Walter Ritchie Rollo (November 25, 1875 – March 12, 1957) was a Canadian trade unionist and politician in the early 20th century, and was a cabinet Minister in the United Farmers of Ontario - Labour coalition government from 1919 to 1923.
Walter Ritchie Rollo | |
|---|---|
 Rollo in 1919 photograph | |
| MPP for Hamilton West | |
| In office October 20, 1919 – October 5, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | John Allan |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Campbell Garden |
| Minister of Health and Labour for Ontario | |
| In office November 14, 1919 – July 16, 1923 | |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Forbes Elliott Godfrey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 25, 1875 Linlithgowshire, Scotland |
| Died | March 12, 1957 (aged 81) |
| Resting place | Woodland Cemetery, Hamilton Section 23 W 1/2, 43°17′11″N 79°52′53″W / 43.286312°N 79.881421°W |
| Party | Labour Party of Canada |
| Spouse | Margaret Bell |
Early life
editBorn in Linlithgowshire, Scotland in 1875,[2] he emigrated to Canada in 1883,[3] living in Parry Sound, Walkerville and Berlin[1] before becoming a broom-maker in Hamilton, Ontario by 1899.[4] He married Margaret Bell of Berlin in the same year.[5]
When the 9lst Regiment Canadian Highlanders was formed in Hamilton in 1903, Rollo enlisted and rose over time to become its colour sergeant.[6]
Labour leader
editPolitical career
editRollo was involved in politics at all levels. In 1916, he was appointed as a member of Ontario's Organization of Resources Committee which was established to improve Canada's war effort in the Province.[9] He had also been a member of the Board of Education in Hamilton for several years.[6][10]
In 1907, Rollo was elected as the President of the newly formed Independent Labour Party,[11][12] and would become its leader in 1917.[13][11] He stood for election in Hamilton West in the following campaigns:
- in the 18 November 1914 by-election, which he lost by only 39 votes,[7]
- in the federal 1917 general election, where he came in second,[14]
- in the Ontario 1919 general election, which he won. In his campaign, signs were posted that read: "Your Vote for Walter Rollo is a nail in the coffin of the profiteer."[15]
He and Morrison Mann MacBride were instrumental in negotiating a coalition government between the Independent Labour Party and the United Farmers of Ontario under E.C. Drury,[16] which lasted until 1923. As a result of those negotiations, the ILP had the right to nominate two of its members to the new government: Rollo became the Province's first Minister of Health and Labour—in charge of a department that had been created immediately before the election by the previous Conservative government of William Hearst,[17] as well as overseeing the Provincial Board of Health.[18] Harry Mills became the first Minister of Mines.[19][20] This caused a confrontation within the ILP, as MacBride had sought to be nominated to the Labour position.[21][22]
During his time as Minister, Rollo brought in several enhancements to Ontario's labour laws:[23]
- the Minimum Wage Act, which set minimum wages for female employees,[24]
- the Wages Act was amended to provide that 70% of any wages due to a worker was exempt from seizure,[25]
- the One Day's Rest in Seven Act, which provided (with certain exceptions) that employees were entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest every seven days,[26]
- improvements to workmen's compensation benefits[27][28]
Aftermath
editAfter his defeat in the 1923 general election, Rollo was appointed as an adolescent school inspector for the City of Hamilton,[29] and he was still working as a school attendance officer there in 1938,[30] and as a part-time school assessment adviser in 1950.[28] He died in 1957 at Hamilton General Hospital.[1]
Electoral record
edit| 1923 Ontario general election: Hamilton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Conservative | Arthur Garden | 5,784 | 52.4 | +24.2 | ||||
| Liberal | Thomas McQuesten | 3,053 | 27.7 | +16.1 | ||||
| Labour | Walter Rollo | 2,198 | 19.9 | -40.3 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 11,035 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 276 | 3.9 | -2.7 | |||||
| Turnout | 11,311 | 47.2 | -24.3 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 23,957 | |||||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +32.2% | ||||||
| 1919 Ontario general election: Hamilton West | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Labour | Walter Rollo | 8,722 | 60.2 | +60.2 | ||||
| Conservative | John McFarlane | 4,079 | 28.2 | -35.1 | ||||
| Liberal | James Dixon | 1,675 | 11.6 | -25.1 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 14,476 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 584 | 3.9 | +2.7 | |||||
| Turnout | 15,060 | 71.5 | +5.3 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 21,050 | |||||||
Further reading
edit- Bill Freeman (1979). "Hamilton Labour: The failure of an opposition group". In Bill Freeman; Marsha Hewitt (eds.). Their Town: The Mafia, the Media and the Party Machine. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company. pp. 38–61. ISBN 0-88862-266-X.
- James Naylor (1991). The New Democracy: Challenging the Social Order in Industrial Ontario, 1914-1925. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-5953-8.
- Roger Hall; William Westfall; Laurel Sefton MacDowell, eds. (1996). "The Decline of Labourism". Patterns of the Past: Interpreting Ontario's History. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002034-X.
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Former Ontario Cabinet Minister Dies Aged 81". The Hamilton Spectator. March 13, 1957. pp. 7, 8.(subscription required)
- ↑ "Walter Ritchie Rollo, 'Scotland Census, 1881'". Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ "1911 Canada Census abstract". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ "An Expert on Brooms". The Morning Leader. August 26, 1922. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ "Walter R Rolo, 'Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927'". Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- 1 2 "Rollo Has Faith, Works And An Unabashful Disposition". The Morning Leader. December 6, 1919. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- 1 2 Hall, Westfall & Sefton MacDowell 1996, p. 298.
- ↑ Naylor 1991, p. 68.
- ↑ "The Crisis - 1918". Toronto: Organization of Resources Committee. March 1918.
- ↑ "Rollo Likely To Lead Labor In Elections". Toronto Daily Star. October 29, 1917. p. 2.
- 1 2 Naylor 1991, p. 96.
- ↑ "New Labour Party". Montreal Gazette. March 30, 1907. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ Freeman & Hewitt 1979, p. 39.
- ↑ "HAMILTON WEST (1917/12/17)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ Naylor 1991, p. 126.
- ↑ "Labor Party Decides to Join with United Farmers". The Globe. October 27, 1919. p. 1.
- ↑ The Department of Labour Act, 1919, S.O. 1919, c. 22
- ↑ "First Coalition Ontario Cabinet". Daily British Whig. November 14, 1919. p. 1.
- ↑ "Mines Portfolio Of No Account". Toronto World. November 12, 1919. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ↑ The Department of Mines Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 12
- ↑ "Never Considered Cabinet Seat". Toronto World. October 31, 1919. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Says M'Bride Wanted Post in Ontario Cabinet". The Morning Leader. January 27, 1920. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ↑ "History of Employment Standards in Ontario". Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ↑ The Minimum Wage Act, S.O. 1920, c. 87
- ↑ The Wages Amendment Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 42
- ↑ The One Day's Rest in Seven Act, 1922, S.O. 1922, c. 93
- ↑ The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 43
- 1 2 "Act He Helped Draw Up No Help To Ex-Minister". Ottawa Citizen. August 29, 1950. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
- ↑ Gil O'Mourne (February 23, 1924). "Drury and Ex-Ministers Have 'Broadened Out', Farming No Longer Chief Interest Of Cabinet". The Morning Leader. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Where They've Gone". Vancouver Sun. November 29, 1938. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
