Harlan Carey Brewster, born in Harvey, New Brunswick in 1870 to Gilbert and Amelia Brewster, arrived on Vancouver Island by 1893.[1] His father had owned a shipyard while he grew up, so this was a natural preoccupation for H. C. Brewster to pick up. Brewster was able work his way up the rank and file by his early thirties.[2] He got into the canning industry by 1902 and eventually rose to be one of the owners and managers of the Clayoquot Sound Canning Company Limited.[3] He gained praise from his colleagues and employees as he was able to ‘eliminate’ the Asiatic workers from his factory and only employed “whites and [aboriginals]”.[4] By 1907 he was campaigning to represent the district of Alberni under the provincial Liberals.[5] He won the riding, defeating William Manson of the Conservatives who had held the seat for the past several years. Brewster was subsequently re-elected in the 1909 election in which he was only one of two Liberal candidates who held seats in the provincial legislature.[6] This was a disastrous election for the Liberals. Richard McBride’s Conservatives won a staggering majority of 38 of 42 seats, the lasts two seats went to the Socialist party.[7] These early years of his political career must have had an impact on him as his later life would see him move to become not only leader of the Liberal Party, but also the Premier of British Columbia by 1916.[8]
The Great War era of 1914-1918 was a turbulent time for many people, including politicians, who not only had to deal with a foreign war, but also had to satisfy the provincial populous. The political blunders of McBride during these years proved to be an ample opportunity for Brewster to take charge of the province and drive it in a new direction. However, he had many learning curves to overcome before he would get there. The Oriental Exclusion Act which was thrown about in the legislature in 1912, was one in which all sides of the debate agreed should pass.[9] The main concern spouted by the MLA’s was the increasing presence of Japanese fishermen along the BC coast.[10]It seemed to McBride that they were so in control of fishing in BC that “they knew every nook and cranny of [the] sea coast”, and that if “trouble should arise, they knew more of conditions [sic] than our own people [Caucasians] did”.[11] Nevertheless, Brewster stood firm in his opposition role and made sure that the Conservatives policies were strictly scrutinized.[12] This was difficult, of course, since he was the only Liberal member to oppose McBride’s Conservatives at the time due to a bi-election.
In the provincial election of March, 1912, Brewster decided to campaign for the Liberals in Victoria; the area in which McBride had a long and heavy presence for a solid decade.[13] He had been appointed the leader of the provincial Liberals previously that month, and Victoria was the raving ‘hotspot’ for party leaders. The Conservatives had run a strong campaign preaching “continued prosperity”, “clean government” and railroads.[14] Brewster was out of his league. The Daily Colonist, a conservative newspaper in Victoria, had a full cover section devoted to McBride and his Conservatives, detailing the reasons to vote in McBride’s favour.[15] Brewster subsequently lost the election. This did not dismay him though, as he then trekked throughout the province, publicly criticising the Conservative’s misdemeanours.[16] It is interesting to note, that Brewster spoke at a Peace Conference at the Alexandria on April 30, 1913, in favour of “diplomacy or arbitration” in regards to international disputes.[17] Apparently, their resolution was not heard in Europe. He would be rewarded for his efforts by again being elected leader of the BC Liberals in 1915.[18]
All this campaigning would eventually pay off for Harlan Brewster. In December 1915, McBride resigned as premier of British Columbia and a bi-election was called for Victoria.[19] His resignation was the result of many factors some of which include: the mounting debt accumulated due to railway construction, a lofty job offer to represent BC in London, and the lasting memories of erratic spending, such as on submarines, for constitutionally illegal, provincial defenses, and the eventually terminal Bright’s Disease.[20] Needless to say, Brewster’s image was stunning now: his criticisms of the Conservatives had proven true. He furthered his campaign by promising “more reforms, including improved workers’ compensation and labour laws, direct legislation, women’s suffrage, and the abandonment of machine politics and civil service patronage”.[21] In the lead up to the election, William J. Bowser had maintained the reigns of the Conservatives, trying desperately to steer them into another successful campaign.[22] His efforts proved fruitless though, as Brewster won in a majority vote despite the fact that most newspapers (even the decidedly liberal ones) in Victoria had supported the Conservative candidate, A. C. Flumerfelt.[23] Brewster had brought his message and image to the electorate for several years, and was rewarded on March 4, 1916 in regaining the previously elusive seat in Victoria.
Next: Brewster’s Term as Premier
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Harlan’s son, Raymond Brewster
[1] British Columbia Archives (hereafter BCA), Microfiche, D-19,014, Victoria Daily Colonist, March 2, 1918, vol. 60, no. 71, 10.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] BCA, Microfiche, D-19,014, Victoria Daily Colonist, January 15, 1907, vol. XCVII, no. 28, 1, 8.
[6] Patricia E. Roy, “Brewster, Harlan Carey,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed March 14, 2015, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brewster_harlan_carey_14E.html.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] BCA, Microfiche, D-19,014, Victoria Daily Colonist, March 21, 1912.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] BCA, Microfiche, D-19,014, Victoria Daily Colonist, February 17, 1912.
[13] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, March 28, 1912.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 5, 1913.
[17] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, April 30, 1913.
[18] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, March 2, 1918.
[19] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 16, 1915.
[20] Margaret A. Ormsby, British Columbia: a History, Vancouver: MacMillan of Canada, 1964, 386, 390-391.
[21] Roy, “Brewster, Harlan Carey”.
[22] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, December 16, 1915, vol. 57, no. 318, 1.
[23] BCA, Microfiche, Victoria Daily Colonist, March 4, 1916, vol. 58, no. 72, 1.