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The centrist theory of the lower middle class is widely used to explain the Social Credit movement in Alberta. The theory assumes that members of this class are ultimately conservative, if not reactionary, in both outlook and behaviour. However, the application of the theory to the Alberta movement is shown to be problematic for several reasons. Those offering this explanation do not back up their claims with evidence. Empirical analyses of the provincial elections of 1935 and 1940 present findings which are at odds with the conventional interpretation. A review of the Social Credit philosophy and the party's first term of office also reveals that the standard class analysis has some serious shortcomings. An alternative interpretation is provided.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the anti-Semitic propaganda of Social Credit movement in the 1930s and 1940s and its impact on organized Canadian Jewry. During World War Two, the Alberta Social Credit government and its provincial land national parties engaged in the dissemination of anti-Semitic propaganda, which greatly concerned the Canadian Jewish Congress, the national representative organization for Canadian Jewry. The Canadian Jewish Congress responded by attempting to confront and end this propaganda; however, it lacked a public relations philosophy effective and assertive enough to do so. Eventually the Social Credit movement realized the political liabilities of engaging in anti-Semitic propaganda; yet despite Congress's years of efforts, it could take little credit for Social Credit's purge of anti-Semitism. An examination of the relationship between the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Social Credit movement adds a new perspective on the history of both organizations, and reveals much about ethnic organization in Canada and the nation's political culture of intolerance. / The sources for this thesis come from the Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives in Montreal, the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, the Provincial Archives of Manitoba in Winnipeg, the Glenbow Archives-Institute in Calgary, and the Provincial Archives of Alberta in Edmonton. The Canadian Social Crediter, Vers Demain, and other Canadian newspapers were used extensively. The sources on the Social Credit movement held at the Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives have not been used before, which makes this thesis a significant departure from previous works.

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