Our movement takes root in the West

I have no intention of setting down in detail or in chronological order, all of the events of the three weeks passed by Mrs. Côté-Mercier and myself in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Rather, I would like to sketch the cut-standing features of the voyage and set down the reflections which will, as it seems to me, be most interesting, informative and useful to the readers of The Union of Electors.

The chief reason for this trip was the obtaining of information, the establishment of personal contacts with our readers and our groups in the west, the studying of local conditions, thereby, better to be able to draw up the programs for the full-time workers whom we shall continue to send into the West.

Our trip as far as its objective was concerned, was a complete success. Frankly, we wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world...

What is the condition of our movement, the Union of Electors, in western Canada? Obviously it has not the same influence upon the surrounding population there as it has in Quebec or New Brunswick. But, out there, as here in the East, our papers, Vers Demain and the Union of Electors, are forming men who can stand on their feet and engage at any time, according to the demands of the times, in that activity which any patriotic and determined citizen would undertake.

The Social Credit philosophy, which stresses above all the primacy of the individual and the family in society is absorbed by those who read these papers regularly and it makes of them men and women who are, in the strict sense of the word, remarkable. It has been one of the great consolations of the movement's founders to find such men and women, solid as granite, even at the far ends of the land. They are the leaven which will raise up the people...

The Union of Electors has struck its roots firmly in the French-Canadian centers of the west. Its influence is coming to be felt more and more strongly in these areas. It is beginning to win over to our cause the English-speaking Canadians; they are swung over in the measure that the message of Social. Credit is presented to them. All that is really lacking to speed up the growth of the movement in the English speaking areas is a sufficient number of apostles who can carry the message to the peoples of these districts. The people are ripe and well disposed for the message. For this reason we are studying all possibilities in order that the Social Credit doctrine may be brought to them. And for this reason Vérs Demain will support fully its younger brother-paper, The Union of Electors.

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As our readers know from previous issues of this paper, we were preceded into the west by a team of six full-time workers. Alphonse Pelletier went to Manitoba; Élie-Ange Fortin and Dollard Leclerc to Saskatchewan; Camille St-Cyr and Bernard Gaouette to Alberta, the first to the Peace River district 350 miles north-west of Edmonton, the second to the district of St. Paul some 160 miles north-west of Edmonton. Then, of course, there was the veteran, Louis Philippe Bouchard who went into British Columbia, which we did not personally visit on this first voyage out. These missionaries have done marvellous work. They have met with the warmest response from the people amongst whom they have worked, the latter subscribing in large numbers to our papers, taking our men in and feeding and lodging them and co-operating with them fully in preparing the meetings, assemblies, and congresses which we were to hold during the course of our trip...

These meetings were not all held on Sundays. Five out of seven took place on week days. The roads were not always in the best of condition. Nevertheless we were able to meet personally a goodly number of our most loyal readers. These when they parted company with us, pledged themselves to the work of taking subscriptions with more ardor and perseverance.

Obviously we have in the west as we have in the east, adversaries to Social Credit, especially among the politicians. These latter, because of the existence of a political party bearing the name Social Credit, probably thought we were there to form another political party and hoped to lure their followers away from them. Consequently they did their utmost to render our activities ineffectual. We had publicly announced, well beforehand, the dates and the places of the assemblies we intended to hold. In a number of localities our adversaries chose, or caused to be chosen, those very days on which to organize other attractions (picnics, bingos, baseball games, etc.) thus drawing the people away from our assemblies...

In spite of such harassing tactics, we were able to hold some very satisfactory congresses. There was, for example, the congress at Falher, in the Peace River district. There was a magnificent turn-out — 400 people who remained the entire day for all sessions. It was an enthusiastic gathering. The collection in the hall amounted to some $84.57.

We held one very informal evening gathering at Morinville just before going to Falher. The hall was full, which was remarkable because to heavy rain had turned the roads into a quagmire.

This was our first visit to our Crediters in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But two years previously we had made a trip into Manitoba. This year we were able to see the great progress our Crediters there had made. They are for the most part completely detached from the electioneering philosophy. A number, of them have taken their responsibilities seriously and are doing door-to-door work taking subscriptions, Shortly after our return to Montreal we began to receive subscriptions from them along with reports of home meetings, which they held, on their own, shortly after our departure. We had a similar experience with the Crediters living in northern Alberta.

We would like to thank our dear friends in the west for the warm welcome they gave us and for the great joy we have experienced in having moved and worked among them. These are the pioneers and the fighters who will be in the forefront of the Social Credit army which will battle in defence of liberty and the rights of the individual against centralization and statism, against the robbery of property by taxation, against rampant Socialism, against the infiltration of Communism.

We shall be back with them. We shall multiply our contacts with them, for both they and we benefit deeply from such contacts. We shall be speaking again and again of their provinces, of their work; for we are convinced that their activities will be ever wider and wider in their scope and influence. We are sure that they will make possible for our movement to penetrate ever more into their milieu, English as well as French.