Fisherman's Protective Union
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The Fisherman's Protective Union (sometimes called the Fishermen's Protective Union, The Union or the Unionist Party) was a political party in Newfoundland and Labrador before it joined Canada.
The union was founded in 1908 by William Coaker as a cooperative movement for fishermen on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. At its peak, it had 20,000 members and chapters across the island. The FPU set up the Fishermen's Union Trading Co. (UTC) to import goods to sell to fishermen directly, thus circumventing the St. John's fish merchants. In many ways, the development of the FPU matched that of the United Farmers movement in parts of Canada.
The FPU entered electoral politics in 1913 as a leftwing party with a platform calling for government regulation of the fisheries, administrative and constitutional reform, and the extension of education and social welfare. Eight members of the FPU were elected to the House of Assembly in 1913.
The party was overwhelmingly, almost exclusively Protestant, and was accused of having links with the Orange Order. As a consequence, it was distrusted by Catholic voters, and vigorously opposed by the Catholic Church, who opposed the union not only for its alleged Orange links, but also for its trade unionism.
The FPU believed that the interests of fishermen were being ignored by the mainstream parties, and that candidates elected on a class basis would be able to hold the balance of power and influence government in the interests of fishermen.
FPU members of the House of Assembly joined the wartime National Government of 1917. An FPU member served as minister of fisheries.
In 1919, the FPU joined with the Liberal Party of Newfoundland led by Richard Squires to form the Liberal Reform Party.
The FPU's political role ended with the suspension of responsible government in 1934 (which Coaker supported). The union became a service organization for its members, running businesses and its activities on behalf of fishermen and loggers. The FPU survived into the post-confederation period when democratic politics resumed in 1949 though it ran no candidates and had faded away by 1960.
See also: List of political parties in Canada
External links
- The Rise of the Fishermen's Protective Union, the First World War and the National Government, 1908-1919 (http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~melbaker/fpuhis.html)
- The Fishermen's Protective Union and Politics (http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/fpu_politics.html)
- Terra Nova Greens: Fisheman's Protective Union (sympathetic account) (http://www.infonet.st-johns.nf.ca/providers/green/fpu.html)