Simon Fraser Tolmie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Simon Fraser Tolmie
The Hon. Simon Fraser Tolmie
21st Premier of British Columbia
In office August 21, 1928 – November 15, 1933
Monarch	George V
Lieutenant Governor	Robert Randolph Bruce John W. F. Johnson
Preceded by	John Duncan MacLean
Succeeded by	Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
MLA for Saanich
In office July 18, 1928 – November 2, 1933
Preceded by	Thomas George Coventry
Succeeded by	Norman William Whittaker
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Victoria City
In office December 17, 1917 – October 29, 1925
Preceded by	George Henry Barnard
Succeeded by	District Abolished
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Victoria
In office October 29, 1925 – June 5, 1928
Preceded by	New District
Succeeded by	D'Arcy Britton Plunkett
In office June 8, 1936 – October 13, 1937
Preceded by	D'Arcy Britton Plunkett
Succeeded by	Robert Mayhew
Personal details
Born	(1867-01-25)January 25, 1867 Victoria, British Columbia
Died	October 13, 1937(1937-10-13) (aged 70) Victoria, British Columbia
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	BC Conservative
Spouse	Mary Anne Tolmie
Children	4
Cabinet	Minister of Agriculture (1919–1921, 1926)

Simon Fraser Tolmie (born January 25, 1867 – died October 13, 1937) was an important person in Canadian history. He was a veterinarian (an animal doctor) and a farmer. He also became a politician and served as the 21st premier of British Columbia, Canada. Being a premier is like being the leader of a province.

Simon Tolmie's Early Life and Family

Simon Tolmie came from a family with a long history in the area. This helped him when he decided to get involved in politics. His father, Dr. William Fraser Tolmie, was a well-known person in the Hudson's Bay Company. This company was very important in early Canadian history. His father was also a member of the government for both the Colony of Vancouver Island and later the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

Simon's father, William Fraser, supported new ideas, like giving women the right to vote in British Columbia. Simon's mother, Jane Work, had Indigenous ancestors. Her mother was Josette Legace, whose family was from the Spokane area. Josette's father was a French-Canadian trapper. Jane's father, John Work, was also a key figure in the Hudson's Bay Company. He was a "Chief Factor," which was a high-ranking manager.

Simon Tolmie was born in Victoria, British Columbia. He grew up on his family's large farm called Cloverdale. You can still find a neighborhood in Victoria with that name today. In 1891, he finished his studies at the Ontario Veterinary College. After that, he worked as the Dominion Inspector of Livestock, which meant he checked on farm animals for the government.

Simon Tolmie's Start in Politics

Simon Tolmie began his career in federal politics in the election of 1917. He became a Member of Parliament (MP) for Victoria City. An MP is someone elected to represent their area in the Canadian government. He was re-elected four more times as a Conservative politician. The area he represented later changed its name to Victoria.

Tolmie served as the Minister of Agriculture. This meant he was in charge of farming and food policies for Canada. He held this job from 1919 to 1921, and again in 1926. He worked under Prime Ministers Sir Robert Borden and Arthur Meighen.

Simon Tolmie Becomes Premier of British Columbia

In 1926, Simon Tolmie was chosen to lead the British Columbia Conservative Party. Even though he was the leader, he stayed as a Member of Parliament until the 1928 provincial election. In that election, he ran and was elected as an MLA for Saanich. An MLA is like an MP, but for a province instead of the whole country.

The Conservative Party won the election that year. They took 32 out of 48 seats in the provincial government. They even won every seat in Vancouver and Victoria. Because his party won, Tolmie became the Premier of British Columbia. He also took on the role of Minister of Railways.

Challenges During the Great Depression

When Tolmie became Premier, the world was heading into the Great Depression. This was a time when many people lost their jobs and money was very scarce. By 1931, a lot of people in British Columbia were unemployed. In fact, it was the highest unemployment rate in Canada at 28%.

To help, Tolmie set up special places called relief camps. These camps provided work and shelter for people who had no jobs. Businesses asked the government to find ways to fix the money problems. A special group called the Kidd Report suggested cutting many social services. This made many people in British Columbia very upset. They expected their government to do more than just keep order and build roads.

The End of His Time as Premier

The difficult economic situation caused a lot of problems within Tolmie's own party. There was so much disagreement that the party decided not to run any candidates in the 1933 election. Instead, local groups of supporters ran on their own. Some ran as independent candidates, and others as "Independent Conservatives."

Those who supported Tolmie ran as "Unionists." Another group, led by a former premier named William John Bowser, ran as "Non-Partisans." Because of all these different groups, the election results were clear. The Liberals won easily, taking 34 out of 47 seats. A new party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, became the main opposition party. Tolmie's Conservative supporters only won five seats, and Tolmie himself lost his own seat.

Simon Tolmie's Later Life

Simon Tolmie returned to politics three years later. In 1936, he won a special election to get his old federal seat in Victoria back. However, he passed away in Victoria just over a year later, on October 13, 1937.

Simon Tolmie led the last Conservative provincial government in British Columbia for a long time.