R.B. Bennett and the charge of one-man government : an analysis of his relationship with potential rivals

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study R.B. Bennett's style of government from 1930-1935, a period in which Bennett has been labelled the Prime Minister of a "one-man government". An attempt will be made to assess the validity of this accusation by analyzing the nature of the relationship between R.B. Bennett and several of his cabinet members: Arthur Meighan, Minister without Portfolio, C.H. Cahan, Secretary of State of Canada, Harry Stevens, Minister of Trade and Commerce, and R.J. Manion, Minister of Railways and Canals. There has been no attempt to analyze Bennett's relationship with every cabinet colleague. Stevens, the M.P. who bolted from the Conservative Party in 1935 and R.J. Manion, Bennett's successor to the Conservative leadership receive more detailed attention than Meighen or Cahan in the analysis. From this study, it is hoped that a meaningful assessment can be made of the charge that Bennett ran a "one-man government". This forms the major theme of the paper.