Social Credit Party of Canada

The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative - populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadian social credit movement.

Decline: 1972–1980

In the 1972 election, the Social Credit caucus was reduced to 15 seats - all in Quebec - and won only 7.6% of the popular vote.

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In the 1974 federal election, the Social Credit Party machine in Quebec began to fall apart. Caouette was suffering from a snowmobiling accident, and therefore the powerful voice that had carried Social Credit in prior elections was silenced. When he was able to speak, Caouette focussed his attacks on the Progressive Conservatives and the New Democratic Party, instead of the Liberal Party, which was Social Credit's main competitor in Quebec. Two weeks before the election was called, Caouette had informed the parliamentary caucus that he would resign as leader in the fall. Party rallies faced declining, aging attendance. Feuding within the party had accelerated: Some ridings in Quebec had two or three Social Credit candidates, while others -- including the party's Levis stronghold -- had none. The provincial wing of the party had split in two, and had lost ten of its twelve seats in the 1973 provincial election. Many Social Credit MPs ran for re-election on their own strengths, making little mention of the party or its leader in their campaign materials. The party's support in Quebec was undermined by rumours that its MPs had made deals with the Progressive Conservatives during Caouette's illness. Only eleven Socreds were returned to Parliament, one short of the 12 needed for official party status. Winning eleven seats in the House of Commons, despite being beset by problems, was seen as a victory by the party as it managed to protect its political base from the Liberals' attack.

Related Topics:
1974 federal election - Progressive Conservatives - New Democratic Party - Liberal Party - Stronghold - 1973 provincial election - Official party status

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The provincial party, on the other hand, continued to face problems after the 1974 federal election as former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister Yvon Dupuis became leader, which alienated many of the party's members who still believed in social credit theories.

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The decline of the party accelerated after Caouette's death in 1976. A 32-year-old Quebec MP, André-Gilles Fortin, was elected to replace Caouette on November 7, 1976. Social Credit was dealt a further blow when Fortin died on June 24, 1977. Réal's son, Gilles Caouette, was named acting leader five days after Fortin's death. He was replaced as acting leader in 1978 by Charles-Arthur Gauthier.

Related Topics:
André-Gilles Fortin - Gilles Caouette - Charles-Arthur Gauthier

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Popular provincial créditiste Fabien Roy was drafted to lead Social Credit just before the 1979 election. The party managed to win only six ridings, all in Quebec. However, Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives formed a minority government after the election. The Socreds had just enough seats to give the Tories a majority in the House had the two parties formed a coalition government or otherwise agreed to work together.

Related Topics:
Fabien Roy - 1979 election - Joe Clark - Minority government - Coalition government

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Clark's government refused to grant the small Social Credit caucus the official party status it wanted, let alone form a coalition or make concessions to the party in order to gain its votes. One Socred MP, Richerd Janelle from Jolliette, left the party to join the government caucus. Clark's failure to secure Socred support contributed to the government's fall in December 1979, when the Social Credit caucus abstained in a vote on a Motion of No Confidence.

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The resulting February 18, 1980 election not only defeated the Clark government but wiped out Social Credit, leaving it without any MPs in Parliament.

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The death of the Social Credit candidate in the riding of Frontenac, Quebec, resulted in the postponement of the election in that riding to March 24, 1980. Fabien Roy sought to return to the House of Commons in the by-election, but lost to the Liberal candidate. Roy resigned as leader on November 1, 1980.

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The party never won another seat in the Canadian House of Commons.

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