Fred Dixon

Who was Fred Dixon?

Frederick John "Fred" Dixon was a Manitoba politician, and was for several years the dominant figure in the province's mainstream labour movement.

Born in Englefield, England, Dixon was not a socialist. He was influenced by the reformist labour politics of his home country, and also favoured the single tax ideas of Henry George. He apprenticed as a gardener in England.

Dixon arrived in Manitoba in 1903, settling in Winnipeg. He apprenticed as a draftsman and worked as an engraver. He was a member of the Independent Labour Party during this period, and opposed the efforts of some party members to declare the ILP as socialist. This controversy led to the disintegration of the ILP in 1908. Dixon also wrote a weekly column in the Winnipeg labour weekly The Voice.

Dixon first ran for the provincial legislature in the 1910 provincial election as a candidate of the Manitoba Labour Party. He was also supported by the provincial Liberal Party, whose platform he generally supported. Dixon's centrist labourism brought about opposition from the Socialist Party of Canada, which ran a spoiler candidate against him. Dixon lost to Conservative Thomas Taylor by 73 votes; the SPC polled 99.