Clear Grits

Encyclopedia : C : CL : CLE : Clear Grits

Clear Grits were reformers in the Province of Upper Canada, a British colony that is now the Province of Ontario, Canada. Their support was concentrated among southwestern Ontario farmers, who were frustrated and disillusioned by the 1849 Reform government of Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine's lack of radicalism. The Clear Grits advocated universal male suffrage, representation by population, democratic institutions and free trade with the United States. The name derives from a quote by party member David Christie who describe the movement as "all sand and no dirt; clear grit all the way through", a reference to the type of sand preferred in the preparation of masonry.

They came under the leadership of Toronto newspaper editor George Brown, and, in 1857 joined with the Reform Party to form part of what became the Liberal Party of Ontario and Liberal Party of Canada.

The Clear Grits were one of a long series of farmer based radical reform movements. Later examples were the United Farmers and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. "Clear Grit" was a complimentary term meaning tenacious or dedicated.

The word "Grit" is used as a neutral reference to members of the Liberal Party in English Canada. It is currently used far more frequently in print than spoken since anglophone Canadians commonly pronounce the word "liberal" with only two syllables (lib-ral). "Grit" also has a conveniently small number of letters, for use in headlines.

Clear Grits

See also