Saskatchewan Politics Research Guide: Thomas Walter Scott

Early in 1885 Walter Scott left his rural Ontario home to seek his fortune in western Canada. He had completed an elementary school education but was not trained for any trade or profession. In the twenty years that followed he acquired control of two newspapers, was twice elected as a member of Parliament and in 1905 became the first Premier of Saskatchewan. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about his political career was that he achieved success despite the strong opposition of two able, well educated and politically experienced men in the persons of N. F. Davin and F. W. G. Haultain. By the time Scott had completed his training as a printer and was ready to move into the business and political world the issues in western Canada were well defined and the leaders well established, and yet he was able to achieve high political office.

This thesis is a biography of Walter Scott, first Premier of Saskatchewan. He was a populist and had a vision for the new province, the fastest growing province in the Dominion. Agricultural and educational institutions were created to serve this growing population. Walter Scott combined his ability to collect strong people around him with his talent to sense the public mood. Scott was a newspaperman, entrepreneur, land speculator, and distributor of federal Liberal patronage in the North-West before being elected to the House of Commons in 1900. By 1905, Scott became leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and Premier. Contrary to currently held beliefs, this thesis argues that the four months between when Scott became Premier and the first election, the government was neither restructured nor was it rife with patronage. This was a time for campaigning. The political machine was built much later. After the 1905 election, the Scott government embarked on a program to build the new province's infrastructuresuch as the Legislative Building and the University of Saskatchewan. For Scott and his government, agriculture was the vital component in the fabric of Saskatchewan life. By including farm leadership in cabinet and creating a political climate founded on agriculture, Walter Scott built a power base that withstood the United Farmers' Movement that unseated governments in neighbouring provinces. During the First World War, which created a climate of social change in Saskatchewan, the Scott Government banned the bar and established female suffrage. This thesis also examines when Walter Scott first exhibited signs of mental illness. His health became a primary focus as he searched for a cure for depression. It will be argued that it was the battle with Rev. Murdock MacKinnon over minority rights in the school system that brought Scott's mental health to the point that he had to resign. After his death, the memory of Walter Scott faded. Yet his legacy of democracy, education and agriculture continue until today. The fruits of Walter Scott's labours continue to be harvested in Saskatchewan but few remember who planted the original seeds.