Walter Rollo

Walter Ritchie Rollo (November 25, 1875 – March 13, 1957) was a Canadian trade unionist and politician in the early 20th century, and was a cabinet Minister in the United Farmers of Ontario - Labour coalition government from 1919 to 1923.

Walter Ritchie Rollo
Rollo in 1919 photograph
MPP for Hamilton West
In office
October 20, 1919 – October 5, 1923
Preceded byJohn Allan
Succeeded byArthur Campbell Garden
Minister of Labour for Ontario
In office
November 14, 1919 – July 16, 1923
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byForbes Elliott Godfrey
Personal details
Born(1875-11-25)November 25, 1875
Linlithgowshire, Scotland
DiedMarch 13, 1957(1957-03-13) (aged 81)
Michigan, USA
Resting placeWoodland Cemetery, Hamilton[1]
Section 23 W 1/2, 43.286312°N 79.881421°W / 43.286312; -79.881421
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLabour Party of Canada
Spouse(s)Margaret Bell

Early life

Born in Linlithgowshire, Scotland in 1875,[2] he emigrated to Canada in 1883[3] and was a broom-maker in Hamilton, Ontario by 1899.[4] He married Margaret Bell of Berlin, Ontario in the same year.[5]

When the 9lst Regiment Canadian Highlanders was formed in Hamilton in 1903, Rollo enlisted and rose over time to become its colour sergeant.[6]

Labour leader

Rollo was secretary of the Hamilton Trades and Labour Council from 1906 to 1919.[7] In 1919, he also became editor of the Labor News, a Hamilton-based union paper.[8]

Political career

Rollo was involved in politics at all levels. In 1916, he was appointed as a member of Ontario's Organization of Resources Committee which was established to improve Canada's war effort in the Province.[9] He had also been a member of the Board of Education in Hamilton for several years.[6][10]

In 1907, Rollo was elected as the President of the newly formed Independent Labour Party,[11][12] and would become its leader in 1917.[13][11] He stood for election in Hamilton West in the following campaigns:

  • in the 18 November 1914 by-election, which he lost by only 39 votes,[7]
  • in the federal 1917 general election, where he came in second,[14]
  • in the Ontario 1919 general election, which he won. In his campaign, signs were posted that read: "Your Vote for Walter Rollo is a nail in the coffin of the profiteer."[15]

He and Morrison Mann MacBride were instrumental in negotiating a coalition government between the Independent Labour Party and the United Farmers of Ontario under E.C. Drury,[16] which lasted until 1923. As a result of those negotiations, the ILP had the right to nominate two of its members to the new government: Rollo became the Province's first Minister of Labour—a position that had been created immediately before the election by the previous Conservative government of William Hearst[17]—and Harry Mills became the first Minister of Mines.[18][19] This caused a confrontation within the ILP, as MacBride had sought to be nominated to the Labour position.[20][21]

During his time as Minister, Rollo brought in several enhancements to Ontario's labour laws:[22]

  • the Minimum Wage Act, which set minimum wages for female employees,[23]
  • the Wages Act was amended to provide that 70% of any wages due to a worker was exempt from seizure,[24]
  • the One Day's Rest in Seven Act, which provided (with certain exceptions) that employees were entitled to 24 consecutive hours of rest every seven days,[25]
  • improvements to workmen's compensation benefits[26][27]
Rollo (at right) in 1955, with last surviving members of the 1919-1923 coalition

Aftermath

After his defeat in the 1923 general election, Rollo was appointed as an adolescent school inspector for the City of Hamilton,[28] and he was still working as a school attendance officer there in 1938,[29] and as a part-time school assessment adviser in 1950.[27] He died in 1957.[30]

Further reading
  • Bill Freeman (1979). "Hamilton Labour: The failure of an opposition group". In Bill Freeman; Marsha Hewitt (eds.). Their Town: The Mafia, the Media and the Party Machine. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company. pp. 38–61. ISBN 0-88862-266-X.
  • James Naylor (1991). The New Democracy: Challenging the Social Order in Industrial Ontario, 1914-1925. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-5953-8.
  • Roger Hall; William Westfall; Laurel Sefton MacDowell, eds. (1996). "The Decline of Labourism". Patterns of the Past: Interpreting Ontario's History. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002034-X.

References
  1. "Walter Ritchie Rollo". findagrave.com.
  2. "Walter Ritchie Rollo, 'Scotland Census, 1881'". Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  3. "1911 Canada Census abstract". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  4. "An Expert on Brooms". The Morning Leader. August 26, 1922. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  5. "Walter R Rolo, 'Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927'". Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  6. "Rollo Has Faith, Works And An Unabashful Disposition". The Morning Leader. December 6, 1919. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  7. Hall, Westfall & Sefton MacDowell 1996, p. 298.
  8. Naylor 1991, p. 68.
  9. "The Crisis - 1918". Toronto: Organization of Resources Committee. March 1918.
  10. "Rollo Likely To Lead Labor In Elections". Toronto Daily Star. October 29, 1917. p. 2.
  11. Naylor 1991, p. 96.
  12. "New Labour Party". Montreal Gazette. March 30, 1907. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  13. Freeman & Hewitt 1979, p. 39.
  14. "HAMILTON WEST (1917/12/17)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  15. Naylor 1991, p. 126.
  16. "Labor Party Decides to Join with United Farmers". The Globe. October 27, 1919. p. 1.
  17. The Department of Labour Act, 1919, S.O. 1919, c. 22
  18. "Mines Portfolio Of No Account". Toronto World. November 12, 1919. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  19. The Department of Mines Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 12
  20. "Never Considered Cabinet Seat". Toronto World. October 31, 1919. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  21. "Says M'Bride Wanted Post in Ontario Cabinet". The Morning Leader. January 27, 1920. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  22. "History of Employment Standards in Ontario". Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  23. The Minimum Wage Act, S.O. 1920, c. 87
  24. The Wages Amendment Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 42
  25. The One Day's Rest in Seven Act, 1922, S.O. 1922, c. 93
  26. The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1920, S.O. 1920, c. 43
  27. "Act He Helped Draw Up No Help To Ex-Minister". Ottawa Citizen. August 29, 1950. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  28. Gil O'Mourne (February 23, 1924). "Drury and Ex-Ministers Have 'Broadened Out', Farming No Longer Chief Interest Of Cabinet". The Morning Leader. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  29. "Where They've Gone". Vancouver Sun. November 29, 1938. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  30. "Former Minister Dies". Lethbridge Herald. March 14, 1957.
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