Union Government (Canada)
| party | |
| Leader |
Robert Borden, Arthur Meighen |
| Founded | October 10, 1917 |
| Dissolved | 1922 |
| Preceded by |
Conservative Party Liberal–Unionist |
| Merged into | Conservative Party |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Ideology |
Imperialism Labourism Conscription |
| Political position | Big tent |
| International affiliation | None |
The Unionist Party was a centre-right historical political party in Canada, composed primarily of former members of the Conservative party with some individual Liberal Members of Parliament. It was formed in 1917 by MPs who supported the "Union government" formed by Sir Robert Borden during the First World War, and formed the government through the final years of the First World War, and was a proponent of conscription. It was opposed by the remaining Liberal MPs, who sat as the official opposition.
The Unionist Party continued to exist until 1922, at which time the Conservative elements re-formed the Conservative party.
In May 1917, Conservative Prime Minister Borden proposed the formation of a national unity government or coalition government to Liberal leader Sir Wilfrid Laurier in order to enact conscription, and to govern for the remainder of the war. Laurier rejected this proposal because of the opposition of his Quebec MPs, and fears that Quebec nationalist leader Henri Bourassa would be able to exploit the situation. Public opinion in Quebec was heavily against conscription, influencing the Liberal opposition to it due to the large number of Liberal MPs from Quebec.
As an alternative to a coalition with Laurier, on October 12, 1917, Borden formed the Union government with a Cabinet of twelve Conservatives, nine Liberals and Independents and one "Labour" member. To represent "labour" and the working class, Borden appointed to the Cabinet Conservative Senator Gideon Decker Robertson who had been appointed to the Senate in January and had links with the conservative wing of the labour movement through his profession as a telegrapher. Robertson, however, was a Tory and not a member of any Labour or socialist party.
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