Independent Citizen's Association

The Alberta Unity Movement, also known as the Independent Movement and later the Independent Citizen's Association, was a political movement and lobby group in Alberta, Canada formed in 1937 in an attempt to unite the opposition against the Social Credit government of William Aberhart. It was created as a lobby group to promote independent candidates before the 1940 general election. The Conservative and Liberal parties, and the more conservative remnants of the United Farmers, recognizing the widespread popularity of the Social Credit party, ran joint candidates as independents in what was called the "Independent Movement" or the "Unity Movement". Although independent candidates won 42.47% of the vote, only 1,400 fewer votes than Social Credit, the strategy was unsuccessful in preventing Social Credit from winning a majority of the seats in the legislature as only 19 Independent MLAs were elected, compared ro 36 for Social Credit.

The Liberal Party under leader Edward Gray chose only to support Independent candidates that it played a hand in nominating and it nominated other candidates under its own banner. Gray felt that candidates should not be machined into the field and left it up to the individual Liberal constituency associations to decide if they would support a candidate or not.^[1] More radical former supporters of the United Farmers joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation which ran its own candidates in Alberta for the first time in 1940, none of whom were elected.

The campaign ads for the Independents typically read: "Be Independent of the new "Social Order". Vote Independent! Paid for by the Independent Citizen's Association of Alberta."

In 1944, James H. Walker, an Independent MLA who had been a United Farmers candidate, was elected the first permanent leader of the Independents ovet David Elton. Strains within the coalition had begun to take their toll with Liberal MLAs leaving the caucus before the beginning of that year's legislative session. The Liberals chose not to run separately in the general election, however, and Walker led the Independents into the 1944 provincial election but the party failed to run a full slate of candidates. Only three Independent MLAs were elected, and Walker lost his own seat.

In 1945, the Independents chose J. Percy Page as their leader and he became Leader of the Opposition. He led the party, now called the Independent Citizen's Association, into the 1948 election, but by that time the Liberals had left the coalition and ran their own slate of candidates. The party received only 1.35% of the vote, losing all of its seats. The party folded, and the Conservative Party re-emerged in the 1950s.

References

1. "Liberals Against Independents If "Machined into Field" - Gray". The Lethbridge Herald. January 23, 1940. p. 7.