Newfoundland's Last Prime Minister: Frederick Alderdice and the Death of a Nation

by Doug Letto

In 1932, after 80 years of elected government, Newfoundland was in staggering debt, rampant poverty and government corruption which had incited an angry populace. It was in this near-impossible situation that Frederick Alderdice, Newfoundland's last prime minister, was elected. Alderdice was the leader at a pivotal moment for Newfoundland, agreeing to the commission that would eventually suspend democratic government and set the stage for Confederation with Canada in 1949. This book traces the political changes that brought Alderdice to power, his attempts at bringing order to public finances, and his eventual capitulation to the wishes of Britain. It also asks whether Alderdice could have set Newfoundland on a different course.

254 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2014

Reviews

[Chris Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written look at Newfoundland's last prime minister and at many of the factors that caused Newfoundland to lose responsible government. In all honesty, this is a bit of a terrifying and frustrating book to read, not for how it is written, but for the fact that there are so many parallels between the Newfoundland government of the 1930s and that of today. This book explores how major reasons for why Newfoundland was in such a dire situation as to lose responsible government was that our politicians were corrupt and were not concerned with the people. For example, on page 240, the author quotes "Hope Simpson talked about the 'appalling conditions on the island' and was reminded by Alderdice that 'we U.K. commissioners should give up trying to raise the standard of living ... we only make the people discontented.'" The saddest part was that Alderdice was that last Prime Minister, and with such an attitude is it any wonder Newfoundland lost responsible government. Similarly to today, the government of the time seemed to feel that cutting the education budget (today see libraries and book taxes) were appropriate, and that civil servants and teachers could be paid a couple of hundred dollars annually, but Alderdice himself (as opposition) complained of how hard it was to make ends meet on his $5000 a year salary. But, unlike our current government, Alderdice's government did take a pay cut, especially seeing as they were asking civil servants to take one.
Yes, this book frustrated me, and these are just a few examples (never mind Britain not allowing Newfoundland to partially default on her debt when the UK was in negotiations to do just that), and it shows how well-written and well-researched this work is. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Newfoundland history.

[Jeff Pitcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively and satisfying read about an important moment in Newfoundland's history.