Arthur W. Puttee (1868-1957)

Labour leader, MP (1896-1900), MP (1900-1904).

Born in Folkstone, Kent, England on 25 August 1868, son of William and Elizabeth Puttee, he was apprenticed as a printer. He came to Brandon in 1888, but worked for some years in the United States, chiefly in Seattle and St. Paul, before settling in Winnipeg in 1891. He married Gertrude M. Strood on 15 December 1892. He was active in the International Typographical Union and was Canada’s first labour MP (Independent Labour), winning a hotly-contested by-election in January 1900 against Edward Martin. One campaign jingle went, “The Martin is a summer bird/Uncertain of his flight/But year round Puttee sticks and hears/The stalwart’s ‘Voice for Right.’”

There were charges that he was Clifford Sifton’s candidate, particularly in the November 1900 election, which Puttee again won. It was true he had much Liberal support. In 1904, he found labour sentiment had moved leftward and the Liberals no longer trusted him. He was easily defeated, even losing his deposit. From 1897 he was a moderate labour leader, editor of the radical newspaper The Voice, in which he had a financial interest until its collapse in July 1918.

He was one of the strongest voices in favour of the organization of a Canadian Labor Party based on the British Labour Party model. He and R. A. Rigg were nominated early in 1918 to meet with Prime Minister Borden on the conduct of the war, but neither man attended. Puttee was a member of First Unitarian Church of Winnipeg. He lived on College Avenue.

He died on 21 October 1957, at Winnipeg.

There are scattered but extensive papers at the Archives of Manitoba.

More information:

Arthur W. Puttee, Manitobans Who Made A Difference, Manitoba Historic Resources

Sources:

Profile revised: 14 May 2008

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