Sidney Earle Smith

Canadian politician
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroCanadian politician
PlacesCanada
wasPolitician Diplomat
Work fieldPolitics
Gender
Male
Birth9 March 1897, Nova Scotia, Canada
Death17 March 1959Ottawa, Canada (aged 62 years)
Star signPisces
Politics:Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada
Education
Dalhousie University
Schulich School of Law
The details

Biography

Sidney Earle Smith, PC QC (March 9, 1897 – March 17, 1959) was a noted academic and Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.

Early life and education

Born and raised on Nova Scotia's Port Hood Island, Smith grew up speaking both English and Gaelic. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of King's College, followed by an LL.B. from Dalhousie University.

Career

Smith became a lawyer and a professor of law, lecturing at Osgoode Hall Law School and then at Dalhousie University. In 1929, he became dean of Dalhousie's law school. In 1934, he left the Maritimes to become president of the University of Manitoba. In 1945, he was appointed the president of the University of Toronto. He remained in that role for twelve years, overseeing a major period of the university's expansion.

Politics

A strong Conservative in the Red Tory tradition, Smith became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1956, he was considered a possibility for the party's leadership, but decided not to run, disappointing those in the party establishment who wished to prevent the populist John Diefenbaker from becoming leader.

After Diefenbaker won a surprise minority government in 1957, Smith was appointed as Secretary of State for External Affairs. Despite Smith's brilliance and popularity in academia, his success in this new role was limited. After holding the position for two years, he died suddenly of a stroke in 1959.

Posthumous recognition

Sidney Smith Hall, the central building of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto, is named after him.

Election results

Canadian federal by-election, 4 November 1957: Hastings—Frontenac
PartyCandidateVotes
Progressive ConservativeSidney Earle Smith10,513
LabourRoss Dowson266
Called upon Mr. White's appointment to the Senate, 20 August 1957.
The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 15 Apr 2020. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.