Walter Riddell

Politician

• Born: August 5, 1881
• Birthplace: Stratford, Ontario
• Died: July 27, 1963
• Place of death: Toronto, Ontario

Contribution: Riddell acted as the Canadian representative to the League of Nations and held diplomatic posts in the United States and New Zealand. He later became a professor of international relations at the University of Toronto.

Early Life and Education

Walter Alexander Riddell was born in Stratford, Ontario, on August 5, 1881, to George Bradshaw Riddell and Georgina Cawston. His family moved from Ontario to Denver, Colorado, for a short time before returning to Canada and settling in Manitoba. Riddell earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba in 1907 and a master’s degree from Columbia University the following year. He became a student missionary during this time, was ordained in 1910, and received a bachelor of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1912. Riddell continued his studies throughout his early career and, in 1916, obtained his PhD from Columbia University.

Political Career

Riddell served as deputy minister of the Department of Labor in Ontario from 1919 until 1920, during which time he was involved in drafting the Mother’s Allowance Act and the Minimum Wage Act, both passed in 1920. Later that year, he left his post as deputy minister to work at the International Labor Office in Geneva, where he stayed for five years as the leader of the Immigration and Employment Section.

In 1925, Riddell became the Canadian advisory officer to the League of Nations. Before his appointment, Canada had only held a seat as an independent member in the general assembly. In 1935, when Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, sent troops against Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations for help. Riddell proposed putting an embargo on products necessary to the Italian army, such as oil, coal, steel, and iron. France and Great Britain did not support the embargo, choosing instead to make separate arrangements with Italy and, following the Canadian elections in October 1935, Riddell lost the backing of his own government as well. The newly appointed Liberal Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King rejected the proposal, distancing himself from what was later referred to as the “Riddell incident,” and lost faith in the League of Nations as a result. Riddell left his position at the league in 1937.

Riddell became a counselor at the Canadian embassy in Washington, DC, in 1937, and the high commissioner in New Zealand in 1940—his last diplomatic post, which he would hold until 1946. He later became a professor of international relations at the University of Toronto. He published his memoir, World Security by Conference, in 1947. Some of his other publications include Peace without War, Canada, Maker of theCommonwealth, The Rise of Ecclesiastical Control of Quebec, and Documents on CanadianForeign Policy, 1917–1939.

Personal Life

Riddell married Mary Gordon Clark on October 14, 1916. They had three children. Riddell died in Toronto on July 27, 1963.

Bibliography

Berton, Pierre. Marching as to War: Canada’s Turbulent Years 1899–1953. Toronto: Anchor Canada, 2002. Print.

Bothwell, Robert, and John English. “‘Dirty Work at the Crossroads’: New Perspectives on the Riddell Incident.” Canadian Historical Papers 7.1 (1972): 263–86. Print.

Hilliker, John. Canada’s Department of External Affairs: The Early Years, 1909–1946. Vol. 1. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s, 1990. Print.

Lloyd, Lorna. Diplomacy with a Difference: The Commonwealth Office of High Commissioner, 1880–2006. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Print.

Riddell, Walter Alexander. World Security by Conference. Toronto: Ryerson, 1947. Print.