1911 Election Flashcards
what are some of the effects that the 1911 election had
- defeat of Laurier
- changes how Canada deals with WW1
- -Bourdon (leader of conservative party) deals with completely differently than Laurier would have
- -Bourdon says to provide whatever British ask for (conscription)
Describe the conservatives’ platform in 1878 when they won the election
focus on economic development
- protectionism
- bring more people in to get them to settle
- building railway: can support own economy (CN railroad had a monopoly)
describe the Liberal’s national policy and whether it was feasible
- win in 1896
- want to pursue free trade
- US unreceptive (Republicans win landslide victory)–leave Canadian tariffs up
- Crow’s Nest Pass Agreement:
- -gov. telling railroad they need to change price of transporting goods (lower them) so that it is feasible to own a farm in Prairies
- Laurier is leader
- seeks more immigrants but Clifford Sifton shifts policy to advertise to farmers (in places where land is hard to buy) to attract specific immigrants who would be well prepared to settle in Canada
Describe economic development under the Liberals
- Prairies settled
- railroads developed–fund other railroads/ transportation (want to see competition in transportation market)
- –combination expands wheat output, making exports of wheat finally grow
- Canada becomes a major exporter of wheat
What factors pushed Liberals to agree to reciprocity?
- US make the offer in late 1910
- reciprocity: equal tariff reduction (reduce tariffs for popular exports on each side)
- Laurier had always favoured freer trade
- Liberals think this will be popular–win them election
- Britain had recently declined to give Canada a preferential tariff
- Britain pressuring Canada on Imperial Defence (ex. Boer war)
- Canada doesn’t really have its own foreign/security policies
- causes defections from both parties: Autonomistes/Nationalistes develop
what was then end result of the deal (what was the deal they made)
- negotiations with US held in secret, late 1910
- deal announced January 1911, stuns Tories
- –Canadian agricultural products (and cheese) have no tariffs entering US, no tariffs for US manufactured goods/ some materials for machinery entering Canada
What happened in 1911 with campaigns and opposition
- Ontario businessmen announce opposition
- Sifton says he too is against deal (thinking about Winnipeg and how processing is succeeding/ becoming profitable in the Prairies) and leaves liberal party
- Laurier calls an election–most seats in Parliament were tied to farmer (thought he could win)
- “Unholy Alliane” formed between Tories and Nationalistes (only agreed that they didn’t like Laurier)
- –successful in defeating Laurier
- –later on there will be lots of conflict
How could you use the Stolper-Samuelson to describe if canada would have wanted reciprocity?
- predicts factor-based split
- owners of abundant factor (land) prefer free trade
- –thus farmers should have wanted reciprocity
- owners of scarce factors (capital and labour) prefer protection
-seems to fit what Laurier thought
How could you use sector-specific theory to describe if canada would have wanted reciprocity?
- predicts sector-based split
- exporting sectors should prefer trade liberalization (wheat, lumber, cheese)
- import-competing sectors should prefer protection (manufacturing, agricultural processing)
- -still made sense to support this deal
Where was it the most surprising that Laurier lost seats?
- Manitoba and Ontario
- -based on Stolper Samuelson and Sec. Spec., these places should have favoured freer trade because of their wheat and dairy industries
What theory more accurately describes the results of the 1911 election?
Intra-Industry firm heterogeneity
-the assumption of perfect competition within canadian sectors was incorrect
- only most efficient growers export
- efficiency in wheat sector: farm size–big farms efficient, small farms inefficient
- since lots of small farms, relative efficiency affects preference on Reciprocity
-efficiency in dairy sector: capital-invested per acre–more capital=more efficient
what are the explanations of the failure of reciprocity in 1911 at each of the levels of analysis? (System, domestic, individual, constructivism)
System-level: US and British trade policies matter
Domestic-level: economic interests (intra-industry splits), but identity politics (how you feel about the British empire) shape preferences as well
Individual level: stress Laurier’s beliefs (classical liberal–prefer free trade)
Ideas/Constructivism: liberalized trade versus nationalism?
