William Ross Macdonald

William Ross MacDonald as Speaker of the House of Commons

William Ross Macdonald PC OC QC (born December 25, 1891 in Toronto ; † May 28, 1976 ibid) was a Canadian lawyer and politician of the Liberal Party of Canada , who was a member of the lower house and member of the Senate , speaker of the lower house for more than 32 years , was Minister several times and most recently Vice Governor of Ontario.

Life

Barrister, Member of the House of Commons and Speaker of Parliament

After schooling completed Macdonald studying law , he with a Doctor of Laws graduated (LL.D.). Then he took up a job as a barrister . During the First World War he did his military service between 1914 and 1918 in the Canadian Expeditionary Force , first in the 2nd Cycle Corps and finally in the 4th Battalion , in which he was last promoted to lieutenant .

In the general election on September 14, 1926 and July 28, 1930 , he ran for the Liberal Party in the Brantford City constituency , but suffered electoral defeats and missed entry into the House of Commons. In the general election of October 14, 1935 , he was finally elected for the first time as a member of the House of Commons and represented the constituency of Brantford City until June 12, 1953 . Between January 22, 1942 and January 27, 1943 he held the office of chairman of the House of Commons special committee for the canteen fund.

During this time Macdonald was also co-chairman of the Standing Joint Committee of the Parliament of Canada for the Parliamentary Library between September and December 1949 and from January 1951 to May 1953 and at the same time from September 1949 to June 1950 and again between January 1951 and May 1953 co- Chairman of the Parliament's Standing Joint Committee on Parliament's Restaurant. Between September 27, 1945 and April 30, 1949 he acted as Vice-Speaker of the House of Commons and at the same time as Chairman of the Committees of the Whole of the House of Commons , before his last position on September 15 1949 to June 11, 1953 as a successor to Gaspard Fauteux speaker of the House ( speaker of the House of Commons ) and parliament speaker was. He was then followed by Louis-René Beaudoin in the office of Speaker of the House of Commons.

Senator, Minister and Lieutenant Governor

On June 12, 1953, Macdonald became a member of the Senate on the proposal of Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent and represented the Senate district of Brantford in this . After the British North America Act 1965 set the maximum age of incumbent senators at 75, he resigned on December 22, 1967, three days before the age of 75.

On June 14, 1953, Prime Minister Saint-Laurent appointed him minister without portfolio in the 17th government of Canada , in which he subsequently held the post of Solicitor General between January 12, 1954 and June 20, 1957 . At the same time he was between 1953 and June 1957 for the first time as chairman of the parliamentary group of Liberals and leader of the government majority in the Senate ( Leader of the Government in the Senate ). In the following period he was from January 10 to August 14, 1956 and again from November 26, 1956 to April 12, 1957 chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on domestic economics and contingent accounts.

After the electoral defeat of the Liberal Party in the general election and the end of government Saint-Laurent Macdonald took over on 1 January 1957 as leader of the Liberals, the Office of the Leader of the Opposition ( Leader of the Opposition in the Senate ).

Prime Minister Lester Pearson also appointed him non-portfolio minister in Canada's 19th Cabinet on April 22, 1963 , before stepping down on February 22, 1964 to make way for junior ministers. During this time he was again leader of the government majority and chairman of the Liberal parliamentary group in the Senate.

He then became Chancellor of Waterloo Lutheran University in 1964 as successor to William Daum Euler and held this position until he was replaced by Paul Joseph James Martin in 1972.

On July 4, 1968, Macdonald finally succeeded William Earl Rowe as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and held this office until he was replaced by Pauline Mills McGibbon on April 9, 1974.

For his longstanding political services, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada on December 28, 1974 .

Web links

• Entry on Parliament's homepage
• Biography on the side of the Speaker of the House of Commons
• Order of Canada