Some political factors in the demise of the Roblin government : 1915

Abstract

On May 12, 1915, the premiership of Manitoba passed from Sir Rodmond Roblin to Tobias C. Norris. This change in government was surrounded by one of the greatest scandals in the history of the province. In excess of a million dollars had been embezzled from the provincial treasury and members of the government were deeply implicated in the affair. Despite the fact that the scandal is over a half century old, little attention has been directed towards the details of the scandal and the repercussions which it produced. This thesis is an attempt to deal with these gaps in the history of Manitoba. After two chapters dealing with the background, the body of the thesis deals with the nature of the Liberal challenge to the government; the constitutional position of the Lieutenant-Governor's action, and the investigations of the various Royal Commissions and the prosecutions arising from these.