In 1914, four Ontario farm leaders created an organization which, at its peak a mere five years later, had roughly 60,000 members, owned a newspaper, organized farm women, operated a large-scale consumer/ producer co-operative, and governed the province.
The United Farmers of Ontario (known at the time as the UFO – prior to people becoming interested in extraterrestrials) was created in 1914 by farmers/farm leaders W.C. Good (Brantford), J.J. Morrison (Wellington County), Col. J.Z. Fraser (Brant County), and E.C. Drury (Simcoe County).
Farmers had organized in Ontario prior to 1914, in organizations such as the Dominion Grange (an offshoot of the US-based organization), the Patrons of Industry (despite the name, it was an agrarian group), and the Farmers’ Association. These, and other farm groups had attained some success in the past, but all ended up declining for various reasons. The organizers of the UFO wanted to learn from their experiences and form a solid organization to perform several tasks.
First, the UFO was to serve as an educational organization, so that farmers could learn about farming techniques and, more important, about markets, and the economic and political systems in which they operated.
Second, the UFO was designed to promote cooperation among farmers, which resulted in creation of a sister organization, the United Farmers’ Cooperative Company. The UFCC, as it was known, was designed to engage in both consumer and producer cooperative activity.
Third, the UFO was to function as a lobby group, hoping to influence government policy which, UFO members felt, was stacked against farmers in favour of industrialists. They believed that the high tariffs which had been put in place by the federal government to aid Canadian businesses made it difficult for farmers to purchase supplies and equipment at reasonable prices. As well, reciprocal tariffs from the U.S. made it difficult for Ontario farmers to find American markets.
Lobbying became more intense, due largely to the First World War. Ontario farmers were being asked to produce more for the war effort, while at the same time being asked to give up farm labour and their sons for military service. The lobbying resulted in a promise from then-prime minister Robert Borden in 1917 to exempt farmers’ sons from conscription. In early 1918, though, Borden reneged on that promise, which further angered UFO members.
Adding to all of this was a society that, at the time, was becoming increasingly urbanized, and which seemed to view farmers unfavourably.
All these grievances culminated in late 1918, when UFO members on Manitoulin Island met to determine who to support in a provincial by-election in their riding. Frustrated by both Liberal and Conservative politicians, the UFO decided to run a candidate of their own, a local farmer named Beniah Bowman. Much to the surprise of many, Bowman won the riding handily.
Bowman’s victory prompted other UFO clubs – acting without any central direction -- to nominate UFO candidates in the October 1919 provincial election. The hope was to elect enough UFO members to have some influence in provincial agricultural policy. But, to the surprise of many, the UFO emerged from the election with more seats (44) than any other party. In coalition with the 11 Independent Labor Party members who had also been elected, the UFO was asked by the lieutenant governor to form a government.
Problem: the UFO had no leader and, thus, no premier! The party decided to approach E.C. Drury to step up and lead the province. Drury’s father had briefly served as Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture (1888-1890) and Drury was an experienced farm leader and excellent public speaker. Drury accepted their request. Another problem: the party was composed of farmers – there wasn’t a lawyer in the caucus to become attorney general. That issue was resolved by asking W.E. Raney to serve in that role.
Drury and Raney were elected in by-elections and the task of governing the province began.
How did the UFO fare as the government of Ontario? Stay tuned.◊