Pierre-Joseph-Arthur Cardin, PC (June 28, 1879 – October 20, 1946) also known as Arthur Cardin was a Canadian politician who quit the cabinet of William Lyon Mackenzie King over the issue of conscription.
Cardin called for a "Yes" vote in the 1942 plebiscite to release the King government's from its pledge not to introduce conscription but resigned from Cabinet in May 1942 over the introduction of the National Resources Mobilization Act which gave the government the authority to do so when Mackenzie King was prepared to enable conscription through an Order in Council, although he had previously promised to seek a motion of confidence before bringing in mandatory military service.[1]
In April 1942, Cardin announced that he would be leading a slate of candidates in the June 1945 federal election most of whom were former Liberals who had left the party over the issue of conscription.[2] The party, which won the support of the "Independent Group" of Quebec MPs led by Frédéric Dorion was to be known as the National Front and was considered more moderate than the Bloc populaire canadien.[3] Among its policies was opposition to the "socialism" the Mackenzie King government had introduced during the war, continued opposition to conscription, and bringing about greater national unity in Canada based on equality between French and English Canadians.[3] However, in May Cardin abandoned his plans for a new party on May 8, 1945, declaring his desire to use the new party to bring about the "unity and equality" of both the province and the country as "an illusion", due to the failure of the more radical Bloc populaire canadien and other nationalists to join his movement and unite behind his leadership. One serious problem for Cardin was hostility towards him from former Montreal mayor Camillien Houde who had been interned during the war for his opposition to conscription and was attempting to lead his own group of candidates in the 1945 election. Houde held Cardin, who had been a member of Cabinet at the time of Houde's arrest, responsible for the decision to intern him.[4] Cardin instead ran and was re-elected to parliament as an independent candidate.[5] He died the next year in 1946.
1The office of Minister of Marine and Fisheries was abolished and the offices of Minister of Fisheries and Minister of Marine were created in 1930. The Minister of Marine office was a precursor to the Minister of Transport. 2From 1971 to 1976 the Minister of the Environment was also the Minister of Fisheries.
