R.B. Bennett, prime minister of Canada 1930 - 1935.
R.B. Bennett should join the seven Canadian prime ministers who are commemorated by statues on Parliament Hill. Such a presence would help correct the unfair association of his name with "Bennett buggies," horse-drawn automobiles whose owners could not afford gasoline in the Depression.
Far from being a heartless prime minister who was passive in the economic crisis, he was an activist statesman as well as a successful businessman. To reflect his contributions in both government and business, a fund should be set up to which private donors would donate money, to be matched from federal revenues.
Born and bred in New Brunswick, his career as a corporate lawyer and investor unfolded in Alberta, and he was an MP from Calgary for more than 19 years. He was thus the first prime minister from Alberta and is still the only one from New Brunswick.
He was a Conservative, but the breadth of support for a monument to him in Ottawa is shown by the leadership of the former Liberal prime minister John Turner in this cause.
Political folklore often suggests that the "Bennett New Deal" of 1935 was a deathbed conversion at the end of Bennett's five years as prime minister.
In fact, Bennett had long been an advocate of unemployment insurance, contributory old-age pensions, rights to form trade unions and government agencies to support farmers. In the Depression, he brought in large expensive programs for public works to create jobs as well for direct relief, running up stimulative deficits much like an up-to-date Keynesian. The Bank of Canada, the CBC and the Canadian Wheat Board are all his work.
He was the first prime minister to use broadcasting effectively. But he was bad at delegating and did not make good use of his cabinet ministers, though some of his appointments led to a great strengthening of the civil service. His other important mistake was to raise tariffs, doing his bit for the breakdown of global trade.
Every prime minister has been flawed. But R.B. Bennett's accomplishments and plans were appropriated by his successors. He well deserves to emerge from his long eclipse with new visibility on Parliament Hill.