The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2009, Blaðsíða 34

124
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #3
of the Liberal party of Sir Wilfred
Laurier. My father was a great admir-
er of his. A large portrait of a very dis-
tinguished gentleman was hanging
above the organ in our living room.
When a lady visitor asked whose pic-
ture that was my mother replied ‘this
is papa’s friend, Sir Wilfred Laurier.’ .
. . I had full confidence that my father
knew all the answers in politics . . .
any new departure in politics did not
enter my mind ... as I had never taken
any interest in (it).”
Despite a family tradition of political
service (her brother Kristjan also served as
an MLA for the Liberal Progressives from
1945-53) Halldorson's career and life out-
side of Lundar was a significant factor in
her exploration and involvement in diver-
gent interwar politics. It was in Winnipeg
where Halldorson explored diverse politi-
cal movements including the campaign of
the recently elected Social Credit Premier
Bill Aberhart, who spoke to a full house in
the Winnipeg’s Walker Theatre in 1935.
Hoping to spark a prairie-wide Social
Credit movement, Aberhart’s appearances
attracted Manitobans from a variety of
political backgrounds, particularly through
his calls for radical economic reform. Alvin
Finkel asserts that a blurry vision of the
party’s political leanings was standard dur-
ing their early years due to their voracious
criticism of the capitalist finance system
and the popular support they garnered
from CCF and Communist party mem-
bers. Icelandic Canadian politician and
CCF co-founder Magnus Eliason recalled
that Halldorson fit well into this early con-
tradictory image of the party, noting that
her reputation in the Icelandic community
during the 1930s was that of “a left-
winger.” "She was considered to be a pro-
gressive," recalled Eliason, "and then dur-
ing the 1930s instead of aligning herself
with the CCF, she aligned herself with the
Social Credit... A lot of people thought
that Social Credit was a left wing party."
Attracted to Aberhart’s explanation of
the causes of the economic crisis facing
Manitobans, Halldorson wrote that “I
thought that there was truth in what he said
and straightaway started studying Social
Credit.” “At the urging of (her) friends”
Halldorson also began to hold community
meetings and lecture on Social Credit in
numerous small Interlake communities
including Silver Bay, Darwin, Hayland,
Eriksdale and Lundar where, she writes,
“people were very interested in this new
concept.” Her campaign also resonated
with most voters in her home constituency
of St. George who selected Halldorson
over the incumbent Liberal candidate Skuli
Sigfusson in 1936, making her only the sec-
ond woman ever elected to the Manitoba
Legislative Assembly.
Halldorson began a Social Credit cam-
paign early in the spring of 1936, prior to
Premier John Bracken’s announcement of a
July election, “without having any inten-
tion or interest in politics.” The accuracy of
Halldorson's modest description of her
campaign is difficult to gauge, particularly
in the absence of records surrounding her
election, however, the majority of the cam-
paign appeared to have been organised at a
grassroots, only receiving official endorse-
ment and support from Walter Kuhl, a rep-
resentative from the Aberhart administra-
tion in Alberta, just a few short days before
the election. Halldorson campaigned
throughout her riding in French, English,
and Icelandic prior to and during her term
as MLA. She also published several book-
lets and speeches in both English and
Icelandic and employed community publi-
cations such as the Icelandic newspaper
Heimskringla to provide Icelandic
Canadians with information on monetary
reform, international peace and unemploy-
ment. While her Icelandic campaigns some-
times differed from those she presented in
English, Halldorson also incorporated
Icelandic themes in campaigns geared
towards a mainstream Anglo-Canadian
audience. This blend of cultures fit well
into the newly minted Social Credit Party
who actively courted non-Anglo commu-
nities on the Canadian prairies and also
hoped to create platforms that were com-
patible with certain ethnic community val-
ues and aspirations. Halldorson’s election,
as well as her usage of Icelandic identity in
public speeches and publications reflects
this atmosphere within the early Social