Thomas Dufferin Pattullo
Thomas Dufferin ("Duff") Pattullo (
January 19,
1873 -
March 30,
1956) was premier of
British Columbia,
Canada from
1933 to
1941. The
Pattullo Bridge is named in his honour.
Born in
Woodstock, Ontario, Pattullo's early career was as a journalist with two newspapers in
Ontario: the
Woodstock Sentinel in the 1890s, and as editor of the
Galt Reformer in 1896. He got a job as secretary to
James Morrow Walsh, the
Commissioner of the
Yukon, where he stayed until 1902. In 1908, he moved to
Prince Rupert, British Columbia and soon became mayor. He was elected to the provincial
legislature in the
1916 election, and was appointed minister of lands in the
Liberal government. Following the defeat of the Liberals in the
1928 election, Pattullo became Liberal Party leader, and
leader of the opposition. In the
1933 election, Pattullo led the party back into government.
The Pattullo government, elected in the midst of the
Great Depression, attempted to extend government services and relief to the unemployed. His government was unable to secure a
majority in the
1941 election due, in part, to the rise of the
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. He was unwilling to form a
coalition government with the
Conservatives, so his Liberal Party removed him as leader and formed such a coalition despite his objections. In the
1945 election, Pattullo lost his seat in the legislature and retired from politics. He died in
Victoria, British Columbia.
*
The Canadian Encyclopedia, Accessed August 7, 2006 
