Newfoundland History

Newfoundland in the Cabinet

 

[For the source of this document, see the end of the text.]

A recent report from Ottawa indicates that F. Gordon Bradley, the man who was official head of the Newfoundland delegation which talked Confederation terms with Ottawa last year, will shortly be admitted to the federal cabinet.

 

Mr. Bradley will emerge as leader of the federal wing of the Liberal party in Newfoundland, as his co-chief of the Confederation Party, Joseph R. Smallwood, emerges as provincial leader.

 

For Mr. St. Laurent it will be a welcome accession of strength to an already strong government. The dissolution of Parliament preliminary to a federal general election, however, will prune the cabinet, no doubt. Hon. J. A. McKinnon, minister of trade and commerce, already has indicated his intention of retiring and probably will be elevated to the Senate. That will leave a place for Mr. Bradley, although in the event of a general shuffling of cabinet posts he might not necessarily end up in Mr. McKinnon's job.

 

Mr. Bradley, whether or not he becomes a cabinet minister, is a gentleman Canada ought to be better acquainted with. Like his fellow Confederationist, Mr. Smallwood, he is a grand fighter and a bonny speaker. His speaking style is of the sort that is all too rarely heard these days. It has the Elizabethan smack which distinguishes the prose of Winston Churchill.

 

It would be a splendid thing if Mr. Bradley were invited to Vancouver to tell us something about his native province of Newfoundland. It would do a lot to cement relations between the two rugged areas which are the extremes of Canada, geographically. And it would be a treat to our ears. Possibly if he can't come before then, the Liberal strategists will arrange for him to make an electioneering tour of the dominion.

 

Source: "Newfoundland in the Cabinet", editorial, Vancouver Sun, March 28, 1949 , p. 4. Article transcribed by Christos Kampouris.

 

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