Prime Minister: First Parliament
He became leader of the Conservative and the Unionist Party, and Prime Minister on July 7, 1920, when Borden resigned; Meighen took over the remainder of Borden's mandate. During this first term, he was Prime Minister for about a year and a half.
Meighen fought the 1921 election under the banner of the National Liberal and Conservative Party in an attempt to keep the allegiance of Liberals who had supported the wartime Unionist government. However, his actions in implementing conscription hurt his party's already-weak support in Quebec, while the Winnipeg General Strike and farm tariffs made him unpopular among labour and farmers alike. The party was defeated by the Liberals, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. Meighen was personally defeated in Portage la Prairie, with his party nationally falling to third place behind the newly-formed Progressive Party.
Read more about this topic: Arthur Meighen
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