1939: Ontario

Although the feud between Ontario's Liberal Premier Mitchell Hepburn and his party leader Dominion Prime Minister Mackenzie King, persisted throughout the year, 1939 proved, on the whole, relatively quiet in Ontario politics. Premier Hepburn sailed for Australia early in January, accompanied by Colin Campbell, Minister of Public Works, and Deputy Treasurer Chester S. Walters. The trip was made to study the Australian debt refunding plan. The Premier returned just in time to open the third session of the twentieth Ontario Legislative Assembly on March 8. Legislation adopted included an act enabling the province to enter into an unemployment insurance agreement with Ottawa; a law providing a new method of equalizing municipal assessments; and financial relief for the northern Ontario mining communities. A special war session of the Legislature was called on Sept. 19 to provide funds for the continuation of guards at the Niagara hydro-electric plants. Premier Hepburn accused the Dominion authorities of being lax in the provision of protection for these valuable properties. It is estimated that the cost of the guards may total $2,000,000 a year. About a dozen other war measures of lesser importance were enacted at the special session.

Colonel George A. Drew, Conservative, was elected a member of the Ontario Legislature from Simcoe East by acclamation. His choice made unnecessary the by-election scheduled for Feb. 27. Colonel Drew had just been chosen as the official leader of the Ontario Conservative Party and his success in obtaining a seat marked the first time since 1936 that the leader of the Conservatives had had a seat in the Legislature. The party standing in the Legislature at the regular session was: Liberals, 66; Conservatives, 23; United Farmers of Ontario, 1. Major James H. Clark, K. C., was elected Speaker of the Legislature to succeed Norman Hipel.

In the Toronto municipal elections, held at the beginning of the year, Mayor Ralph C. Day and the entire Board of Control was reelected. Mayor Day won by a majority of approximately 39,000 over Lewis Duncan. One Communist, Steward Smith, was elected Alderman, but he was subsequently stripped of all his committee posts following Canada's entry into the European War. In November it was announced that all municipal elections would be postponed for the duration of the conflict.

During the visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth, Toronto and Ottawa provided an extraordinarily enthusiastic and elaborate welcome. The King sat before a formal session of Parliament in Ottawa on May 19 and gave royal assent to the bills passed at the 1939 session. Toronto gave a gigantic reception for the monarchs on May 22. Although Premier Hepburn joined with Prime Minister King in the ceremonies welcoming the royal couple, the Ontario Premier bitterly denounced Prime Minister King for accompanying the royal pair on their journey through Canada, and charged the Prime Minister with seeking to take advantage of the Sovereign's popularity to prepare for the 1940 Parliamentary elections.

One of the primary causes of friction between the Dominion and provincial governments was unexpectedly removed, however, when Premier Hepburn disclosed on Nov. 2 that he had withdrawn his opposition to the St. Lawrence waterway. Completion of the project would give Ontario between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 horsepower of electric energy. It is expected that a fresh attempt will be made to complete Canadian-American agreement carrying out the project. Ontario also has a plan for developing power resources by tapping the extensive fields of low-grade coal in the northern part of the province. It is estimated that at least 20,000,000 tons of lignite are available in this area.

Ontario gold mines broke all records for production in September and October. Output for the first ten months of the year was $89,242,398, an increase of $7,521,811, or 9.2 per cent over the corresponding period in 1938. The Provincial Department of Mines estimates the value of mineral production in Ontario during 1939 at $237,513,870, an increase of 8 per cent over the 1938 figure of $219,935,545. Of the 1939 total, metals accounted for $212,345,000; nonmetals, $11,668,870; structural materials, $11,000,000; and clay products, $2,500,000. The nickel-copper industry enjoyed a gain of 21.5 per cent in the amount of ore treated.