1921 Canadian Election – What’s Old is News

By Sean Graham

This week, I talk with Barbara Messamore, author of Times of Transformation: The 1921 Canadian General Election about one of Canada’s turning point elections. We discuss the post-war economy’s, including tariffs, role in the campaign, how suffrage influenced the election, and the emergence of William Lyon Mackenzie King on the national stage. We also chat about whether the lauded ‘ballot question’ truly exists, how historians and political scientists can differ in their approach to elections, and the legacy of the 1921 campaign.

Historical Headline of the Week

Jamie Bradburn, “Canada’s first female MP and the federal election that changed Ontario,” TVO Today, September 23, 2019.

Sean Graham is a cultural historian, an Adjunct Professor at Carleton University, and a contributing editor with Activehistory.ca

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