Thomas Crerar
| Thomas Crerar | |
|---|---|
The Honourable Thomas Alexander Crerar in August 1919
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| Member of Parliament | |
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In office 1917–1925 |
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| Preceded by | William James Roche |
| Succeeded by | Henry Mullins |
| Constituency | Marquette |
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In office February 5, 1930 – July 28, 1930 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Forke |
| Succeeded by | David Wilson Beaubier |
| Constituency | Brandon |
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In office 1935–1945 |
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| Preceded by | Bernard Stitt |
| Succeeded by | Ronald Moore |
| Constituency | Churchill |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas Alexander Crerar June 17, 1876 Molesworth, Ontario |
| Died | April 11, 1975 (aged 98) Victoria, British Columbia |
| Political party |
Progressive (1917-1925) Liberal (1929-1975) |
Thomas Alexander Crerar, PC CC (June 17, 1876 – April 11, 1975) was a western Canadian politician and a leader of the short-lived Progressive Party of Canada. He was born in Molesworth, Ontario, and moved to Manitoba at a young age.
Crerar rose to prominence as leader of the Manitoba Grain Growers' Association in the 1910s. Although he had no experience as an elected official, he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture in Robert Laird Borden's Union government on October 12, 1917, to provide a show of national unity during the First World War. He was easily elected to the Canadian House of Commons for Marquette in the election of 1917.
On June 6, 1919, Crerar resigned from his position in protest against the high tariff policies of the Conservative-dominated government. He was strongly in favor of free trade with the United States, which would have benefited the western farmers.
In 1920, he was selected as leader of the Progressive Party. In the 1921 election, he led the party to a landslide victory in western Canada, giving them 65 seats in the House of Commons. Crerar failed to hold the party together, however. He resigned as leader in 1922, and the party collapsed shortly thereafter.
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