Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Election Letters
General material designation
- Textual record
Parallel title
Description type
Private
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
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File
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1957 (Creation)
- Creator
- Thatcher, Ross and Peggie, 1917-1988
Physical description area
Physical description
0.002m of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Wilbert Ross Thatcher was born in Neville, Saskatchewan on May 24, 1917 to Wilbert Thatcher Sr. and his wife. Thatcher received his primary and secondary education in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and his post-secondary training at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He graduated from Queen's in 1936 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Prior to his entry into politics, Thatcher worked as an assistant to the Vice-President of Canada Packers in Toronto, Ontario. When Thatcher's father fell ill in the late 1930s, Thatcher returned to Moose Jaw with his wife and son to assist in the family hardware business. Thatcher's political career began when he was elected to the Moose Jaw city council in 1942. He served a two year term before entering the federal political arena in 1945 as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party in the Moose Jaw riding.
After serving as an MP for Moose Jaw with the CCF for ten years, Thatcher left the party in 1955 over divergent viewpoints on corporate taxation policy and joined the federal Liberal caucus. He ran unsuccessfully as an Independent federal candidate in the Assiniboia riding (for two years), and in 1957 Thatcher joined the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. In 1959, Thatcher won the leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party elected in the Morse constituency. Following the 1960 election he became Leader of the Official Opposition to a CCF government under Woodrow Lloyd. In 1964 Thatcher was elected Premier of Saskatchewan when the Liberal party defeated the CCF party.
During his first term as Premier of Saskatchewan, Thatcher sought to increase Saskatchewan's appeal to outside investors by cutting government spending, increasing privatization, and selling Crown corporations. Thatcher believed that Saskatchewan's "socialist" reputation was hindering economic development in the province.
Upon re-election in 1967, Thatcher's increasing fiscal conservatism became widely unpopular as his government instituted hospital utilization fees, and severely cut health and education funding. Thatcher's Liberal government practices were routinely at odds with the Federal Liberal party of Canada under Pierre Trudeau, leading to conflict between the two levels of the Liberal government.
After two terms as Premier, Thatcher's Liberals were defeated by Allan Blakeney's New Democratic Party in the Provincial election on June 22, 1971.
Peggie Thatcher was born Adrah Leone McNaughton ca. 1916 in Worthing, England to A. Charles and Flora McNaughton. When she was a young child her family immigrated to Canada and settled in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan where her father owned and operated the Capital Ice Company. She received her primary education at King George Elementary School and secondary education at Central Collegiate in Moose Jaw.
Prior to her marriage, McNaughton wrote articles for the women's pages of the Moose Jaw Times Herald. In Moose Jaw she volunteered with the Howard Johnson Society, was a member of St. Andrew's United Church and was an ardent supporter of both the Girl Guides and the Saskatchewan Liberal Women's Association. She was also a locally renowned badminton player.
Ross Thatcher and Peggie McNaughton were married in January of 1938, while Ross was living and working in Toronto. Once the family moved back to Saskatchewan in 1939 and Ross Thatcher had entered politics in 1942, their life became increasingly public. Peggie Thatcher provided a supporting role to her politically active husband. However, in 1972, one year after Ross Thatcher's death, Peggie Thatcher ran unsuccessfully in the riding of Regina East.
Ross and Peggie Thatcher had one son, Colin, born on August 25, 1938 in Toronto, Ontario.
Ross Thatcher died at his home in Regina on July 22, 1971. Peggie Thatcher continued to live in Regina until her death on July 1, 1988.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Letters to Thatcher from the 1957 election.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Box number(s): 3 of 19
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Records are open for research use.
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Use, publication and/or reproduction of records subject to terms and conditions of the Copyright Act. Please consult reference archivist for assistance.
To consult the records, visit or contact the Regina office.
Finding aids
SAFA 416 consists of a fonds level description, some file level listings and some item level listings of photographs and media items.
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Description record identifier
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Rules or conventions
Saskatchewan Archives. Archival Description Manual 2004.
Status
Final
Level of detail
Language of description
- English
Script of description
- Latin
Sources
Content of the fonds