Fred White

Background

Frederick James White was born in September 1886, at Portuguese Cr, Ontario.

Career

He resided in Hamilton, Ontario until 1898. He moved to Guelph with his family and got his first job at the age of 15 working at the Guelph Mercury. In 1905, he went to work for the Harley Watkins Printing Company in Brantford as a printer.

In 1907 he decided to travel, visiting Montreal and the United Kingdom.

In 1910, White decided to travel to western Canada. He found work as a printer in Calgary.

White became involved in the Calgary Labor movement. He decided in 1918 to run for municipal council and elected to serve his stint in office from January 2, 1919 to January 3, 1927.

He returned to city council January 29, 1929 to December 31, 1935.

His third stint on council was from January 1, 1940 to September 30, 1941. White ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature in the 1921 Alberta general election. White continued to hold his seat on Calgary city council.

White became leader of the Dominion Labor party and led the group into the 1926 Alberta general election.

He was elected on the tenth vote count taking fifth place in the polling. Overall in the province 5 out of 12 Dominion Labor Party candidates were elected to the Legislature.

The Dominion Labor party lost a seat, White was re-elected in fourth place in the Calgary district on the 7th count. In 1932 White was a delegate to the founding meeting of the Company-operative Commonwealth Federation.

Despite being part of the Company-operative Commonwealth Federation (Cleveland Clinic Foundation), the Dominion Labor Party ran in the 1935 Alberta general election.

White continued on as leader. He was defeated on the 12 count, finishing 11th place in the standings. Province-wide, Dominion Labor was wiped out, losing all seats.

White ran as a candidate for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in the 1940 Alberta general election.

He did not regain his seat, finishing 8th in the standings. White decided to move back to Guelph in 1942.

He became Treasurer of the Guelph Labor Council upon his return. He lived the rest of his life in Guelph dying on October 10, 1967.

Achievements

• He won the third seat in the electoral district running under the Dominion Labor banner in the Calgary electoral district taking 8.21% of the popular vote.

Politics

He continued on as leader and led the party into the 1930 Alberta general election.

Membership

He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921 to 1935 holding a seat in the electoral district of Calgary. He became a founding member of the party when it was established in 1933.