Information On Joey Smallwood

| birth_place Gambo, Newfoundland and Labrador | death_date | death_place | nationality | spouse Clara Oates | party Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador | otherparty | relations | children | residence | alma_mater | occupation | profession | cabinet | religion | signature Joey Smallwood Signature.svg }} Joseph Roberts "Joey" Smallwood Queen's Privy Council for Canada Order of Canada (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was the main force that brought Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian confederation and became the first Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Smallwood remains a controversial figure in Newfoundland, both for his role in ending its independent status and his acts while serving as its Premier. He would dub himself "the last Father of Confederation".

Early life

Joey Smallwood was born in Gambo, Newfoundland and Labrador to Charles and Minnie May Smallwood. His grandfather, David Smallwood, was a well-known maker of boots in St. Johns. Growing up in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador as a teenager Smallwood worked as an apprentice at a newspaper and moved to New York City in 1920. In New York he worked for the socialism newspaper The Call Smallwood returned to Newfoundland in 1925, where he soon met and married Clara Oates. In 1926 he founded a newspaper of his own in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador In 1928, he acted as campaign manager for the Prime Minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland Sir Richard Squires He also ran as a Liberal parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation) candidate in Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador in 1932, but lost the election During the Great Depression he worked for various newspapers and edited a two volume collection titled "The Book of Newfoundland." He also hosted a radio program, [[The Barrelman]] beginning in 1937 that promoted pride in Newfoundlands history and culture He left the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland in 1943 to operate a pig farm at the Newfoundland Airport at Gander, Newfoundland Jeff A Webb The Voice of Newfoundland: A Social History of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.

The National Convention and Confederation with Canada

Image:Members of the National Convention - Newfoundland 1948.jpg In 1946, he was elected a delegate to the Newfoundland National Convention which was organized to make recommendations to the British government about the constitution l future of Newfoundland which would be placed before the people of the country in a constitutional referendum. Smallwood supported joining Canada, arguing that union with Canada would bring economics prosperity His skills as a radio broadcaster served him well; he was able to use the proceedings of the Convention, which were broadcast over the radio, to publicise the benefits of union with Canada. He founded and led the Confederate Association that supported the Confederation option in the Convention during the Newfoundland referendums, 1948 Image:Ottawanewfoundlanddelegation.jpg He was also a member of the 1947 Ottawa Delegation that negotiated the Terms of Union with Canada. He also created yet another newspaper, The Confederate to promote Confederation The Newfoundland referendums, 1948 resulted in Confederation being approved, and in 1949, as leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Smallwood was elected Premier of the new province

Premiership: Successes and Failures

He ran Newfoundland virtually unchallenged for 23 years and won 6 elections. The seventh, the Newfoundland general election, 1971 resulted in a tie and Smallwood was forced to resign several months later in January 1972. He was forced out of the Liberal Party but tried to engineer a comeback by forming a new party, the Newfoundland Reform Liberal Party that unsuccessfully contested the Newfoundland general election, 1975 File:Smallwood.JPG ]] Smallwood, during his career as Premier, would be accused of being autocratic and self-aggrandizing. Because the entry into Confederation brought many grants to the province, he effectively controlled the financial situation of many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The new Premier also relied heavily on the expertise of German industry in his repeated failed attempts to industrialize Newfoundland in the post-Confederation period. Leading the effort was Latvian expatriate Alfred Valdmanis who was appointed Director-General of Economic Development in 1950 with the expectation that he would attract German and Baltic industrialists to the island. Valdmanis was dismissed in 1954 when he was charged with defrauding the government, for which he would spend two years in prison. Although he saw himself as a socialist, Smallwood was willing to side with corporations in his drive to industrialize the province. Not only did he grant foreign companies concessions to encourage development, but he intervened in a labour dispute in 1959. The International Woodworkers of America had struck to get higher wages and better working conditions in the logging camps. In a controversal move, Smallwood decertified and effectively made illegal the union, replacing it with a government sponsored union. Also controversially, Smallwood would bring many libel suits against [[The Telegram]] and would threaten to pull government advertising over stories. In 1969, when he was challenged by John Crosbie for the leadership of the Liberal Party, Smallwood would send Cabinet ministers to delegate selection meetings with notebooks, detailing who voted for which slate of delegates, and would bring Crosbie delegates to his residence, forcing them to sign affidavit supporting Smallwoods leadership. The affidavits would later be published in local newspapers. Smallwood remained Premier until 1972 when he was finally defeated in the polls by Frank Moores and the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador who formed their first government in the new provinces history after a narrow win at the polls.

Life after Politics

In 1974, Smallwood, in conjunction with radio and television owner Geoff Stirling and Australian director Michael Rubbo participated in a film project documenting Smallwoods invitation to visit Fidel Castro in Cuba The resulting film, [[Waiting for Fidel]] provided a glimpse into the Cuba of the day, as well as a more intimate expression of Smallwoods personal perspective.lt;/ref> In his retirement Smallwood resumed writing; publishing several books including an autobiography titled I Chose Canada Late in life he began an ambitious project compiling a comprehensive Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador The five volume set was completed by a charitable foundation after Smallwoods death. In 1986 he was made a Order_of_Canada#Companion of the Order of Canada In 1989, a new Marine Atlantic ferry the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood was commissioned . On December 17, 1991, only six days before his 91st birthday, Joey Smallwood died. He is buried with his wife, Clara, at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

Portrayals in fiction

Wayne Johnston (writer) s 1998 novel [[The Colony of Unrequited Dreams]]presents a fictionalized portrayal of Smallwood.

References

External links

*http://www.nfb.ca/film/little_fellow_from_gambo_joey_smallwood/ Watch A Little Fellow from Gambo - The Joey Smallwood Storyat NFB.ca] Category:Premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador Category:Fathers of Confederation Category:Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party MHAs Category:Canadian radio personalities Category:Canadian journalists Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada Category:Members of the United Church of Canada Category:Companions of the Order of Canada Category:1900 births Category:1991 deaths Category:Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador Category:Canadian people of British descent Category:Orangemen Category:Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people Category:People from Newfoundland Category:National Historic Persons of Canada de:Joey Smallwood fr:Joey Smallwood pl:Joseph Smallwood

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