Robert Carson McKessock (born February 2, 1933) is a former politician in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1975 to 1987, as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Background

McKessock was born in

Chatsworth, Ontario Chatsworth is a township municipality in Grey County, in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The township is located at the headwaters of the Styx River, the Saugeen River, the Sauble River, the Bighead River, the Spey River, and the Sydenham River ...

and educated at Georgian College. He worked as a farmer, and was a deacon in the Strathaven

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church.

Politics

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent

Eric Winkler Eric Alfred Winkler (February 13, 1920 – March 18, 1995) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1957 to 1967 who represented the riding of Grey—Bruce. He was ...

by 277 votes in

Grey Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

. The Progressive Conservatives won a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

in this election, and McKessock served in opposition. He was re-elected in the elections of

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. McKessock won a landslide re-election victory in the 1985 campaign. The Liberals formed a

after the election, and McKessock served as

Parliamentary Assistant In British politics and some Commonwealth nations, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan staff member employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work ...

to the Minister of Correctional Services and

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

. He did not seek re-election in 1987 and returned to his farming career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKessock, Bob 1933 births Living people Ontario Liberal Party MPPs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario