Richard Squires

Politician

• Born: January 18, 1880
• Died: March 26, 1940

Contribution: Richard Squires, a Canadian politician and lawyer, twice served as prime minister, or premier, of the Newfoundland and Labrador province. His political administration became known for accusations of improper behavior and corruption. Although Squires was considered a temperamental politician and extravagant in his personal life, his educational policies and promotion of industrial development in the region helped the Liberal Party become a prominent force in provincial politics after the Newfoundland region joined the Canadian Federation in 1949.

Early Life & Education

Richard Anderson Squires was born on January 18, 1880, in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, the son of Alexander Squires and Sidney Anderson. Squires was educated at Methodist College in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He later studied law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and received a bachelor of laws degree. In 1902, Squires was admitted to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland as a solicitor. He joined the law firm of Edward Patrick Morris, a local lawyer and politician, before being admitted to the bar in 1911.

Political Career

Squires entered politics in 1909 when he was elected to the Newfoundland House of Assembly. At the time, Squires was a member of the People’s Party, which was under the leadership of his law partner, Edward Patrick Morris. Squires held numerous positions in the Newfoundland political administration. From 1914 to 1919, he served on the Legislative Council. He also served as minister of justice as well as attorney general from 1914 to 1917, and colonial secretary of Newfoundland between 1917 and 1918.

In 1917, at the height of World War I, the People’s Party formed a wartime coalition government with the Liberal Party. However, when William Lloyd, a Liberal Party member, was elected prime minister of Newfoundland in 1918, Squires left the coalition. Squires’s main reason for leaving the coalition was the fact that the Liberal Party was supported by William Coaker, who was president of the Fisherman’s Protective Union. Squires later returned to the party after Sir Michael Patrick Cashin, who became prime minister of Newfoundland in 1919, made changes to the organization of the government.

After elections in Newfoundland in 1919, Squires formed his first government and became prime minister. From the outset, his government was affected by accusations of corruption; it ended in 1923. There were allegations, later confirmed, that money had been improperly taken from public coffers. In 1928, Squires formed his second government, which was also disrupted by scandals as well as the effects of the economic depression ravaging North America at the time. As public and political pressure mounted, the finance minister, Peter John Cashin, resigned, accusing Squires of improper behavior in the process. After riots in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in 1932, the entire government collapsed.

Despite the fact that his political career was inundated with accusations of corruption, Squires received a knighthood, the Order of St Michael and St George of the United Kingdom, in 1921.

Personal Life

Squires married Helena Strong in 1905. The couple raised two daughters and three sons. Squires died at age sixty, on March 26, 1940, in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Bibliography

Baker, Melvin. History 3120 Manual: Newfoundland History, 1815–1972. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1994. Print.

Belanger, Claude. “Newfoundland Biography (1497–2004).” Marianopolis College. 2004. Web. 14 Aug. 2013.

“Collapse of Responsible Government, 1929–1934).” Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, 2001. Web. 14 Aug. 2013.

Carew, S.J. “Right Hon. Sir Richard Anderson Squires, P.C., K.C.M.C.” The Nine Lives of Paton College. 1974. Print.