market-oriented approach to commodity
management that included not only primary
producers but also processors, distributors,
retailers and consumers. The new approach
was controversial among some farm
organizations, who feared a loss of control
over agricultural policies.

The department was actively involved in
implementing programs to curtail
overproduction, particularly in grains. A
grassland incentive program was introduced
and research branch scientists sought ways to
encourage grain farmers to seed their poorer
land to permanent grass. Scientists also tried
to find new uses for surplus cereals and
identify innovative new crops that could be
marketed to both Canadian and world
markets.

The size and scope of government activities
were restricted for the first time. Some
research stations were closed to reduce
overhead costs. For example, in 1971 the
Institute for Biological Control in Belleville
closed and many employees moved to
Winnipeg or Regina.

Some research was contracted out to
universities or the private sector. This
stimulated private sector employment and
innovation in areas where the department
lacked sufficient resources. Contracts were
awarded for solutions to specific problems,
which ensured results could be quickly and
effectively used in the economy.

Accomplishments as Minister

• Olson oversaw the early and
controversial steps towards supply
management, including enabling
legislation for marketing boards for
turkey and chicken. "I tried to persuade
farmers that their job was to participate
in marketing and not expect someone
else to do it for them," says Olson.
"Others would only be interested in
margins. Farmers needed to be active to
get a good price."

• The LIFT (Lower Inventories for
Tomorrow) program was introduced to
curtail western wheat production and
reduce grain surpluses.

• The department revised the Canada
Grains Act for the first time in 30 years.

• It also introduced the Small Farms
Development Program, which would both
help struggling producers and also offer
other options to those who wanted to quit
farming.

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Eugene Francis Whelan

November 27, 1972 - June 3, 1979
and March 3, 1980 - June 29, 1984

/'*

/ < Canada

• ' / i ■'

Eugene Francis
Whelan

(1924- )

Birthplace

Amherstburg, Ontario

Federal Constituency

Essex South/Essex-Windsor (Ontario)

Education

Walkerville Vocational and Technical School,
University of Windsor (LLD (Hon.) 1983)

Professional Background

Mixed farmer, trained as a tool and die
maker; director and president of Harrow
Farmers Co-op; director of United Co-
operatives of Ontario, Co-operators
Insurance Co., Ontario Winter Wheat
Producers Marketing Board; president of
Essex County branch, board member of
Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Political Affiliation

Liberal

"Paper doesn 'tfeed cows and it doesn 't
feed people. "
— Eugene Whelan

Political Career

Whelan learned about grassroots democracy
from his experiences in municipal politics,
working his way from the local separate
school board in 1 945 to township council
and the Essex County road committee in the
1950s and eventually serving as warden of
Essex County in 1962. After an early defeat
in the provincial election of 1959, he was
elected MP for Essex South in the general
election of 1962 and held the seat until he
retired from politics.

Agriculture and resource issues were
Whelan's consistent focus as an MP; he
became involved in politics because "he
wanted farmers to have a bigger say". He
chaired the House of Commons' agriculture
committee (1965-68) and served as
parliamentary secretary to the minister of
fisheries and forestry (1968-70). After the
1972 election he was appointed minister of
agriculture, a post he held for the next 12
years, except for the nine-month tenure of
Joe Clark's Conservative government in
1979-80.

Whelan took a particular interest in
international parliamentary and agriculture
organizations, representing Canada at the
founding conference of the United Nations
World Food Council ( 1 974) and serving as
its president (1983-85). As both a minister
and an MP, he was active in foreign aid and

agricultural development issues and
participated in several trade missions and in
conferences of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) and
the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) of the United Nations.

Whelan ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal
leadership in June 1984. He decided not to
contest the 1984 election and became an
agriculture and agri-food policy consultant,
continuing his involvement in international
agriculture issues. On his retirement in July
1984, he was appointed the first Canadian
ambassador and permanent representative to
the FAO in Rome. His appointment was
cancelled by the Conservatives that October
because they felt it was an example of
Liberal patronage. He accepted a Senate
appointment in August 1996.

Industry Issues

Whelan's government introduced food price
controls to offset inflation. Even though the
Food Prices Review Board blamed marketing
boards and not supermarkets for high prices,
Whelan championed farmers' rights to good
prices. He saw their problems as, not
overproduction, but producing the wrong
things for the wrong market.

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

Worth Noting

By 1977, the food systems approach had
permeated management across the
department. The Food Systems Branch was
absorbed into the Regional Development
Branch. The other five branches were also
realigned to promote a "food policy"
orientation. A further reorganization in 1978
created the Policy, Planning and Evaluation
Branch as a liaison between domestic and
international development issues. More and
more, the department's work overlapped with
food policy work in other departments, and
Whelan worked to establish collaborative
policies.

Whelan's commitment to international
agriculture and his strong personal concern
about the potential famine conditions in
Africa led to increased departmental
participation in many CIDA-approved
agricultural research and development
projects.

Whelan spent a lot of time in direct contact
with departmental staff and is still
remembered as one of the most popular and
respected ministers. Whelan says. "When I
arrived in 1972 I was handed one of the
finest outfits in the government... Since
Confederation, Agriculture had been the
most decentralized department of
government... we were doing it before
anyone was talking about it".

Whelan was committed to supply
management and marketing boards,
particularly for the dairy industry. He
proclaimed the Canadian Egg Marketing
Agency in 1973 and the National Turkey
Marketing Agency in 1974 and created
the National Chicken Broiler Agency in
1976. He was unsuccessful in achieving
marketing boards for other commodities.

The New Crop Development Fund
( 1973) helped develop new crops and
varieties.

A domestic feed grain policy ( 1974,
1976) co-ordinated the transportation and
stocks of feed grains for domestic and
export markets. Additional feed storage
programs in 1977 increased the
production and efficiency of the livestock
feed industry.

Whelan wanted to establish a farmers'
bank. Although he didn't achieve this
goal, amendments to the Farm Credit Act
( 1975, 1978) raised the ceiling for
borrowing.

The Advance Payments for Crops Act
( 1977) guaranteed loans to producers
requiring advance payments for
perishable crops.

Whelan worked with farm organizations
to create CANAGREX, the Canadian
Agricultural Export Corporation, as a
federal Crown corporation in 1983.

Whelan was one of Pierre Trudeau's best
constitutional campaigners. But in 1976,
angry Quebec dairy farmers threw diluted
milk on Whelan after cabinet refused to
approve dairy subsidies to compensate
farmers in a collapsed world market.
Whelan says this refusal helped elect the
Parti Quebecois in rural ridings that fall
(half of Canada's dairy farmers are from
Quebec).

Mikhail Gorbachev, as Minister of
Agriculture for the USSR, visited Canada
at Whelan's invitation in 1983 — his
only major trip to a western country
before becoming General Secretary of the
Communist party.

Whelan, "The Great Canadian Farmer",
was made an officer of the Order of
Canada in 1987.

The Hon. Eugene F Whelan Experimental
Farm near Woodslee, part of the Harrow
Research Station, recognizes his
contributions.

Whelan's daughter Susan is now MP
for Essex.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

John Wise

June 4, 1979 - March 2, 1980

and September 17, 1984 - September 14, 1988

John Wise

(1935- )

Birthplace

St. Thomas, Ontario

Federal Constituency

Elgin (Ontario)

Education

University of Guelph ( 1956)

Professional Background

Fifth-generation dairy farmer; president o\'
Elgin Jersey Breeders; director and president,
Oxford and District Cattle Breeders
Association (now Western Ontario Breeders);
dairy cattle judge; chairman of Elgin and St.
Thomas Planning Boards; director of Elgin
Co-operative Services

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"In this job, the roof usually fell in on
you every day. You 're dealing with
Mother Nature and you never know
what to expect. "

— John Wise, quoted in The Globe and Mail
in 1988

Political Career

Wise was active in farm organizations and in
municipal politics and planning for more
than 15 years before his election to
Parliament. He served as councillor, deputy
reeve and reeve of Yarmouth Township
through the 1960s and became warden of
Elgin County in 1969. Three years later, he
was elected MP for Elgin, a seat he held
through five consecutive elections until
1988, when he did not run.

Based on his experience, Wise was a natural
fit for the roles of opposition dairy and
agriculture critic through the 1970s. He also
served as critic for supply and services
( 1983-84). He developed Conservative
agriculture platforms and policies and
chaired his caucus' agriculture committee in
1976. When Joe Clark's Conservatives won
the 1979 election and formed a minority
government for nine months, he was
appointed minister of agriculture. Four years
later, he became one of the few Clark-era
cabinet ministers to retain the same portfolio
in Brian Mulroney's majority government.

Wise held the agriculture portfolio through
the first term of the Mulroney government
but decided to retire from politics before the
1988 election. He remains active in
agriculture issues and currently serves as a
board member for Amtelcom and chairman
of the board for the Canadian Livestock

Exporters Association and the Canadian
Embryo Exporters Association. He sold his
dairy herd when he was elected to
Parliament, but he still lives on his farm near
St.Thomas, Ontario.

Industry Issues

When Wise began his second term in 1984,
the industry was experiencing some of its
worst financial conditions since the 1930s.
Record high interest rates and low market
prices, in combination with a trade war over
grains between the European Community
and the United States, brought unprecedented
challenges to the farm community. Record
levels of government compensation for
droughts, floods and poor harvest
conditions — particularly the Special
Canadian Grains payments in 1986 and
1987 — were responses to the industry's cries
for help. Wise also had the challenge of
protecting the principles of supply
management while introducing his
government's free trade policies to the
agriculture industry.

Departmental Developments

In 1979, the Health of Animals Branch
became part of the Food Production and
Inspection Branch in a reorganization
designed to strengthen the regional
development and marketing activities of the
department. Decentralized plant and animal
inspection activities were integrated with
some of the plant and animal production,
quarantine and racetrack supervision
activities.

The same reorganization formed the
Regional Development and International
Affairs Branch, amalgamating
intergovernmental and international services
with farm development, some animal and
crop production activities, and the
Agricultural Development Directorate of the
Policy, Planning and Economics Branch. A
director of regional development was
appointed in each province.

The Marketing and Economics Branch was
created to increase trade promotion as part of
a government-wide priority to increase
international trade.

Accomplishments as Minister

The department's budget increased from
$1 billion to $4 billion during Wise's tenure.
He reflects that "we invested a lot of money".

• The Farm Debt Review Act (1986)
established farm debt review boards in
every province to help farmers and
facilitate financial arrangements with
creditors in times of crisis.

• Wise amended the Farm Credit Act and
increased assistance for farmers
borrowing through the Farm Credit
Corporation by increasing the
corporation's funding and accessibility.
New programs also reduced farm interest
rates, shared mortgage risks and offered
commodity-based loans.

• Amendments to the Agricultural
Stabilization Act (1985) increased the
number of commodities covered,
increased the level and changed the
calculation of support, and allowed for
regional support programs. The Tri-
partite Stabilization Program also
provided a national plan for federal-
provincial-industry co-operation in
stabilizing farm incomes.

• The Canadian Rural Transition Program
(1986) helped families who were forced
to stop farming, providing assistance for
retraining or offering targeted initiatives,
such as the Tobacco Diversification Plan,
to diversify into other businesses.

• The Farm Improvement and Marketing
Cooperatives Loans Act (1987) offered
individuals and co-operatives loan
guarantees for processing, distributing
and marketing products.

• The Grape Revitalization Program (1987)
improved the competitiveness of Ontario
and British Columbia's grape and wine
industries.

• In 1986, Wise announced a new long-
term dairy policy following an extensive
review. The five-year program and its
multi-year financial commitment brought
increased stability to the dairy sector.

• Wise oversaw the establishment of new
research stations and laboratories at
St-Hyacinthe, Guelph, Calgary,
Lethbridge, Brandon and London.

Worth Noting

• Wise is the honorary founding president
of Soil Conservation Canada.

1+1

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Ralph Ferguson

June 30, 1984 - September 16, 1984

Ralph Ferguson

(1929- )

Birthplace

Middlesex County, Ontario

Federal Constituency

Lambton-Middlesex (Ontario)

Education

Alvinston, Ontario

Professional Background

Farmer; charter member of National Farm
Products Marketing Council; member,
Ontario Federation of Agriculture; co-
founder, Lambton Pork Producers
Association, advocate of Ontario Pork
Producers Marketing Board in late 1950s;
chairman, Lambton County Egg Producers
and worked to create Ontario Egg Producers
Marketing Board in mid-1960s; county
delegate to the Ontario Egg Board; served on
county wheat, white bean and soybean
associations

Political Affiliation

Liberal

Political Career

Ferguson was elected to the House of
Commons in 1980 and appointed
parliamentary secretary to the minister of
state (small business and tourism) in March.
In the early 1980s, he also served as
parliamentary secretary to the minister of
finance and as deputy government whip.

Ferguson was a proponent of export market
expansion and participated in several trade
missions. He encouraged farm organizations
and the federal Liberals to create
CANAGREX, the Canadian Agricultural
Export Corporation, as a Crown corporation
in 1983. Ferguson was appointed minister of
agriculture by John Turner, who became
prime minister in June 1984, and served until
the Liberals' electoral defeat three months later.

Ferguson lost his seat in the 1984 general
election but was re-elected in 1988. His
concern over growing corporate concentration
in U.S. agriculture made him a strong
opponent of free trade with the United States.
He served as opposition agriculture critic and
assistant co-critic for international trade. His
continued involvement in policy development
led to the adoption of a comprehensive
agriculture policy by the Liberal party in
1970. He retired from politics in 1993 but is
still an agricultural activist in southwestern
Ontario, a practising conservationist and a
proponent of environmentally friendly,
renewable fuels.

Accomplishments as Minister

Because Ferguson served for a limited
period, it is difficult to identify a specific
legacy for him in the department. With
increasing pressure from industry for plant
breeders' rights legislation, Ferguson
recognized the need to protect parent seed
stocks and was instrumental in establishing
the first in a series of controlled
environment seed banks for this purpose at
the Morden research facility. He is best
known for his later work and studies
comparing farm gate and consumer prices
and lobbying against corporate concentration
in the Canadian food system.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Donald Frank Mazankowski

September 15, 1988 - April 20, 1991

Donald Frank
Mazankowski

(1935- )

Birthplace

Viking, Alberta

Federal Constituency

Vegreville (Alberta)

Education

Viking, Alberta; Technical University of
Nova Scotia (D.Eng. (Hon.), 1987)
and University of Alberta
(LLD (Hon.), 1993)

Professional Background

Owner of a car and farm machinery
dealership in a farm community; separate
school board trustee

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"We were aiming for a partnership with
farmers and the provinces . . . trying to
grow the pie rather than haggling over
the size of the piece. "
— Don Mazankowski, 1997

Political Career

Mazankowski's long and distinguished career
in federal politics began with his election to
the House of Commons in 1968. He was re-
elected as MP for Vegreville (Alberta) in six
consecutive elections and served in
Parliament for the next 25 years.

When the federal Conservatives were in
opposition in the 1970s, Mazankowski
served as caucus chair from 1973 to 1976
and co-chair of both the 1976 leadership
convention and the 1981 general meeting. He
served as transportation critic and chaired the
Conservative caucus committee on
transportation and communications, as well
as serving as the Conservative spokesperson
on government operations and economic
development. He served briefly in Joe
Clark's cabinet in 1979-80 as minister of
transport and minister responsible for the
Canadian Wheat Board.

When the Conservatives formed a majority
government in 1984, Mazankowski was
appointed minister of transport, as well as
acting minister for industry, science and
technology. He served in these capacities
until June 1986. He then became government

House leader and president of the Privy
Council, roles he filled until 1989 and 1991
respectively. In 1986, he was also appointed
deputy prime minister, a position he held
until his retirement from federal politics
in 1993.

Mazankowski served as president of the
Treasury Board (1987-88), minister
responsible for privatization and regulatory
affairs (1988-91) and minister of agriculture
(1988-91). His final portfolio was finance,
which he held from 1991 until his retirement.
Throughout his career in cabinet he served
on powerful committees such as priorities
and planning, operations, expenditure review,
Treasury Board, Canadian unity, and security
and intelligence. Over time, Mazankowski
was nicknamed the "Minister of Everything".
He was awarded the title Right Honourable
in June 1993.

Since his official retirement from public life
in October 1993, Mazankowski has been
named to the board of directors of 1 1 major
corporations involved in international trade
and commerce. He also serves on the board
of governors of the University of Alberta and
is currently the agriculture and rural
development sector facilitator for an Alberta
government task force on economic growth.

Industry Issues

Mazankowski reversed the interventionist
tendencies of previous subsidy programs. He
aimed for a market-driven approach to
agriculture policies that focused on adding
value. Trade issues dominated his term as
minister. The Canada-U.S. Free Trade
Agreement was implemented to improve
access to American markets and eliminate
tariffs while protecting Canadian supply
management systems.

Canada also participated in the Uruguay
round of negotiations on the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),
calling on member countries to implement
comprehensive agriculture reforms and
reduce trade-distorting measures for
agricultural commodities. The Canadian
industry had to agree to phase out its support
systems over the course of the multilateral
trade negotiations. This development
advanced Mazankowski 's free market
ideology but was controversial with
producers and farm organizations.

Departmental Developments

In 1989, as a result of an industry task force
review, the department developed a new
comprehensive policy called Growing
Together: A Vision for Canada's Agri-Food
Industry. It was based on four pillars for
Canadian agriculture in the 1990s: market
orientation, regional diversity, greater

self-reliance and environmental sustainability.
A parallel mission review was underway in
the department, which evolved into a
comprehensive regulatory review and
industry consultation process to consolidate
and refine departmental activities in the years
to come. Risk assessment studies related to
food safety set departmental priorities for
food sampling. Evaluations of Canadian
trading partners' practices laid the groundwork
for future improvements in food inspection.

The 1991 Budget created a special operating
agency to manage the department's racetrack
supervision responsibilities.

Accomplishments as Minister

• The Farm Income Protection Act (1991 )
promoted economic stability in the
agriculture community by bringing
together elements of previous farm safety
net programs into a comprehensive,
whole-farm strategy. The Gross Revenue
Insurance Program (GRIP) offered price
supports and yield protection while the
Net Income Stabilization Account
(NISA) helped producers secure a steady
farm income.

• The Canadian Agri-Food Development
Initiative (1989) funded industry
diversification and innovation, such as
the development of apple chips for
market in British Columbia.

The Domestic Dairy Product Innovation
Program of the Canadian Dairy
Commission (1989) added flexibility to
the national system for managing
industrial milk supply by providing an
amount of milk additional to provincial
milk quotas to introduce innovative
products on the domestic market.

National soil conservation program
agreements were signed with almost
every province to encourage federal-
provincial co-operation in improved soil
management.

Amendments to the Crop Insurance Act
(1990) increased maximum coverage
levels and offered greater flexibility in
average yields and support payments.

New plant breeders rights were
established to guarantee protection and
royalties for new and innovative plant
varieties and to encourage private sector
research and development.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

William Hunter McKnight

April 21, 1991 - January 4, 1993

":7&

William Hunter
McKnight

(1940- )

Birthplace

Elrose, Saskatchewan

Federal Constituency

Kindersley-Lloydminster (Saskatchewan)

Education

Elrose, Saskatchewan

Professional Background

Farmer

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"In 1977 and 1978, I got disgusted . .
I wanted to make a change for my
province, for Canada I guess, and 1
decided I was bloody well going to
run. "
— Bill McKnight, 1988 interview

Political Career

After three years as president of the
Conservative Party of Saskatchewan from
1974 to 1977, McKnight was elected MP for
Kindersley-Lloydminster in 1979. He was re-
elected in the next three federal elections.

When the Conservatives took office in 1984,
McKnight was appointed minister of labour
and minister responsible for the Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In 1986,
he switched portfolios and became the
minister of Indian affairs and northern
development. He added to this assignment
the role of minister responsible for western
economic diversification in 1987.

McKnight left these portfolios for defence in
1989 and switched assignments yet again in
1 99 1 when he succeeded Don Mazankowski
as minister of agriculture. McKnight had a
reputation as a straightforward, competent
and down-to-earth minister.

His final cabinet assignment was as minister
of energy, mines and resources from January
to October 1993. He retired from federal
politics before the 1993 general election.

McKnight currently serves as chair of
NAFTA Trade Consultants Inc. and Anvil
Range Mining Corp. He is also on the board
of directors of five different commercial
enterprises and served as the honorary consul
to Ecuador in 1995.

Industry Issues

Trade issues, particularly those arising from
North American Free Trade Agreement and
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
negotiations and specific commodity
disputes, continued to affect international
market development.

Industry groups consulted with government
officials to find ways to streamline
government operations and harmonize
federal and provincial regulations while still
providing agri-businesses with the support
they needed to compete internationally.

Departmental Developments

During McKnight's time as minister, the
department continued to focus on the four
priorities established during Mazankowski's
tenure: market orientation, regional diversity,
greater self-reliance and environmental
sustainability. Extensive industry
consultations continued to shape program
and regulatory reviews within the
department.

Accomplishments as Minister

The Trade Opportunities Strategy, announced
in November 1992, funded market
development initiatives introduced by
industry, especially for value-added products.
Regional trade contacts across Canada co-
ordinated information to help External
Affairs and International Trade Canada
resolve international trade disputes. Agri-
food specialists based at Canadian embassies
in strategic international markets worked to
improve access for Canadian exports and to
provide market intelligence.

An export advisory committee led by
industry offered suggestions on trade strategy
and the integration of government resources
for trade policy and market development. In
partnership with the Canadian meat industry,
the department developed new international
training programs to increase foreign
customers' awareness of and demand for
Canadian red meat products.

The National Farm Business Management
Program provided $10 million in annual
federal funding, matched by provincial
funding, to improve farm sector
competitiveness by training producers in
marketing and promotion, accounting and
computer technology.

Agriculture Canada contributed $7 million in
research and development funding to the
federal Ethanol Action Plan to reduce the
cost of ethanol production and establish a
potential growth market for renewable fuels
made from agricultural commodities.

McKnight also worked to implement the
federal Green Plan Sustainable Agriculture
Initiative. This initiative provided $170 million
over six years for programs to promote
environmentally sound practices in the agri-
food sector. The provinces shared the costs
of these programs with the federal
government.

Worth Noting

• McKnight shared an apartment with Don
Mazankowski during their time as fellow
MPs and cabinet ministers in Ottawa.

McKnight introduced "check-off legislation
into the House of Commons to allow
commodity groups to collect levies on
domestic sales and imports to fund their
commodity research and promotional
activities.

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Charles James Mayer

Januarx 4, 1993 - November 4, 1993

Charles James Mayer

(1936- )

Birthplace

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Federal Constituency

Portage-Marquette/Lisgar-Marquette
(Manitoba)

Education

University of Saskatchewan (B.Sc, 1964)

Professional Background

Mixed farmer; president of Manitoba Beef
Growers Association; member of Manitoba
Farm Bureau, Canadian Cattlemen's
Association; member of Manitoba Institute
of Agrologists, Agricultural Institute of
Canada

Political Affiliation

Conservative

"/ don 't think the Canadian
consumer/taxpayer is aware of the
strength of this industry. We need better
salesmanship and communication. "
— Charlie Mayer, 1997

Political Career

Mayer was elected to the House of Commons
in 1979, representing Portage-Marquette. He
was re-elected in 1980 and 1984 for this riding
and in 1988 for the riding of Lisgar-Marquette.
As an MP, he worked with Minister of
Agriculture John Wise as an advisor on
agriculture policy and chaired the Manitoba
Progressive Conservative caucus.

Mayer's path to becoming minister of
agriculture led him through a variety of
junior cabinet positions, all of which dealt
with agricultural policy in some way. In
1984, he was appointed minister of state for
the Canadian Wheat Board and minister
responsible for liaison with Canada's co-
operative sector. He changed assignments
slightly in 1987 when he was appointed
minister of state for grains and oilseeds. In
1989, he added to these responsibilities those
of minister responsible for western economic
diversification.

In January 1993, Mayer was appointed
minister of agriculture, small communities
and rural areas. After new prime minister
Kim Campbell's cabinet shuffle in June
1993, his position was renamed minister of
agriculture and agri-food.

Mayer was defeated in the 1993 federal
election. He continues to be active in the
agriculture industry and serves as chair of the
Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation and on
the board of Canada Bread.

Industry Issues

Incorporating agricultural products into the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) required a tremendous amount of
work on the part of the department and
industry groups. Canadian farmers depended
on exports for their prosperity, so trade
negotiations were a top priority. Mayer
described the goal of the GATT negotiations
as ensuring farmers "competed on quality
and price, not on the size of their
government's treasuries".

Departmental Developments

Accomplishments as Minister

The mandate of the department was officially
revised and expanded to reflect ongoing
regulatory and program reviews. At the same
time, government spending restraints and a
10-per-cent departmental budget cut
necessitated a climate of restraint.

In consultation with industry, the department
conducted an extensive regulatory review
and revised obsolete regulations. Eight pilot
projects found ways to reduce duplication
between federal and provincial inspection
agencies. The Food Safety Enhancement
Program promoted new international
standards, known as HACCP (Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Points) inspection
systems, at federally registered plants. The
department reduced its seven branches to
five to streamline overhead. It also cut levels
of management and launched a regional
review to improve service to departmental
clients nationwide.

Food inspection activities and personnel
formerly under the jurisdiction of the
departments of Consumer and Corporate
Affairs and Industry, Science and Technology
merged with those oi the Food Production
and Inspection Branch after June 1993. The
department was given a new name,
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to reflect
its new emphasis on working with the food
industry as well as primary producers.

Mayer believed there was too much
government regulation in some areas of the
industry. He changed grain marketing policy
and announced that farmers were free to sell
barley outside the Canadian Wheat Board.
While this departure from accepted
procedure was eventually reversed, at the
time it meant that farmers were free to
market their products to American clients.

Mayer appointed the Producer Payment
Board to recommend ways to transfer grain
rail subsidies to farmers. The railways
received $520 million annually in Crow Rate
benefits. Because the government couldn't
afford to invest new money in grain
subsidies, it sought alternate means of
supporting farmers.

The Canadian Rural Opportunities Initiative
provided $25 million over three years for
counselling, training and business
development assistance for farm families
with below-average incomes.

Mayer also worked to update and expand the
mandate of the Farm Credit Corporation to
include funding for diversified farm
operations, value-added processing and part-
time producers

■*■

Agriculture and Agriculture et

Agri-Food Canada Agroalimentaire Canada

Ralph Goodale

November 4, 1993 - June 11, 1997

Ralph Goodale

(1949- )

Birthplace

Regina, Saskatchewan

Federal Constituencies

Assiniboia, Regina-Wascana (Saskatchewan)

Education

University of Regina (BA, 1971), University
of Saskatchewan (LLB, 1972)

Professional Background

Called to the Saskatchewan bar in 1973,
member of Law Society of Saskatchewan;
special assistant to the minister of justice and
attorney general (1973-74); operated family
farm until 1975; worked for CBC News and
Public Affairs (1968-72)

Political Affiliation

Liberal

Political Career

Goodale was elected to the House of
Commons in 1974 for the large rural
constituency of Assiniboia. Over the next
five years, he occupied a variety of positions,
including parliamentary secretary to several
ministers, among others minister of
transport, minister responsible for the
Canadian Wheat Board, president of the
Privy Council and deputy prime minister.

As parliamentary secretary to the minister
responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board,
Goodale piloted the Western Grain
Stabilization Program through Parliament in
1976. Between 1974 and 1979, he was also
vice-chairman of the House of Commons
standing committee on agriculture, vice-
chairman of the special joint committee on
the northern gas pipeline, deputy government
whip and chairman of the government's
prairie caucus.

In 198 1 . Goodale was chosen leader of the
Saskatchewan Liberal Party. He was elected
MLA for Assiniboia-Gravelbourg in the 1986
Saskatchewan election. He resigned from
provincial politics to run as the Liberal
candidate for Regina-Wascana in the 1988
federal election but was defeated.

For the next five years, Goodale took a break
from politics and worked as director of
regulatory affairs and corporate secretary of
Pioneer Life Assurance Company and

Pioneer Lifeco Inc., both Regina-based
financial institutions, and as corporate
secretary of Sovereign Life Insurance Co.

When he was re-elected as MP for Regina-
Wascana in October 1993, he was appointed
minister of agriculture and agri-food. After
the January 1996 cabinet shuffle, he also was
appointed chairman of the cabinet committee
on economic development policy.

Goodale was re-elected in 1997 and
transferred to the natural resources portfolio.
He is still the minister responsible for the
Canadian Wheat Board.

Industry Issues

Goodale's term as minister coincided with
government budget cuts to programs and
services, as well as a rapid expansion of
export markets and information technology
for the agriculture sector. The Liberal
government's focus on restraining spending
and cutting the deficit reduced the level of
financial and administrative support the
department could offer producers and
processors. Fortunately, strong world grain
prices reduced the need for government
support.

"Team Canada" trade missions and enhanced
market information available through new
online support services helped create new
opportunities for innovative production and
marketing. The Uruguay round of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was
completed in December 1993 and implemented
in August 1996. The creation of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) helped Canadian
producers and agri-businesses secure access
to world markets.

Departmental Developments

The 1995 Budget announced that federal
government food inspection services would
be consolidated into a new agency called the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The department rose to the challenge of
transforming its current inspection services,
administered by the Food Production and
Inspection Branch, into a consolidated
agency that would also include inspection
responsibilities and personnel formerly under
the jurisdiction of Health Canada and the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

In 1995, in co-operation with Foreign Affairs
and International Trade Canada, the
department created the Agri-Food Trade
Service (ATS) to give exporters easy access
to government programs, market
information, trade regulations and other
types of support. The industry set a goal of
$20 billion in annual agricultural exports by
the year 2000. In 1996 the sector exported
$19.95 billion worth of agri-food products.

The Rural Secretariat was established to co-
ordinate the work of federal departments and
agencies focused on the economic renewal of
rural communities.

Accomplishments as Minister

• The Agricultural Marketing Programs
Act (effective 1997) replaced four
previous programs. It provides more
efficient administration of interest-free
cash advances to help producers market
their products.

• The end of both the "Crow Rate"
subsidies for prairie grain transport (the
Western Grain Transportation Act) and
the feed freight assistance subsidy to
livestock producers outside the Prairies
(1995) encouraged efficiency and self-
sufficiency in the grain and livestock
sectors. A one-time payment of $1.6
billion, with an additional $300 million in
adjustment funds over the next three
years, helped former beneficiaries adapt
and invest in new opportunities.

• The Western Grain Marketing Panel
consulted industry and offered
suggestions to modernize the governance
of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB),
provide greater flexibility in CWB
operations and services, and offer farmers
a wider range of grain marketing options.
As the minister responsible for the CWB,
Goodale continues to work on
amendments to the Canadian Wheat
Board Act based on the panel's July 1996
recommendations.

Goodale provided leadership during the
Canadian government's successful
defence of supply management principles
against an American challenge through a
North American Free Trade Agreement
dispute panel. The panel upheld Canada's
right to apply tariffs to certain U.S.
imports.

The Canadian Adaptation and Rural
Development Fund (1996) provides $60
million annually for national and local
rural development and community
diversification programs.

The Matching Investment Initiative
(1995) allows the department to match,
one for one, industry contributions to
collaborative scientific research projects.
By mid- 1997, more than 1,000
agreements on projects totalling more
than $42 million in research and
development had been established.

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