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{{Short description|Prime Minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935}}
{{Other people|Richard Bennett}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Viscount Bennett
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|PCc|PC|KC|FRSA|size=100%}}
| image               = Richard Bedford Bennett (cropped).jpg
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Bennett {{circa}} 1930–1935
| order               = 11th
| office              = Prime Minister of Canada
| monarch             = [[George V]]
| governor_general    = [[Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon|The Viscount Willingdon]]<br />[[Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough|The Earl of Bessborough]]
| term_start          = August 7, 1930
| term_end            = October 23, 1935
| predecessor         = [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|W.L. Mackenzie King]]
| successor           = W.L. Mackenzie King
| office2             = [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| term_start2         = October 23, 1935
| term_end2           = July 6, 1938
| predecessor2        = W.L. Mackenzie King
| successor2          = [[Robert Manion]]
| term_start3         = October 12, 1927
| term_end3           = August 7, 1930
| predecessor3        = [[Hugh Guthrie]]
| successor3          = W.L. Mackenzie King
| office4             = Leader of the [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative Party]]
| term_start4         = October 12, 1927
| term_end4           = July 7, 1938
| predecessor4        = [[Hugh Guthrie]] (interim)
| successor4          = [[Robert Manion]]
| office5             = [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]]
| primeminister5      = ''Himself''
| term_start5         = August 7, 1930
| term_end5           = February 2, 1932
| predecessor5        = [[Charles Avery Dunning]]
| successor5          = [[Edgar Nelson Rhodes]]
| primeminister6      = [[Arthur Meighen]]
| term6               = July 13{{snd}}September{{nbsp}}25, 1926
| predecessor6        = [[Henry Lumley Drayton]] (acting)
| successor6          = [[James Robb (politician)|James Robb]]
| office7             = [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Minister of Justice]]
| primeminister7      = Arthur Meighen
| term7               = October 4{{snd}}December{{nbsp}}28, 1921
| predecessor7        = [[Charles Doherty]]
| successor7          = [[Lomer Gouin]]
| office8             = Member of the [[House of Lords]]<br />[[Lord Temporal]]
| term_start8         = June 12, 1941
| term_end8           = June 26, 1947<br />[[Hereditary peer|Hereditary Peerage]]
| predecessor8        = ''Peerage established''
| successor8          = ''None''
| parliament9         = Canadian
| riding9             = [[Calgary West]]
| term_start9         = October 29, 1925
| term_end9           = January 28, 1939
| predecessor9        = [[Joseph Tweed Shaw]]
| successor9          = [[Douglas Cunnington]]
| parliament10        = Canadian
| riding10            = [[Calgary (federal electoral district)|Calgary]]
| term_start10        = September 21, 1911
| term_end10          = December 16, 1917
| predecessor10       = [[Maitland Stewart McCarthy]]
| successor10         = ''District abolished''
| office11            = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Alberta]] for [[Calgary (provincial electoral district)|Calgary]]
| term_start11        = March 22, 1909
| term_end11          = 1911
| successor11         = [[Thomas Tweedie]]
| office12            = Leader of the [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Alberta Conservative Party]]
| term_start12        = 1909
| term_end12          = 1910
| predecessor12       = [[Albert Robertson]]
| successor12         = [[Edward Michener]]
| term_start13        = 1905
| term_end13          = 1905
| predecessor13       = ''Position established''
| successor13         = Albert Robertson
| office14            = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories]] for [[West Calgary (N.W.T. electoral district)|West Calgary]]
| term_start14        = November 4, 1898
| term_end14          = 1905
| predecessor14       = [[Oswald Critchley]]
| successor14         = ''District abolished''
| birth_name          = Richard Bedford Bennett
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1870|7|3|df=}}
| birth_place         = [[Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick]], Canada
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1947|6|26|1870|7|3|df=}}
| death_place         = {{nowrap|[[Mickleham, Surrey]], England}}
| restingplace        = [[St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham]]
| citizenship         = {{hlist|Canada|United Kingdom}}
| party               = [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]]
| education           = [[Dalhousie University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B.]], 1893)
| profession          = [[Lawyer]]
| signature           = RB Bennett Signature.svg
| module              = {{Listen|embed=yes |filename = Mr Bennett Gives Farewell Message.wav |title = R. B. Bennett's voice |type = speech |description = R. B Bennett giving his farewell speech to Britain following the [[1930 Imperial Conference]]}}
}}

'''Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett''' (July 3, 1870&nbsp;– June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th [[prime minister of Canada]] from 1930 to 1935.

Bennett was born in [[Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick]], and grew up nearby in [[Hopewell Cape]]. He studied law at [[Dalhousie University]], graduating in 1893, and in 1897 moved to [[Calgary]] to establish a law firm in partnership with [[James Alexander Lougheed|James Lougheed]]. Bennett became very rich due to the law practice, various investments, and taking on leadership roles in multiple organizations; he was one of the wealthiest Canadians during his time. On the political side, Bennett served in the [[Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories]] from 1898 until 1905, when he briefly held the post as the inaugural leader of the [[Alberta Conservative Party]]. He later served in the [[Alberta Legislature]] from 1909 to 1911, resigning upon [[1911 Canadian federal election|his election]] to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]. Bennett declined to run for reelection in [[1917 Canadian federal election|1917]] but briefly served as [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|minister of justice]] under [[Arthur Meighen]] in 1921. He returned to the Commons in [[1925 Canadian federal election|1925]] and served briefly as [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|minister of finance]] in Meighen's second government in 1926. Meighen resigned the Conservative Party's leadership after his defeat in the [[1926 Canadian federal election|1926 election]], with Bennett elected as his replacement in [[1927 Conservative leadership convention|1927]]. Thus, Bennett became [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|leader of the Opposition]].

Bennett became prime minister after the [[1930 Canadian federal election|1930 election]], where the Conservatives won a [[majority government]] over [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]]'s [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]]. Bennett's premiership was marked primarily by the [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]]. He and his party initially tried to combat the crisis with ''[[laissez-faire]]'' policies, but these were largely ineffective. He was also unsuccessful in establishing an [[imperial preference]] [[free trade agreement]]. Over time, Bennett's government became increasingly interventionist, attempting to replicate the popular "[[New Deal]]" enacted by [[Franklin Roosevelt]] in the [[United States of America|United States]]. This about-face prompted a split within Conservative ranks and was regarded by the general public as evidence of incompetence. Still, he left lasting legacies in the form of the [[Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission]] (CRBC) and the [[Bank of Canada]].

Bennett suffered a landslide defeat in the [[1935 Canadian federal election|1935 election]], with King returning to power. Bennett remained leader of the Conservative Party until 1938 when he retired to England. He was created Viscount Bennett, the only Canadian prime minister to be honoured with elevation to the [[Peerage of the United Kingdom|peerage]]. Bennett is [[Historical rankings of prime ministers of Canada|ranked]] as a below-average prime minister among historians and the public.

==Early life (1870–1890)==
Bennett was born on July 3, 1870, when his mother, Henrietta Stiles, was visiting her parents' home in [[Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick]], Canada. He was the eldest of six children and grew up nearby at the [[Bay of Fundy]] home of his father, Henry John Bennett, in [[Hopewell Cape]], the [[shire town]] of [[Albert County]].<ref name="BennettBio">{{cite web |last1=Waite |first1=P.B. |title=R.B. Bennett |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bennett_richard_bedford_17E.html |website=Dictionary of Canadian Biography |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> Bennett's father descended from English ancestors who had emigrated to [[Connecticut]] in the 17th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sunnyokanagan.com/TheBennettStory.pdf|title=Descendants of Henry Bennett|website=Sunnyokanagan.com|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref> His great-great-grandfather, Zadock Bennett, migrated from [[New London, Connecticut]], to [[Nova Scotia]] {{Circa|1760}}, before the [[American Revolution]], as one of the [[New England Planters]] who took the lands forcibly removed from the deported [[Acadian]]s during the [[Great Upheaval]].<ref name="BennettBio" />

The Bennetts had previously been a relatively prosperous family, operating a shipyard in Hopewell Cape, but the change to steam-powered vessels in the mid-19th century meant the gradual winding down of their business. However, the household was a literate one, subscribing to three newspapers. One of the largest and last ships launched by the Bennett shipyard (in 1869) was the ''Sir [[John A. Macdonald]]''. In the 1870s depression, the shipbuilding business of Henry John Bennett appeared insufficient to support his family and some believed he was an ineffective businessman. Henry John had now become a merchant, blacksmith, and farmer. R.B. Bennett's early days inculcated a lifelong habit of thrift. The driving force in his family was his mother. She was a Wesleyan [[Methodist]] and passed this faith and the [[Protestant ethic]] on to her son. Bennett's father does not appear to have been a good provider for his family, though the reason is unclear. He operated a general store for a while and tried to develop some [[gypsum]] deposits.<ref name="BennettBio" />

Educated in the local school, Bennett was a very good student but something of a loner. In addition to his [[Protestant]] faith, Bennett grew up with an abiding love of the [[British Empire]], then at its apogee. A small legacy his mother received opened the doors for him to attend the [[normal school]] in [[Fredericton]], where he trained to be a teacher; he then taught for several years at Irishtown, north of [[Moncton]], saving his money for law school.<ref>"Canada's Prime Ministers: Macdonald to Trudeau", edited by Ramsay Cook and Real Belanger, University of Toronto Press, 2007, p. 300, {{ISBN|978-0-8020-9174-1}}</ref> At age 18, Bennett became principal of a school in [[Douglastown, New Brunswick]].<ref name="BennettBio" />

==University, early legal career (1890–1897)==
Bennett enrolled at [[Dalhousie University]] in 1890, graduating in 1893 with a law degree and very high standing. He worked his way through with a job as assistant in the library and participated in debating and moot court activities. When [[James Lougheed]] needed a junior for his [[Calgary]] law office, Bennett was recommended by the dean, Dr. [[Richard Chapman Weldon]].<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref>"Canada's Prime Ministers: Macdonald to Trudeau", 2007, p. 301</ref>

Bennett was then a partner in the [[Chatham, New Brunswick]], law firm of Tweedie and Bennett. Max Aitken (later to become [[Lord Beaverbrook]]) was his office boy. Aitken persuaded Bennett to run for [[alderman]] in the first Town Council of Chatham.<ref name="BennettBio" /> Aitken managed Bennett's campaign<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite ODNB |id=30358 |last=Boyce |first=D. George | author-link = D. G. Boyce |title=Aitken, William Maxwell, first Baron Beaverbrook}}</ref> and Bennett was elected by 19 votes out of 691 cast.<ref name="BennettBio" />

==Political, law, and business success (1897–1911)==
Despite his election to the Chatham Town Council, Bennett's days in the town were numbered. In 1897, he moved to [[Calgary]], [[Northwest Territories|North-West Territories]]. He negotiated to become the law partner of [[James Lougheed]], Calgary's richest man and most successful lawyer. By 1905, Bennett was buying and selling land and was successful at it due to the law firm's retainer being the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]. Bennett also invested in the oil company, Calgary Petroleum Products Company, and became director and solicitor. He also worked with Aitken to produce the Alberta Pacific Grain Company, [[Canada Cement Company|Canada Cement]], and Calgary Power. Bennett's reputation grew.<ref name="BennettBio" /> Bennett described himself as a [[teetotaler]] (although he was known to occasionally drink alcohol when the press was not around).<ref name=English89>''Shadow of Heaven: The Life of Lester Pearson, volume 1, 1897–1948'', by [[John English (Canadian politician)|John English]], 1989, Vintage UK, p. 166-171.</ref>

[[File:Young R. B. Bennett.JPG|thumb|200px|Young R.B. Bennett, 1901]]
Bennett was elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories]] in the [[1898 Northwest Territories general election|1898 general election]], representing the riding of [[West Calgary (N.W.T. electoral district)|West Calgary]].<ref name="BennettBio" /> Aitken managed this campaign too.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Bennett was re-elected to a second term in office in [[1902 North-West Territories general election|1902]] as an Independent in the North-West Territories legislature.<ref name="BennettBio" /> He gained the nickname "Bonfire Bennett" due to his extemporaneous, quick, and persuasive speaking manner.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia">{{cite web |last1=Boyko |first1=John |last2=English |first2=John |title=R.B. Bennett |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/richard-bedford-viscount-bennett |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=20 March 2022 |date=21 February 2008}}</ref>

In 1905, when [[Alberta]] was carved out of the Territories and made a [[Canadian province|province]], Bennett became the first leader of the [[Alberta Progressive Conservatives|Alberta Conservative Party]], though lost in a landslide in [[1905 Alberta general election|that year's election]] to the [[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberals]]. In 1909, he won a seat in the provincial [[legislature]].<ref name="BennettBio" />

In 1908 Bennett was one of five people appointed to the first Library Board for the city of Calgary and was instrumental in establishing the [[Calgary Public Library]].<ref>E. Gorosh, Calgary's "Temple of Knowledge": A History of the Public Library. 1975 Century Calgary Publications. p.5.</ref> In 1910, Bennett became a director of Calgary Power Ltd. (now formally [[TransAlta Corporation]]) and just a year later he became president. His leadership projects completed included the first storage reservoir at [[Lake Minnewanka]], a second transmission line to Calgary, and the construction of the [[Kananaskis River|Kananaskis Falls]] hydro station. At that time, he was also the  director of Rocky Mountains Cement Company and Security Trust.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jennings|first=A. Owen|title=Merchants and manufacturers record of Calgary|year=1911|publisher=Jennings Publishing Company|location=Calgary|page=84|url=http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=859011|access-date=6 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924080012/http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=859011|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bennett's corporate law firm included notable clients such as the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] and [[Hudson's Bay Company]]. He worked with his childhood friend, [[Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook]], on many successful ventures, including stock purchases, land speculation, and the buying and merging of small companies. Before he was 40, Bennett was a multi-millionaire who lived in the Calgary [[Fairmont Palliser Hotel]]. Though a lifelong bachelor, he dated women. In terms of personality, Bennett was accused of arrogance and of having a volatile temper.<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref>{{cite news |last1= Benham|first1= Donald|title=There's much to admire in nasty-tempered R.B. Bennett |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/theres-much-to-admire-in-nasty-tempered-rb-bennett-94646494.html |website=Winnipeg Free Press |access-date=16 March 2022 |date=22 May 2010}}</ref> Bennett's wealth helped him become a philanthropist; he donated to schools, hospitals, charities, and individuals in need.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />  He became richer when he started gaining control of the match company, [[E. B. Eddy Company]], between 1906 and 1918. His growing control of the company occurred due to his longtime friendship with Jennie Grahl Hunter Eddy, who trusted Bennett with the company after her husband, [[Ezra Butler Eddy]], died in 1906. By 1926, Bennett gained full control of the company.<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Ralph |title=R. B. BENNETT'S NOISY COLLISION WITH THE DEPRESSION |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1961/10/7/r-b-bennetts-noisy-collision-with-the-depression |website=Maclean's |access-date=15 March 2022 |archive-date=March 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322235803/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1961/10/7/r-b-bennetts-noisy-collision-with-the-depression |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bennett was one of the richest Canadians at that time. He helped put many poor, struggling young men through university.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

==Early federal political career (1911–1917)==

Bennett was elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in the [[1911 Canadian federal election|1911 federal election]] as a [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative]] candidate. Bennett did not always follow party policy; in one instance in 1914, he spoke against the [[Robert Borden]]-led Conservative government's bill to provide financial support to the [[Canadian Northern Railway]].<ref name="BennettBio" />

At age 44, Bennett tried to enlist in the Canadian military once [[World War I]] broke out, but was turned down as being medically unfit, perhaps because he had lost two of his toes. In July 1915, Bennett became Borden's assistant to [[London]]; in this job, Bennett's responsibility was to find out how Canada could help Britain with its military and civilian needs. In 1916, Bennett was appointed director general of the [[National Service]] Board, which was in charge of identifying the number of potential recruits in the country.<ref name="BennettBio" />

While Bennett supported [[conscription]], he opposed Borden's proposal for a [[Union Government (Canada)|Union Government]] that would include both Conservatives and pro-conscription [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberals]], fearing that this would ultimately hurt the Conservative Party. While he campaigned for Conservative candidates in the [[1917 Canadian federal election|1917 federal election]] he did not stand for re-election himself.<ref name="BennettBio" />

==Out of politics (1917–1925)==

In February 1918, Borden appointed Alberta Liberal [[William Harmer]] to the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] to satisfy the Unionist coalition agreements. Bennett was reportedly furious at this move, believing that Borden broke a promise to appoint him to the Senate. Bennett wrote Borden a resentful 20-page letter. Borden never replied.<ref name="BennettBio" />

Borden's successor, [[Arthur Meighen]], appointed Bennett [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|minister of justice]] on September 21, 1921. In [[1921 Canadian federal election|the federal election two and a half months later]], Bennett ran for the riding of [[Calgary West]] but lost by 16 votes. In this election, the Conservatives sunk to third place.<ref name="BennettBio" />

Bennett developed an extensive legal practice in Calgary. In 1922, he started the partnership Bennett, Hannah & Sanford, which would eventually become [[Bennett Jones LLP]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bennettjones.com/en/About-Section/History| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171013013654/https://www.bennettjones.com/en/About-Section/History| archive-date = 2017-10-13| title = History {{!}} Bennett Jones}}</ref> In 1929–30, he served as national President of the [[Canadian Bar Association]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cba.org/Who-We-Are/Governance/President-Executive/Past-CBA-Presidents| title = Canadian Bar Association: Past CBA Presidents| website = Cba.org| access-date = January 6, 2016| archive-date = March 5, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305223527/http://www.cba.org/Who-We-Are/Governance/President-Executive/Past-CBA-Presidents| url-status = dead}}</ref> By the mid-1920s, Bennett was on the board of the [[Royal Bank of Canada]] (RBC). He was also a director of [[MetLife|Metropolitan Life Insurance]] of New York.<ref name="BennettBio" />

==Political return and leader of the Official Opposition (1925–1930)==

[[File:Pat Burns and R.B. Bennett (cropped).jpg|thumb|200px|Businessman [[Patrick Burns (businessman)|Patrick Burns]] and R. B. Bennett at the [[Calgary Stampede]] in 1928]]

After Meighen, who was attempting to become prime minister again, offered Bennett to be minister of justice, Bennett ran for and won the seat of Calgary West in the [[1925 Canadian federal election|1925 federal election]]. The Conservatives won the most seats but didn't have a [[majority government|majority]]. They didn't necessarily form government due to Liberal prime minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] negotiating support from the [[Progressive Party of Canada|Progressive Party]]. However, in the summer of 1926, the Conservatives were invited to form government by [[Lord Byng]]. Byng refused King's request to [[dissolve parliament]] and call an election, and thus King resigned. On July 2, the Meighen government was defeated in a [[motion of non-confidence]] by one vote, triggering [[1926 Canadian federal election|an election scheduled for September 14]].<ref name="BennettBio" /> At the time of the confidence vote, Bennett was in Alberta campaigning on behalf [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|the province's Conservative Party]] for [[1926 Alberta general election|the provincial election]] and thus was unable to vote against the motion. Meighen greatly regretted his absence and later wrote, "If Mr. Bennett had been there... King would never have talked the diabolical and dishonest rot in which he indulged. He was a lot more careful when Bennett was across the floor...".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Graham |first1=Roger |title=Arthur Meighen: A Biography – Volume 2: And Fortune Fled |date=1963 |publisher=Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited |location=Toronto |page=526}}</ref>

In the election, the Liberals decisively won. In Meighen's short-lived government, Bennett served as [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|minister of finance]] along with numerous acting portfolios. After this defeat, Meighen stepped down as Tory leader, triggering [[1927 Conservative leadership convention|a leadership convention scheduled for October 1927]]. Bennett put himself forward as a candidate, but had little expectation of winning, believing along with most observers that the convention would either vote to reinstate Meighen, or confirm [[Interim leader (Canada)|interim leader]] [[Hugh Guthrie]] as his permanent successor. In the event, Meighen lacked the support to attempt a comeback, while Guthrie's chances were ruined by a poorly received speech that alienated the Quebec delegates, allowing Bennett to emerge as a compromise candidate and win the leadership on the second ballot. In his acceptance speech, Bennett talked about how he became rich through hard work. Upon being elected leader, Bennett resigned his company directorships.<ref name="BennettBio" />

When Bennett became leader, the Conservative Party had no money. The party could not rely on support from newspapers as there were only 11 dailies considered Conservative. By February 1930, 27 full-time employees were using modern office equipment to spread the Conservative message across provinces. Bennett and senior party members donated $2,500 a month each to fund this enterprise and some provincial enterprises. By May 1930, Bennett had personally donated $500,000 ({{inflation|CA|500000|1930|fmt=eq|r=-6}}) to the party; one-fifth of that went to [[Quebec]], where the Conservatives had been wiped out for the past four elections due to them imposing [[conscription]] in 1917.<ref name="BennettBio" />

As Opposition leader, Bennett faced off against Liberal prime minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] in Commons debates and took some time to acquire enough experience to hold his own with King. In 1930, King blundered badly when he made overly partisan statements in response to criticism over his handling of the economic downturn, which was hitting Canada very hard. King's worst error was in stating that he "would not give Tory provincial governments a five-cent piece!" This serious mistake, which drew wide press coverage, gave Bennett his needed opening to attack King, which he did successfully in [[1930 Canadian federal election|that year's election]] campaign.<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref>''Mr. Prime Minister 1867–1964'', by [[Bruce Hutchison]], [[Toronto]] 1964, Longmans Canada</ref> On election day, July 28, Bennett led the Conservatives to a [[majority government]]. Although he was the first prime minister representing a constituency in Alberta, his party only won four of the province's sixteen seats. The Conservatives also had their best result in Quebec since the [[1911 Canadian federal election|1911 federal election]], going from 4 to 24 MPs.<ref name="BennettBio" />

==Prime Minister (1930–1935)==

Bennett appointed himself as both [[Finance Minister of Canada|finance minister]] and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada|external Affairs minister]] after his victory, forming a government in the [[17th Canadian Parliament]].<ref name="BennettBio" /> He worked an exhausting schedule throughout his years as prime minister, often more than 14 hours per day, and dominated his government. He lived in a suite in the [[Château Laurier]] hotel, a short walk from Parliament Hill.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> When responding to letters from citizens talking about the struggles they were facing, Bennett wrote back with personal notes and tucked cash into the envelopes.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

===Confronting the depression===
{{Further|Great Depression in Canada}}
[[File:Richard Bedford Bennett speaking.jpg|thumb|left|Prime Minister Bennett addressing a public meeting]]

Bennett had the misfortune of taking office during the [[Great Depression]]. He supported [[tariffs]] due to his belief that they would create markets for Canadian products. Bennett's government then passed the ''Unemployment Relief Act'' that provided $20 million for [[public works]] at the federal and local levels. In 1931, Bennett's government increased tariffs and passed the ''[[Unemployment and Farm Relief Act]]'' to invest in further public works and direct relief; similar acts would be passed each year until he left office in 1935.<ref name="BennettBio" />

The Conservative Party's pro-business and pro-banking inclinations provided little relief to the millions of increasingly desperate and agitated unemployed. Despite the economic crisis, "[[laissez-faire]]" persisted as the guiding economic principle of Conservative Party ideology; similar attitudes dominated worldwide as well during this era. Government relief to the unemployed was considered a disincentive to individual initiative and was therefore only granted in the most minimal amounts and attached to work programs. An additional concern of the federal government was that large numbers of disaffected unemployed men concentrating in urban centres created a volatile situation. As an "alternative to bloodshed on the streets", the stop-gap solution for unemployment chosen by the Bennett government was to establish military-run and -styled relief camps in remote areas throughout the country, where single unemployed men toiled for twenty cents a day.<ref>James Struthers, "Canadian unemployment policy in the 1930s" in R. Douglas Francis and Donald B Smith,  eds. ''Readings in Canadian history, Post Confederation'' (2002) pp.375–389. [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780176233235/page/n10/      online]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Waiser|first=Bill| title=All Hell Can't Stop Us: The On-to-Ottawa Trek and Regina Riot|publisher=Fifth House|year=2003 |location=Calgary|page=37|isbn=1-894004-88-4}}</ref> Any relief beyond this was left to provincial and municipal governments, many of which were either insolvent or on the brink of bankruptcy, and which railed against the inaction of other levels of government. Partisan differences began to sharpen on the question of government intervention in the economy, since lower levels of government were largely in Liberal hands, and protest movements were beginning to send their own parties into the political mainstream, notably the [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]] and [[William Aberhart]]'s [[Social Credit Party of Alberta|Social Credit Party]] in [[Alberta]].<ref name="BennettBio" />

===Trade with Britain===
[[File:BennettPhone.jpg|thumb|Prime Minister Bennett, surrounded by members of the Cabinet, speaking by telephone to [[George Halsey Perley|George Perley]], Canadian Cabinet minister, at the British Empire Trade Fair at Buenos Aires]]

At the [[1930 Imperial Conference]] in [[London]], [[England]], Bennett unsuccessfully argued for an [[imperial preference]] [[free trade agreement]]. The proposal stunned the British government, despite them being pro-[[free trade]]. British newspaper ''[[The Observer]]'' asked, "Empire or not?" The [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] in 1931 gave Canada and other [[dominion]]s' autonomy in foreign affairs. Despite Bennett declaring, "We no longer live in a political Empire", he favoured "a new economic Empire"; he still wanted the imperial preferential trade arrangement. Britain introducing a general tariff of 10 percent gave Bennett hope.<ref name="BennettBio" />

Bennett hosted the 1932 [[British Empire Economic Conference|Imperial Economic Conference]] in [[Ottawa]]; this was the first time Canada had hosted the meetings. It was attended by the leaders of the independent dominions of the British Empire (which later became the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]).<ref name="ReferenceA">''Mr. Prime Minister 1867–1964'', by [[Bruce Hutchison]], Toronto 1964, Longmans Canada.</ref> On July 21, when the conference opened, Bennett gave his opening speech that suggested that Britain might have free entry into Canada for any products that would "not injuriously affect Canadian enterprise." The conference did not result in an imperial preference free trade agreement but did result in [[Bilateral treaty|bilateral treaties]]. The bilateral treaty between Canada and Britain saw Canadian wheat, apples, and other natural products get British preferences while the British got Canadian preferences for certain metal products and textiles not made in Canada; Canada benefited from the treaty more than Britain and in a few years, Canadian exports to Britain were up 60 percent while British exports to Canada were up 5 percent.<ref name="BennettBio" />

===Anti-communism===
A nickname that would stick with Bennett for the remainder of his political career, "Iron Heel Bennett",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1963/11/16/the-great-communist-scare-of-the-thirties|title=The great communist scare of the Thirties &#124; Maclean's &#124; NOVEMBER 16 1963|first=DAVID LEWIS|last=STEIN|website=archive.macleans.ca|access-date=July 9, 2022|archive-date=April 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417234644/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1963/11/16/the-great-communist-scare-of-the-thirties|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/making-parliament-work/r-b-bennett-reconsidered-a-long-overdue-remarkable-and-head-turning-portrait/|title=R.B. Bennett reconsidered: A long-overdue "remarkable and head-turning portrait"|website=Policyoptions.irpp.org|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded to [[Jack London]]'s socialist [[The Iron Heel|novel]]:

<blockquote>What do they offer you in exchange for the present order? Socialism, Communism, dictatorship. They are sowing the seeds of unrest everywhere. Right in this city such propaganda is being carried on and in the little out of the way places as well. And we know that throughout Canada this propaganda is being put forward by organizations from foreign lands that seek to destroy our institutions. And we ask that every man and woman put the iron heel of ruthlessness against a thing of that kind.<ref>The quote is from: {{cite book|last=Penner|first=Norman|title= Canadian Communism: The Stalin Years and Beyond|publisher=Methuen|year=1988|location=Toronto|page= 117|isbn=0-458-81200-5}}; the irony of the allusion is noted in {{cite book|last=Thompson|first=John Herd|author2=Allan Seager|title=Canada, 1922–1939: Decades of Discord|publisher=McClelland & Stewart|year=1985|location=Toronto|page=[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116300106170/page/226 226]|isbn=0-7710-8564-8|url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116300106170/page/226}}</ref> </blockquote>

Reacting to fears of communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversial [[Section 98]] of the ''[[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]]''. Enacted in the aftermath of the [[Winnipeg general strike]], Section 98 dispensed with the [[presumption of innocence]] in outlawing potential threats to the state: specifically, anyone belonging to an organization that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government. Even if the accused had never committed an act of violence or personally supported such an action, they could be incarcerated merely for attending meetings of such an organization, publicly speaking in its defence, or distributing its literature.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Lorne|title=When Freedom was Lost: The Unemployed, the Agitator, and the State|url=https://archive.org/details/whenfreedomwaslo0000brow|url-access=registration|publisher=Black Rose|year=1987|location=Montreal|page=[https://archive.org/details/whenfreedomwaslo0000brow/page/42 42]|isbn=0-920057-77-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Communist Canada |url=https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP13CH3PA3LE.html |website=CBC |access-date=14 March 2022}}</ref> Despite the broad power authorized under section 98, it targeted specifically the [[Communist Party of Canada]]. Eight of the top party leaders, including [[Tim Buck]], were arrested on 11 August 1931 and convicted under section 98.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Plummer |first1=Kevin |title=Historicist: "We Want Tim Buck" |url=https://torontoist.com/2009/05/historicist_we_want_tim_buck/ |website=Torontoist |access-date=14 March 2022 |date=9 May 2009}}</ref>

===Labour policy and relief camps===
[[File:RB Bennett telegram in 1934.jpg|thumb|1934 telegram by Bennett concerning relief camps]]

By 1933, unemployment was at 27 percent and over 1.5 million Canadians were dependent on direct relief. In 1934, Bennett's government passed the ''[[Public Works Construction Act]]''. This launched a federal building program worth $40 million and aimed at generating employment opportunities. In 1935, another public works bill was passed; the bill provided another $18 million for construction projects.<ref name="BennettBio" /> Bennett's government created labour camps for unemployed single men; at the camps, they lived in bunkhouses and were paid 20 cents a day in return for a 44-hour week of toil.<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Calls for Help |url=https://www.cbc.ca/history/SECTIONSE1EP13CH2LE.html |website=CBC |access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref>

Having survived Section 98, and benefiting from the public sympathy wrought by persecution, Communist Party members set out to organize workers in the relief camps set up by the ''Unemployment and Farm Relief Act''. Camp workers laboured on a variety of infrastructure projects, including municipal airports, roads, and park facilities, along with a number of other make-work schemes. Conditions in the camps were poor, not only because of the low pay, but also the lack of recreational facilities, isolation from family and friends, poor quality food, and the use of [[military discipline]]. Communists thus had ample grounds on which to organize camp workers, although the workers were there of their own volition.<ref>{{harvnb|Strikwerda|2012|p=172}}</ref> The [[Relief Camp Workers' Union]] was formed and affiliated with the [[Workers' Unity League]], the trade union umbrella of the Communist Party. Camp workers in BC struck on 4 April 1935, and, after two months of protesting in Vancouver, began the [[On-to-Ottawa Trek]] to bring their grievances to Bennett's doorstep. The prime minister and his minister of justice, [[Hugh Guthrie]], treated the trek as an attempted insurrection and ordered it to be stopped. The [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP) read the [[Riot Act#Canada|Riot Act]] to a crowd of 3,000 strikers and their supporters in [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]] on 1 July 1935, resulting in two deaths and dozens of injured.<ref name="BennettBio" />

===Agricultural policy===
In 1934, Bennett's government passed the ''[[Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act]]'' to make farm loans easier to acquire<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" /> and allow families to remain on their farms rather than lose them to foreclosure. That same year, his government passed the ''[[Natural Products Marketing Act]]''; in a bid to obtain better prices, a federal board with powers to arrange more orderly marketing was established.<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref name=w162/> In 1935, Bennett's government passed the ''Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act'' which established an enterprise that would eventually teach 100,000 farmers how to recover southern [[Saskatchewan]] from the [[Dust Bowl]].<ref name="BennettBio" />

In 1935, through the ''Canadian Wheat Board Act'', Bennett's government established the [[Canadian Wheat Board]] to market the wheat crop<ref name="BennettBio" /> and to ensure an efficient sale of grain under difficult conditions.<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=THE CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD |url=https://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/modules/prb98-2-grain/wheatboard-e.htm |website=Government of Canada |access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref> The act required [[Western Canada|Western Canadian]] farmers to sell all wheat and barley produced for human consumption to the Wheat Board.<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Time to pull the plug on the Canadian Wheat Board |url=https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/time-pull-plug-canadian-wheat-board |website=Fraser Institute |date= January 5, 2007|access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref>

===Other initiatives===
In 1932, Bennett's government launched the [[Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission]] (CRBC) that regulated radio broadcasting to promote more Canadian content; the commission also established a publicly-owned national radio network that told Canadian stories to Canadians. In 1936, it became the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC).<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" /><ref name="w162"/>

Chartered banks in Canada controlled interest rates, the value of the [[Canadian dollar]] in the global market, and the amount of money in circulation; they also printed their own Canadian currency. In 1933, Bennett's government created the [[Royal Commission on Banking and Currency]]; the commission would result in the creation of the [[Bank of Canada]] in 1935 through the 1934 ''[[Bank of Canada Act]]'', despite opposition from the chartered banks. The bank gained the powers from the chartered banks and gained the legal mandate to control Canada's [[monetary policy]] without interference from the federal government.<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

===Bennett's New Deal===
[[File:Richard B. Bennett & Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House, Washington, D.C.jpg|thumb|200px|Bennett (left) meets American president [[Franklin Roosevelt]] (who is helped to stand up by his naval aide).]]

In January 1934, Bennett told the provinces that they were "wasteful and extravagant", and even told Quebec and Ontario that they were wealthy enough to manage their own problems.<ref name=w162>{{harvnb|Wells|Fellows|2016|p=162}}</ref> One year later, he had changed his tune. Following the lead of [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] in the United States, Bennett, under the advice of [[William Duncan Herridge]], who was Canada's [[Envoy (title)|Envoy]] to the United States, the government eventually began to follow the Americans' lead. In a series of live radio speeches to the nation in January 1935, Bennett introduced a Canadian version of the "New Deal", involving unprecedented public spending and federal intervention in the economy. [[Progressive income tax]]ation, a [[minimum wage]], a maximum number of working hours per week, [[unemployment insurance]], [[health insurance]], an expanded [[pension]] program, and grants to farmers were all included in the plan.<ref name="BennettBio" /><ref name=ce>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bennetts-new-deal/ "Bennet's New Deal"], ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''</ref>

In one of his addresses to the nation, Bennett said:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-06 |title=Richard Bedford Bennett, Great Depression, 1935 |url=https://greatcanadianspeeches.ca/2020/01/06/richard-bedford-bennett-great-depression-1935/ |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Great Canadian Speeches |language=en}}</ref>

{{blockquote|In the last five years great changes have taken place in the world&nbsp;... The old order is gone. We are living in conditions that are new and strange to us. Canada on the dole is like a young and vigorous man in the poorhouse&nbsp;... If you believe that things should be left as they are, you and I hold contrary and irreconcilable views. I am for reform. And in my mind, reform means government intervention. It means government control and regulation. It means the end of [[laissez-faire]].}}

Some of the measures were alleged to have encroached on provincial jurisdictions laid out in section 92 of the [[British North America Act, 1867]]. The courts, including the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]], agreed and eventually struck down virtually all of Bennett's reforms.<ref name=ce/><ref>{{cite web| url = http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/federal/newdeal.htm| title = R. B. Bennett s New Deal (1935) – Studies on the Canadian Constitution and Canadian Federalism – Quebec History|website=Faculty.marianopolis.edu}}</ref>

===Internal divisions and defeat===
[[File:Bennett buggy.jpg|thumb|left|A "[[Bennett buggy]]", drawn by a horse because of lack of money to pay for gas]]
Bennett's conversion from small government to big government was seen as too little too late, and he faced criticism that his reforms either went too far, or did not go far enough, including from his minister of trade and commerce, [[Henry Herbert Stevens|H. H. Stevens]], who bolted the government to form the [[Reconstruction Party of Canada]].<ref name="BennettBio" /> By 1934, Bennett was facing major dissent from Conservative quarters and the public.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" /> Car owners, for example, who could no longer afford gasoline, had horses pull their vehicles, which they named "[[Bennett buggy|Bennett buggies]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Bennett Buggy |url=https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/bennett_buggy.jsp |website=Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan |access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref> To make matters worse, Bennett suffered a heart attack in March 1935.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

The beneficiary of the overwhelming opposition during Bennett's tenure was the Liberal Party. The Tories were decimated in the [[1935 Canadian federal election|October 1935 general election]], winning only 40 seats to 173 for Mackenzie King's Liberals. At the time, this was the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level. The Reconstruction Party won 8.7% of the popular vote as a result of gaining support from disgruntled Conservatives. The Tories would not form a majority government again in Canada until [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]]. King's government soon implemented its own moderate reforms, including the repeal of relief camps,<ref>{{cite web |title=Relief Camps |url=https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP13CH2PA2LE.html |website=CBC |access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref> a [[Reciprocity (Canadian politics)|reciprocal]] trade agreement with the United States,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Masters |first1=D.C. |title=Reciprocity |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reciprocity |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=20 March 2022 |date=12 August 2013}}</ref> and the repeal of Section 98.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Molinaro |first1=Dennis |title=Section 98 Criminal Code |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/section-98-criminal-code |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=20 March 2022 |date=23 October 2011}}</ref> Ultimately, Canada pulled out of the depression as a result of government-funded jobs associated with the preparation for and onset of the [[World War II|Second World War]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Retirement, House of Lords, and death (1935–1947)==
[[File:Mickleham, St Michael's Church, Richard Bedford Bennett tomb.jpg|thumb|Grave, [[St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham]]]]
Bennett led the Conservative Party and Opposition for the next three years until he was succeeded by his former Cabinet minister [[Robert James Manion]] in the [[1938 National Conservative leadership convention|July 1938 leadership convention]]. Bennett moved to England on January 28, 1939, and resigned his Calgary West seat that same day.<ref name="BennettBio" /> He purchased a {{convert|94|acre|adj=on}} property in [[Surrey]] called Juniper Hill, an 18th-century ({{circa|1780}}) mansion<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/local-news/mansion-up-sale-still-riddle-4859052 | title=Mansion up for sale; still riddle over ownership | date=April 20, 2000 }}</ref> built for David Jenkinson<ref>{{cite web | url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101028833-juniper-hill-mickleham#.Y84Zof7MLIU | title=Juniper Hill, Mickleham, Surrey }}</ref> and located across from [[Juniper Hall]] on Downs Road); this was the first home Bennett owned as he had only lived in the [[Fairmont Palliser Hotel|Calgary Palliser]] Hotel and the [[Château Laurier]] Hotel in Ottawa in his adult life.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

On June 12, 1941, Bennett became the only former Canadian prime minister to be elevated to the [[peerage]] as Viscount Bennett, of [[Mickleham, Surrey|Mickleham]] in the [[Surrey|County of Surrey]] and of [[Calgary]] and [[Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick|Hopewell]] in the [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]].<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 35225
| date = 22 July 1941
| page = 4213
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/pm/index.asp?Language=E&param=bio&id=11|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620065606/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/pm/index.asp?Language=E&param=bio&id=11|url-status=dead|title=Prime Ministers of Canada: The Rt. Hon. Richard Bedford Bennett|archive-date=June 20, 2006|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> The honour, conferred on the recommendation of British PM [[Winston Churchill]], was in recognition for Bennett's valuable unsalaried work in the Ministry of Aircraft Production, managed by his lifelong friend Lord Beaverbrook. Bennett took an active role in the [[House of Lords]] and attended frequently until his death.<ref>"Canada's Prime Ministers: Macdonald to Trudeau", 2007, pp. 325–326</ref> He also participated in many speaking engagements and served on various boards.<ref name="BennettCanadianEncyclopedia" />

Bennett's interest in increasing public awareness and accessibility to Canada's historical records led him to serve as vice-president of the [[Champlain Society]] from 1933 until his death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/|title=Former Officers of the Champlain Society (1905–2012)|last1=The Champlain Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027031034/http://www.champlainsociety.ca/about-us/|archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=19 October 2014}}</ref>

By March 1947, Bennett sold nearly all of his investments; it became clear his health was declining. Bennett died after suffering a [[heart attack]] while taking a bath on June 26, 1947, at Mickleham. He was exactly one week shy of his 77th birthday. He is buried there in [[St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham]]. The tomb, and Government of Canada marker outside, are steps from the front doors of the church. He is the only deceased Canadian prime minister not buried in Canada.<ref name="Parks_Grave">{{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/Sepulture-gravesiteindx/listesepulture-listgravesite/bennett.aspx|title=Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada – Former Prime Ministers and Their Grave Sites – The Right Honourable Richard Bedford Bennett|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=20 December 2010|website=Parks Canada|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=27 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022111712/http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/Sepulture-gravesiteindx/listesepulture-listgravesite/bennett.aspx|archive-date=22 October 2013}}</ref>

==Legacy and assessments==
Textbooks typically portray Bennett as a hard-driving capitalist, pushing for American-style high tariffs and British-style imperialism, while ignoring his reform efforts.<ref>Larry A. Glassford, ''Reaction and Reform: The Politics of the Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett, 1927–1938'' (1992)</ref>

Bennett took note of and encouraged the young [[Lester Pearson]] in the early 1930s, and appointed Pearson to significant roles on two major government inquiries: the 1931 Royal Commission on Grain Futures, and the 1934 Royal Commission on Price Spreads. Bennett saw that Pearson was recognized with an [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|OBE]] after he shone in that work, arranged a bonus of $1,800, and invited him to a London conference.<ref name="English89" /> Former prime minister [[John Turner]], who as a child, knew Bennett while he was prime minister, praised Bennett's promotion of Turner's [[economist]] mother to the highest civil service post held by a Canadian woman to that time.<ref>''The Authentic Voice of Canada'', by [[Christopher McCreery]] and Arthur Milnes (editors), McGill – Queen's University Press, [[Kingston, Ontario]], 2009, p. xiv.</ref>

===Criticisms===

Most historians consider his premiership to have been a failure at a time of severe economic crisis.<ref>Larry Glassford, "Review of Boyko, John, Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation."  Boyko says he was a success.</ref> [[H. Blair Neatby]] says categorically that "as a politician, he was a failure".<ref>[[H. Blair Neatby]], ''The Politics of Chaos: Canada in the Thirties'' (Toronto: Macmillan, 1972), p 53.</ref> [[Jack Granatstein]] and [[Norman Hillmer]], comparing him to all other Canadian prime ministers concluded, "Bennett utterly failed as a leader. Everyone was alienated by the end—Cabinet, caucus, party, voter and foreigner."<ref>J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer, ''Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders'' (Toronto: HarperCollins, 1999), p 113.</ref>

Bennett was ranked #12 by a survey of Canadian historians out of the then 20 Prime Ministers of Canada through [[Jean Chrétien]]. The results of the survey were included in the book ''Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders'' by [[J. L. Granatstein]] and [[Norman Hillmer]].

A 2001 book by [[Quebec separatism|Quebec nationalist]] writer [[Normand Lester]], ''[[Le Livre noir du Canada anglais]]'' (later translated as ''The Black Book of English Canada'') accused Bennett of having a political affiliation with, and of having provided financial support to, [[fascism|fascist]] Quebec writer [[Adrien Arcand]]. This is based on a series of letters sent to Bennett following his election as prime minister by Arcand, his colleague Ménard and two Conservative caucus members asking for financial support for Arcand's antisemitic newspaper ''[[Le Goglu]]''.<ref>Lester, Normand (2001) ''Le Livre noir du Canada anglais''; Montreal: Les Éditions des Intouchables, p.255. The letter is conserved at the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. A photocopy can be found at the archives of the Canadian Jewish Council in Montreal, under P0005 ARCAND, Adrien (collection).</ref>

==Supreme Court appointments==
Bennett chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] by the [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]]:
*[[Oswald Smith Crocket]] (21 September 1932 – 13 April 1943)
*[[Frank Joseph Hughes]] (17 March 1933 – 13 February 1935)
*[[Lyman Poore Duff|Sir Lyman Poore Duff]] (as Chief Justice, (17 March 1933 – 2 January 1944; appointed a [[Puisne Justice]] under Prime Minister [[Wilfrid Laurier|Laurier]], 4 June 1906)
*[[Henry Hague Davis]] (31 January 1935 – 30 June 1944)
*[[Patrick Kerwin]] (20 July 1935 – 2 February 1963)

==Other appointments==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Rbbennettengland.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Inspecting the Calgary Highlanders in England, 12 February 1943.  Pipe Major Neil Sutherland at left]] -->

Bennett was Honorary Colonel of the [[103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles)]] from 1914 to the dissolution of the regiment in 1920.<ref>Dorosh, Michael A., ''Calgary's Infantry Regiment: A Pictorial History of the Calgary Highlanders'', Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, 2024, p.40</ref> Bennett was the Honorary Colonel of the [[Calgary Highlanders]] from the year of their designation as such in 1921 to his death in 1947. He visited the Regiment in England during the Second World War, and always ensured the 1st Battalion had a turkey dinner at Christmas every year they were overseas, including the Christmas of 1944 when the battalion was holding front line positions in the [[Nijmegen]] Salient.

Bennett served as the [[Rector (academia)|Rector]] of [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] in [[Kingston, Ontario]], from 1935 to 1937, even while he was still prime minister. At the time, this role covered mediation for significant disputes between Queen's students and the university administration.<ref>''The Authentic Voice of Canada'', by [[Christopher McCreery]] and Arthur Milnes (editors), [[Kingston, Ontario]], McGill – Queen's University Press, Centre for the Study of Democracy, 2009, pp. 197–198.</ref>

==Coat of arms==
[[File:CoA Viscount Bennett.svg|thumb|right|Viscount Bennett's coat of arms]]
Bennett's coat of arms was designed by [[Alan Beddoe]]: "Argent within two bendlets Gules three maple leaves proper all between two demi-lions rampant couped gules. Crest, a demi-lion Gules grapsing in the Dexter paw a battle axe in bend sinister Or and resting the sinister paw on an escallop also Gules. Supporters, Dexter a buffalo, sinister a moose, both proper. Motto, To be Pressed not Oppressed."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/bennett1/bennett.html| title = Viscount Richard Bedford Bennett's Coat of Arms|website=Lib.unb.ca}}</ref>

== Publications==
''Empire Relations: The [[Peter le Neve Foster]] Lecture, Delivered on June 3rd, 1942, at the Royal Society of Arts by the Right Hon. the Viscount Bennett, P.C., K.C.'' London: [[Dorothy Crisp]], 1945.<br />

==Honours==

===Hereditary peerage===
Bennett was elevated to a [[hereditary peer]]age on 16 July 1941. He took the title 1st Viscount Bennett, of [[Mickleham, Surrey|Mickleham]] in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in the Dominion of Canada. The peerage became extinct upon his death on 26 June 1947.

===Honours===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:55%;"| Decoration
! style="width:5%;"| Post-nominal letters
|-
| [[Alberta]] || 1907{{spaced ndash}}26 June 1947 || [[King's Counsel]] || KC
|-
| United Kingdom || 1930{{spaced ndash}}26 June 1947 || [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council]] || PC
|-
| United Kingdom || Before 26 June 1947 || [[Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)|Knight of Grace of the Order of St John]] || KG.StJ || 
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=July 2020}}

==Scholastic==
; Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| [[Ontario]] || Before 26 June 1947 || [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] || [[Rector (academia)|Rector]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.queensu.ca/rector/about/history|title=History &#124; University Rector|website=Queensu.ca|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> 
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2020}}

===Honorary degrees===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
! style="width:20%;"| Gave Commencement Address
|-
| [[Nova Scotia]] || 1919 || [[Dalhousie University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.dal.ca/academics/convocation/history_traditions/honorary_degree_recipients/hon_degree_1892_1999.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180521191502/https://www.dal.ca/academics/convocation/history_traditions/honorary_degree_recipients/hon_degree_1892_1999.html| archive-date = 2018-05-21| title = 1892 ‑ 1999 Honorary Degree Recipients – Convocation – Dalhousie University}}</ref> ||  
|-
| [[Ontario]] || 1926 || [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.queensu.ca/registrar/graduation/history|title=The History of Queen's Graduation &#124; Registrar & Financial Aid Services|website=Queensu.ca|access-date=July 9, 2022}}</ref> ||  
|-
| Ontario || 1931 || [[University of Toronto]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{cite web|url=https://governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/sites/default/files/2020-01/CHD%20recipients%20-%20Chrono%20-%201850-2019.pdf|title=University of Toronto Honorary Degree Recipients : Chronological : 1850–2022|website=Governingcouncil.utoronto.ca|access-date=9 July 2022}}</ref> ||  
|-
| [[New Brunswick]] || May 1933 || [[University of New Brunswick]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) <ref>{{cite web| url = https://graduations.lib.unb.ca/degree/15953| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180427073122/https://graduations.lib.unb.ca/degree/15953| archive-date = 2018-04-27| title = POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE {{!}} Graduation Ceremonies 1828 – Present}}</ref> ||  
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2020}}

==Freedom of the City==
* England '''4 November 1930''': [[City of London|London]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/1948.9|title=1948.9 &#124; Freedom of the City of London &#124; Casket &#124;|website=Collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca|access-date=August 22, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803234731/http://collections.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/1948.9|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2020}}

==Memberships and fellowships==
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| Organisation
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| Canada || Before 26 June 1947  || [[Royal Canadian Geographical Society]] || Fellow 
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=August 2020}}

==Honorary military appointments==
* [[Canadian Army]] (1914{{spaced ndash}}1920): [[Colonel (title)|Honorary Colonel]] of the [[103rd Regiment (Calgary Rifles)]]<ref>Dorosh, Michael A. ''Calgary's Infantry Regiment: A Pictorial History of The Calgary Higlanders'', CHRFF, 2024, p.40</ref>
* Canadian Army (1921{{spaced ndash}}26 June 1947): [[Colonel (title)|Honorary Colonel]] of the [[Calgary Highlanders]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://calgaryhighlanders.com/about-the-regiment/former-honourary-colonels/ | title=Former Honourary Colonels | publisher=Calgary Highlanders | access-date=5 April 2021 }}</ref>

==Electoral record==
{{Main|Electoral history of R. B. Bennett}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|Politics}} 
* [[List of prime ministers of Canada]]
* [[Great Depression in Canada]]
* [[Canadian peers and baronets]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|List of books about Prime Ministers of Canada}}
{{refbegin}}
* Berton, Pierre. ''The Great Depression, 1929-1939'' (1990); 675 page popular history of great depression across Canada.
* {{cite book |last=Boyko |first=John |title=Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged And Changed A Nation |location=Toronto |publisher=Key Porter Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-55470-248-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/bennettrebelwhoc0000boyk |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book
|title=Canada's First Century
|url=https://archive.org/details/canadasfirstcent0000crei
|url-access=registration
|first=Donald |last=Creighton
|publisher=Macmillan of Canada
|year=1970
}}
* {{cite book |last=Glassford |first=Larry A. |title=Reaction and Reform: The Politics of the Conservative Party under R.B. Bennett, 1927–1938 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1992 |url=https://archive.org/details/reactionreformpo0000glas |url-access=registration |isbn=9780802027986}}
*{{cite book |last1=Gray |first1= James Henry |author-link1=James H. Gray |title=R.B. Bennett: the Calgary years |date=1991 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto & Buffalo |isbn=9780802059758 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802059758 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=MacLean |first=Andrew Dyas |author-link=Andrew Dyas MacLean |title=R. B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada |location=Toronto |publisher=Excelsior Publishing Co. |year=1935 |url=https://archive.org/details/rbbennett0000unse |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |title=The Wages of Relief: Cities and the Unemployed in Prairie Canada, 1929–39 |first=Eric |last= Strikwerda |year=2012 |publisher=Athabaska University Press |isbn=9781927356050 |url=https://archive.org/details/wagesofreliefcit0000stri |url-access=registration
}}

* Thompson, John Herd. ''Canada 1922-1939 : decades of discord'' (1986) ; major scholarly survey of Great Depression.
* {{cite book |last=Waite |first=Peter Busby |author-link=Peter Busby Waite |title=Loner: Three Sketches of the Personal Life and Ideas of R.B. Bennett, 1870–1947 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1992 |isbn=9780802028945 |url=https://archive.org/details/lonerthreesketch0000wait |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Waite |first=Peter Busby |author-link=Peter Busby Waite |title=In Search of R. B. Bennett |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill—Queen's University Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780773539082 |url=https://archive.org/details/insearchofrbbenn0000wait |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |author1-link=Ernest Watkins |last1=Watkins |first1=Ernest |title=R. B. Bennett: A Biography |year=1963 |url=https://archive.org/details/rbbennett0000unse_m8z5 |url-access=registration |publisher=Secker & Warburg |location=London}}
*{{cite book
|title=The Great Depression and the Americas (mid 1920s–1939)
|first1=Mike |last1=Wells
|first2=Nick |last2=Fellows
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|year=2016
}}

{{refend}}

===Historiography===
* Glassford, Larry. "Review of Boyko, John, Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation" (H-Canada, H-Net Reviews. August, 2012) [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=36639 online]

===Primary sources===
*[[Christopher McCreery|McCreery, Christopher]] and Arthur Milnes, eds. ''The Authentic Voice of Canada'', (McGill – Queen's University Press, [[Centre for the Study of Democracy]], 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-55339-275-0}}. This book is a collection of Bennett's speeches in the British [[House of Lords]] from 1941 to 1947.


*Wilbur, J. R. H. ''The Bennett New Deal: Fraud or Portent?'', 1968); 250 pages of excerpts from 60 primary sources.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Richard Bedford Bennett}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{DictCanbio|ID=7997}}
* [http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/GE_P4_2_EN.html Silver and Gold: Bennett and the Great Depression] – Historical essay, illustrated with photographs
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=6638}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/001468}}

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