He was Chairman of the Price-Spreads Commission in 1934. Stevens argued for drastic economic reform and government intervention in the economy. He quit the Bennett government and formed the Reconstruction Party when it became evident that the Tories would not implement the proposals of the Price-Spreads Commission.
The Reconstruction Party nominated 174 candidates in the 1935 federal election. It won more votes nationally than the other new parties. The Liberal vote was 2,076,394, the Conservatives 1,308,688, and that for the Reconstruction Party 389,708; while the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Social Credit parties garnered 386,484 and 187,045 votes respectively.[infringing link?] Many of the votes that the party won were taken away from the Conservative Party. In 48 ridings, the margin of victory for the Liberal candidate over the Conservative candidate was less than the number of votes received by the Reconstruction Party candidate.
Despite receiving 8.7% of the vote, the party won only one seat in the House of Commons of Canada - H. H. Stevens in Kootenay East riding. The Reconstruction Party came to an end when Stevens rejoined the Conservatives in 1938.
in order to balance the budget, a Reconstruction government would administer federal taxes "through a single set of auditors" and would invite the provinces to cooperate in the system that would divide the returns on "an equitable and agreeable basis."[infringing link?]
