MEIGHEN, ARTHUR

born June 16, 1874, near Anderson, Ont., Can. died Aug. 5, 1960, Toronto Meighen, 1920 Conservative Party leader and the youngest prime minister of Canada (192021; 1926). Elected to Parliament in 1908 from Portage la Prairie, Man., where he practiced law, in 1913 Meighen became solicitor general and subsequently held Cabinet posts in Robert (later Sir Robert) Borden's government. When the Conservatives and some Liberals formed a Union Government in 1917, Meighen became minister of the interior. Meighen worked effectively to implement the controversial policies of the Borden government, which enlarged Canada's role in world affairs. During his first term as prime minister, he waged a successful campaign in 1921 against renewal of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Convinced that the chief threat to Canada's national existence came from the economic power of the U.S., he advocated a protective tariff system. Meighen's second term was cut short by his party's defeat in the House of Commons and the subsequent general election. When the Liberal Party was in power, Meighen served intermittently as leader of the opposition.