Since its foundation in 1906, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario exerted a major influence on the politics of electricity in the United States. American supporters of publicly-owned utilities saw the Hydro as a model worth emulating south of the border. Reformers who sought lower electric prices for consumers also looked to the Hydro for evidence of the technically-feasible lowest cost of producing and transmitting this source of energy. This paper will examine a specific instance when American Progressives sought to use the Hydro as both a source of information and inspiration for electric policy reforms: the Giant Power Survey of 1923-1927, an attempt by Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot to bring about lower electricity costs for consumers and to extend access to rural areas, through a mix of greater regulation and government action. The individuals involved in Giant Power came into close contact with Hydro officials for the vital administrative and technical information with which to argue for their cause; the Ontarians, however, had their own reasons to be wary of getting involved in a controversial proposal.

Formed in 1914, the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was significantly influenced by the Social Gospel, an international theological tendency within Protestantism that emphasized Christianity’s duty to eliminate social injustice. This influence can be seen by examining the UFO’s leadership; its official newspaper, the Farmer’s Sun; and the opinions of its rank and file. Yet it should also be noted that the diverse currents within the Social Gospel could divide the UFO. Christianity was both a potent source of political mobilization and the grounds for conflict in the Ontario farmers’ movement.

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This article examines the issue of political patronage during the tenure of the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO)-Independent Labor Party (ILP) coalition government in Ontario, which held office between 1919 and 1923. The reform of political patronage became the focus of profound controversy during the UFO-ILP government because of an unresolved contradiction between the inequality inherent in the practice, and the importance of patronage to the agrarian community. Politically motivated appointments were not just result of simple hypocrisy but came about because of the government’s desire to include greater numbers of farmers and workers in the province’s political system.