John Morison Gibson

John Morison Gibson

Sir John Morison Gibson , KCMG , KC (born January 1, 1842 in Toronto , † June 3, 1929 in Hamilton , Ontario ) was a Canadian officer and politician ( Ontario Liberal Party ). He was a member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1879 to 1904 , during which time he held several ministerial posts. From 1908 to 1914 he served as Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Ontario.

biography

The son of Scottish immigrants grew up on a farm in Caledonia and attended school in Hamilton . With the help of a scholarship he studied law at the University of Toronto . After the Trent Affair of 1861, Gibson was among the first to volunteer for the University Battalion of the Canadian Militia (later the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada ). In 1864 he graduated as a master and joined the 13th Infantry Battalion of the volunteer militia. On June 2, 1866, Gibson was involved in the Battle of Ridgeway when the Canadian militia failed to repel an attack by the Fenian Brotherhood for the only time . He was promoted several times and commanded the unit from 1886 to 1895 as a lieutenant colonel .

In 1866 Gibson joined the Burton and Bruce law firm in Hamilton. In 1870 he founded his own law firm there with a partner , specializing in corporate law. From 1871 he was also an examiner at the University of Toronto, from 1890 crown attorney . He was also a member of the school council of the city of Hamilton from 1871 to 1884. As a Freemason , he was chairman of the Canadian Grand Lodge from 1892 to 1894 . In 1896 Gibson was one of the founders of the Canadian Red Cross Society and was its first president until 1914. In 1911 he was knighted, and he also received honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto and McMaster University .

Gibson's political career began as a campaign assistant for the Liberal Party of Canada before the general election in 1878 . He was elected to the Ontario Legislative Assembly a year later . As a member of the Ontario Liberal Party , he represented the constituency of Hamilton until 1894, then Hamilton West until 1898 and finally Wellington East until 1904. Within his party, Gibson was considered very progressive. Prime Minister Oliver Mowat appointed him to the Ontario government for the first time in 1889, and as provincial secretary he was in charge of the general public service. From 1894 to 1898 he was responsible for the administration of the crown lands . 1898 Prime Minister appointed him Arthur Sturgis Hardy to Attorney General (Attorney General). After the Justice Department became embroiled in a series of scandals, Gibson lost the trust of Hardy's successor, George William Ross , who demoted him to Secretary of State in November 1904 . In February 1905 he withdrew from politics after losing his seat in a new election.

Gibson was focused on his diverse business activities which he had pursued since the 1870s and which had made him one of the main real estate owners in Hamilton. In 1896 he co-founded the Dominion Power and Transmission Company , which first brought electrical power to the city and also operated an extensive tram network. It was on the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier for lieutenant governor and appointed on September 21, 1908 Governor General Lord Gray sworn in. He held this representative office until September 26, 1914. During the First World War he was involved in the Red Cross, the soldiers' welfare and several other organizations. He also headed the national commission for steel and nickel for ammunition production. In public he spoke out vehemently in favor of the introduction of conscription in Canada. In 1925, the Dominion Power and Transmission Company went to the Power Corporation of Canada on.

Web links

Commons : John Morison Gibson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• John Morison Gibson . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• John Morison Gibson. In: Database of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario