Federal Politics
While it would have been easy enough for Drew to re-enter the legislature by running in a by-election, Drew decided to enter federal politics. "Colonel Drew" (as he liked to be called) won the 1948 federal Progressive Conservative leadership convention, defeating John Diefenbaker on the first ballot.
Progressive Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) George Russell Boucher resigned his Carleton seat so that Drew could then contest it in a by-election in order to enter the House of Commons. The federal Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was determined to defeat him, so they ran Eugene Forsey as their candidate. Bill Temple was brought up from Toronto to appear at a political meeting in Richmond, Ontario's Town Hall, where Forsey and Drew were speaking. He accused the Tory leader of being "a tool of the liquor interests" and also made suggestions about Drew's sobriety. Throughout the evening Drew grew more red-faced and explosive, every time Temple spoke. Finally, after Drew misheard Temple calling him dishonest, the two men were restrained before they could come to physical blows with each other. A riot was barely averted, and the meeting had to be terminated. On December 20, 1948, Drew soundly defeated Forsey by over 8,000 votes — forcing the CCF candidate to lose his deposit — and went on to sit in Parliament. As leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party and now an MP, he became Leader of the Opposition.
In the 1949 and 1953 federal elections, Drew's Tories were defeated handily by the Liberals, led by Louis St. Laurent. As a Federal politician, Drew alienated potential supporters in Quebec when it was remembered that he had called French-Canadians a "defeated race", rhetoric which, when he had been in previous years a Provincial politician in Ontario, may not have been as damaging among a certain sector of Anglophone voter, but it was now used against him by his opponents at the Federal level of politics. His support for conscription during World War II also hurt his prospects among French-Canadian voters. He ran against Forsey again in the Carleton district, and defeated him by an even wider margin on June 27, 1949.
Drew lead the PCs into one more general election, in 1953, with slightly better results than the previous election. In poor health following a nearly fatal attack of meningitis Drew resigned as Progressive Conservative leader in 1956 and was succeeded by John Diefenbaker.
Read more about this topic: George A. Drew
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