| Apart from Premier Thomas Clement ("Tommy") Douglas, not much is known about the leading figures in the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) government that was first elected in Saskatchewan in 1944. A study of John Wesley "Jack" Corman's career as a populist in municipal and provincial politics during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s provides important insights into the CCF phenomenon in Saskatchewan.;Three distinct phases of Jack Corman's political career are examined in this thesis. The first (1912--1937) was the formative phase. In the second phase (1937--1944) Corman entered municipal politics and served as a populist alderman and mayor of Moose Jaw. In the third phase (1944--1956) Corman served as Attorney General in the CCF cabinet and was one of the party's most important strategists and propagandists.;Jack Corman's career as a populist in municipal and provincial politics reveals several important features of the CCF phenomenon in Saskatchewan. First, it shows how municipal politics helped to pave the way for the CCF victory in 1944. Second, it indicates that many of those who joined the CCF were inspired to do so not because of socialism, but because of the harsh effects of the Depression. Third, it provides evidence that the main basis of the party's appeal to Saskatchewan voters was populism and not socialism. Fourth, it lends weight to the argument that the CCF regime was not a "one-man show" dominated by Premier Douglas, and reveals that the government (at least from 1947 on) was not truly "socialist" in practice. And finally, it provides an explanation of how the CCF was able to establish a lasting hold in Saskatchewan. All of this leads to the conclusion that Saskatchewan's CCF government was not as radical as many people---both past and present---have tended to believe. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
