PEI, the Absentee Landlords, the Tenant League
For our first soiree in Island history, we are going to look at the Tenant League. One of my favourite parts of our history, it may not have lasted long, but it was interesting!
In our pre-Confederation past, PEI had a strong economy built mainly on farming, timber, and shipbuilding. We had a merchant fleet and a strong connection to the New England states. But not everything was perfect. We, of course, had the Catholic-Protestant divide (a topic for another time), no railroad, and we had a problem with absentee landlords.
Absentee landlords were supporters of King George III who won a "lot" of land through a lottery. In exchange for the land title, they were to pay rent to the Crown, at least a third of the land had to be settled with Protestants, and they had to reserve some of the lands for a school and schoolmaster. If these provisions were not met, the land could be forfeited.
Many of these lottery winners and their descendants never fulfilled these obligations. But those living on these lands still had to pay rent.
Decades were spent trying to get land away from these landlords, including the Escheat Movement in the 1830's and the Land Purchase Act of 1853. Escheat was pretty simple - if you don't use it you lose it. Under Edmund Fanning, the Lieutenant Governor from 1787 to 1804, this meant transferring the ownership from those in Britain to local residents. But, again, this meant those living and working the lands were still tenants, not landlords. In the 1830's, voting rights were extended to Roman Catholics, many of whom were tenants. This led to the Escheat Party, who called for the lands to be redistributed to those living on them.
The British wouldn't go for it.
The Land Purchase Act was passed in 1853 and allowed the government to purchase land from the absentee landlords and sell them to those living on the lands or wealthier Islanders for an affordable price. Unfortunately, the government did not have enough money to sustain this tactic and the Crown refused to provide funds for the program to continue.
Understandably, the people had had enough! They formed the Tenant Union of Prince Edward Island, AKA the Tenant League.
They opposed farmers paying rent and wanted the land sold to those who were occupying it. Members who were tenants pledged not to pay rent and those who were not tenants pledged to support them. They did have some intimidating tactics, such as surrounding sheriffs and deputies going to collect rent. Sometimes up to 200 people were in attendance (alerted by tin trumpets).
So the Conservative Government, under the direction of James Pope, made a very popular move - summon troops from Halifax. Yeah. . .
While the league did collapse, their ideas did not.
Leading up to the next election, several Liberals were openly supportive and sympathetic to tenants and they won the next election on February 26, 1867. I am sure the summoning of troops against the tenants and their supporters had, you know, nothing to do with it.
Recognizing that this was a major issue on PEI, a subsidy to enable the government to buy out the absentee landlords was included in every deal the Dominion of Canada offered the Island to join Confederation. The Island held out on joining Confederation until 1873.
So that was our first dip into Island history. I hope you enjoyed it!
If you find my blog interesting, please subscribe.
Sources:
Historica Canada. PEI Land Question. From http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pei-land-question/.
Historica Canada. Tenant League. From http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tenant-league/.
Library and Archives Canada. Prince Edward Island (1873). From https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/prince-edward-island-1873.aspx.
Library and Archives Canada. The Absentee Landlord Question - Prince Edward Island. From https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.02-e.html.
Library and Archives Canada. The Tenant League / Tenant League Riots. From https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.48-e.html.
In our pre-Confederation past, PEI had a strong economy built mainly on farming, timber, and shipbuilding. We had a merchant fleet and a strong connection to the New England states. But not everything was perfect. We, of course, had the Catholic-Protestant divide (a topic for another time), no railroad, and we had a problem with absentee landlords.
Absentee landlords were supporters of King George III who won a "lot" of land through a lottery. In exchange for the land title, they were to pay rent to the Crown, at least a third of the land had to be settled with Protestants, and they had to reserve some of the lands for a school and schoolmaster. If these provisions were not met, the land could be forfeited.
 |
| From Hamilton, the smash musical. |
Many of these lottery winners and their descendants never fulfilled these obligations. But those living on these lands still had to pay rent.
Decades were spent trying to get land away from these landlords, including the Escheat Movement in the 1830's and the Land Purchase Act of 1853. Escheat was pretty simple - if you don't use it you lose it. Under Edmund Fanning, the Lieutenant Governor from 1787 to 1804, this meant transferring the ownership from those in Britain to local residents. But, again, this meant those living and working the lands were still tenants, not landlords. In the 1830's, voting rights were extended to Roman Catholics, many of whom were tenants. This led to the Escheat Party, who called for the lands to be redistributed to those living on them.
The British wouldn't go for it.
 |
| No. We are not doing that. |
The Land Purchase Act was passed in 1853 and allowed the government to purchase land from the absentee landlords and sell them to those living on the lands or wealthier Islanders for an affordable price. Unfortunately, the government did not have enough money to sustain this tactic and the Crown refused to provide funds for the program to continue.
Understandably, the people had had enough! They formed the Tenant Union of Prince Edward Island, AKA the Tenant League.
They opposed farmers paying rent and wanted the land sold to those who were occupying it. Members who were tenants pledged not to pay rent and those who were not tenants pledged to support them. They did have some intimidating tactics, such as surrounding sheriffs and deputies going to collect rent. Sometimes up to 200 people were in attendance (alerted by tin trumpets).
So the Conservative Government, under the direction of James Pope, made a very popular move - summon troops from Halifax. Yeah. . .
 |
| Good job. I am sure you will get re-elected. . . |
While the league did collapse, their ideas did not.
Leading up to the next election, several Liberals were openly supportive and sympathetic to tenants and they won the next election on February 26, 1867. I am sure the summoning of troops against the tenants and their supporters had, you know, nothing to do with it.
Recognizing that this was a major issue on PEI, a subsidy to enable the government to buy out the absentee landlords was included in every deal the Dominion of Canada offered the Island to join Confederation. The Island held out on joining Confederation until 1873.
So that was our first dip into Island history. I hope you enjoyed it!
If you find my blog interesting, please subscribe.
Sources:
Historica Canada. PEI Land Question. From http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pei-land-question/.
Historica Canada. Tenant League. From http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tenant-league/.
Library and Archives Canada. Prince Edward Island (1873). From https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/prince-edward-island-1873.aspx.
Library and Archives Canada. The Absentee Landlord Question - Prince Edward Island. From https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.02-e.html.
Library and Archives Canada. The Tenant League / Tenant League Riots. From https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3010.48-e.html.
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