Fred J. White

Frederic "Fred" James White (October 27, 1886 – October 10, 1967) was a provincial level politician and labour activist in Canada. He was a Labour Party MLA (member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta) from 1921 to 1935 representing Calgary.

Frederic James White
Fred J. White in 1929
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary
In office
1921–1935
Preceded byWilliam Henry Cushing
Thomas Tweedie
Succeeded byEdith Gostick
Ernest Manning
Fred Anderson
John Hugill
Alderman on Calgary City Council
In office
January 1, 1940 – September 30, 1941
In office
January 29, 1929 – December 31, 1935
In office
January 2, 1919 – January 3, 1927
Personal details
Born(1886-10-27)October 27, 1886
Port Credit, Ontario
DiedOctober 10, 1967(1967-10-10) (aged 80)
Guelph, Ontario
Political partyDominion Labor
Co-operative Commonwealth

Early life

Frederick James White was born in September 1886, at Port Credit, Ontario. He resided in Hamilton, Ontario until 1898. He moved to Guelph with his family and got his first job at the age of 15 working at the Guelph Mercury.

In 1905, he went to work for the Harley Watkins Printing Co. in Brantford as a printer. In 1907 he decided to travel, visiting Montreal and the United Kingdom. In 1910, White decided to travel to western Canada. He found work as a printer in Calgary.[1]

Municipal political career

White became involved in the Calgary Labor movement. In 1918 he ran for municipal council and was elected. He served from January 2, 1919 to January 3, 1927.

He served again on city council from January 29, 1929 to December 31, 1935.

His third stint on council was from January 1, 1940 to September 30, 1941.[1]

Provincial political career

White ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature in the 1921 Alberta general election. He won the third seat in the electoral district running under the Dominion Labor banner in the Calgary electoral district taking 8.21% of the popular vote.[2] White continued to hold his seat on Calgary city council.

White became leader of the Dominion Labor party and led the group into the 1926 Alberta general election. He was elected on the tenth vote count taking fifth place in the polling.[3] Overall in the province 5 out of 12 Dominion Labor Party candidates were elected to the Legislature. He continued on as leader and led the party into the 1930 Alberta general election. The Dominion Labor party lost a seat, White was re-elected in fourth place in the Calgary district on the 7th count.[4]

In 1932 White was a delegate to the founding meeting of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. He became a founding member of the party when it was established in 1933.

Despite being part of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the Dominion Labor Party ran in the 1935 Alberta general election. White continued on as leader. He was defeated on the 12 count, finishing 11th place in the standings. Province-wide, Dominion Labor was wiped out, losing all seats.[5]

White ran as a candidate for the CCF in the 1940 Alberta general election. He did not regain his seat, finishing 8th in the standings.[6]

Late life

White decided to move back to Guelph in 1942. He became Treasurer of the Guelph Labor Council upon his return. He lived the rest of his life in Guelph, dying on October 10, 1967.[1]

References
  1. "City of Calgary Aldermanic Gallery" (PDF). City of Calgary. pp. 83–84. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  2. "Calgary results 1921 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  3. "Calgary results 1926 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  4. "Calgary results 1930 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  5. "Calgary results 1935 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  6. "Calgary results 1940 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
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