Right to Left in Canada

John Bracken, the shrewdest practical politician western Canada ever produced, was presented last week with leadership of Canada's Conservative Party. A free trader and Canadian Canadian (as distinguished from English Canadians, French Canadians, Scottish Canadians, etc.), Bracken took over on his own terms from the traditionally high-tariff, pro-Empire Tories. For good measure he forced them to change the party name from Conservative to Progressive-Conservative.

Entering politics from the presidency of the Manitoba Agricultural College in 1922, Bracken has remained continuously in office longer than any living man in a similar position in the British Empire. A vote getter and a wily operator who has remained Premier of Manitoba Province through a series of four coalition Governments that have invariably swallowed up his opposition, Bracken was a wise choice for the Tories. They have been unable to outdo the conservatism of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party. At the same time they have offered no program to offset the "frightening gains" of the mildly socialistic C.C.F. (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation). In Bracken the die-hards saw a realist with statesmanlike qualities that were most eloquently expressed in his backing of the ill-fated Sirois report (TIME, Jan. 27, 1941). Young liberal Tories saw in Bracken at least a partial answer to their demands for vision in government and dynamic leadership.

Last Chance? Meeting in Bracken's home town (Winnipeg), the right-left Tories opened their convention with a brave skirl of pipes. They gave a rousing farewell to able Senator Arthur Meighen, whose party leadership collapsed last February when he was defeated in a parliamentary by-election. They gave as rousing a welcome to quiet, friendly, pince-nezed, 59-year-old Bracken, electing him on the second ballot.

A farm boy, Bracken is a friend of everyone, from Social Crediters to Tory capitalists, whom he has nonetheless criticized for draining the wealth of the prairies into industrial Ontario. He has espoused closer cooperation with the U.S. and industrialization of Canada's West. Shortly before World War II he bartered prairie wheat for Munich beer. His policy handsprings have been epic but grounded in three basic beliefs: 1) social security for all; 2) the need to remove world trade barriers; 3) the right of all to live in a world of "peace and plenty."

For a party that has drifted along on outworn policies for 20 years, and has been, at best, a bumbling wartime parliamentary opposition, the Conservatives face a difficult task in regaining the Dominion's confidence. As Progressive-Conservatives under "Honest Jack" Bracken they have what may be their last opportunity. Party leaders expected to draft a platform that would: 1) attack the Liberal Party where it is most vulnerable (pussyfooting on basic war problems); 2) woo enough diverse support to capitalize on the expected post-war reaction to the present Liberal regime, As a starter, the party approved a four-point creed:

Freedom. "Freedom is founded on a sense of responsibility toward God and a belief that all men and women have been endowed by Him with individual worth and dignity."

Security. "Freedom will be a reality when social security and human welfare become a fundamental objective. . . . Want and fear must be banished and security brought within reach of all Canadians."

Opportunity. "The prosperity of the Canadian people depends on our creative capacity, individual initiative, our energy, determination and willingness to work. Gainful occupation for all is a primary objective of Conservative policy."

The British Partnership. "We affirm our loyalty to the King and our faith in the British partnership. We accept the responsibilities together with the benefits of this partnership."

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