Walter Rollo
Canadian politician (1875–1957)

Walter Ritchie Rollo
Rollo in 1919 photograph
MPP for Hamilton West
In office
October 20, 1919 – October 5, 1923
Preceded byJohn Allan
Succeeded byArthur Campbell Garden
Minister of Labour for Ontario
In office
November 14, 1919 – July 16, 1923
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byForbes Elliott Godfrey
Personal details
Born(1875-11-25)November 25, 1875
Linlithgowshire, Scotland
DiedMarch 12, 1957(1957-03-12) (aged 81)
Hamilton, Ontario[1]
Resting placeWoodland Cemetery, Hamilton
Section 23 W 1/2, 43°17′11″N 79°52′53″W / 43.286312°N 79.881421°W / 43.286312; -79.881421
NationalityCanadian
PartyLabour Party of Canada
SpouseMargaret Bell

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.

Early life

Born 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

Rollo was secretary of the Hamilton Trades and Labour Council from 1906 to 1919.[7] In 1919, he also became editor of the Labor News, a Hamilton-based union paper.[8]

Political career

Rollo 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]
Rollo (at right) in 1955, with last surviving members of the 1919-1923 coalition

Aftermath

After 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

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

  • 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

  1. ^ a b c "Former Ontario Cabinet Minister Dies Aged 81". The Hamilton Spectator. March 13, 1957. pp. 7, 8.(subscription required)
  2. ^ "Walter Ritchie Rollo, 'Scotland Census, 1881'". Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  3. ^ "1911 Canada Census abstract". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "An Expert on Brooms". The Morning Leader. August 26, 1922. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  5. ^ "Walter R Rolo, 'Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927'". Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Rollo Has Faith, Works And An Unabashful Disposition". The Morning Leader. December 6, 1919. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Hall, Westfall & Sefton MacDowell 1996, p. 298.
  8. ^ Naylor 1991, p. 68.
  9. ^ "The Crisis - 1918". Toronto: Organization of Resources Committee. March 1918.
  10. ^ "Rollo Likely To Lead Labor In Elections". Toronto Daily Star. October 29, 1917. p. 2.
  11. ^ a b Naylor 1991, p. 96.
  12. ^ "New Labour Party". Montreal Gazette. March 30, 1907. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  13. ^ Freeman & Hewitt 1979, p. 39.
  14. ^ "HAMILTON WEST (1917/12/17)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  15. ^ Naylor 1991, p. 126.
  16. ^ "Labor Party Decides to Join with United Farmers". The Globe. October 27, 1919. p. 1.
  17. ^ The Department of Labour Act, 1919, S.O. 1919, c. 22
  18. ^ "First Coalition Ontario Cabinet". Daily British Whig. November 14, 1919. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Mines Portfolio Of No Account". Toronto World. November 12, 1919. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  20. ^ The Department of Mines Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 12
  21. ^ "Never Considered Cabinet Seat". Toronto World. October 31, 1919. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  22. ^ "Says M'Bride Wanted Post in Ontario Cabinet". The Morning Leader. January 27, 1920. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  23. ^ "History of Employment Standards in Ontario". Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  24. ^ The Minimum Wage Act, S.O. 1920, c. 87
  25. ^ The Wages Amendment Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 42
  26. ^ The One Day's Rest in Seven Act, 1922, S.O. 1922, c. 93
  27. ^ The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 43
  28. ^ a b "Act He Helped Draw Up No Help To Ex-Minister". Ottawa Citizen. August 29, 1950. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ "Where They've Gone". Vancouver Sun. November 29, 1938. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  • Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
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