Brian Brooke Claxton (23 August 1898 – 13 June 1960) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, federal Minister of National Health and Welfare and Minister of National Defence.

Early life

He was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and received his early education at

Lower Canada College Lower Canada College (LCC) is an English-language Elementary school, elementary and Secondary school, secondary level independent school located in Montreal, Quebec. It is located in the Monkland Village area of the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourho ...

. He was a gifted student and entered

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in September 1915 after completing grade 11. While at McGill he was a member of the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society () is a North American social college fraternity. Founded in 1825, it was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraterni ...

. After a year at university he left McGill in 1916 and enlisted with the Victoria Rifles of Canada.

Professional career and achievements

He served overseas with the Royal Indian Field Artillery on the Western Front, and saw action, which experience marked him profoundly. He was promoted to the rank of Battery Sergeant-Major in the field and was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military ...

. Returning to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

after the War, Claxton completed his course at McGill, graduating with honours in Law. He practised his profession in Montreal. In 1939 he was created a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. He had an academic post at McGill where he was associate professor of commercial law until 1944. Claxton was active in community service. He served as President of the Canadian Club of Montreal, Chairman of the Montreal branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, chairman of the Board of Governors of

from 1925 until 1934, and was a graduate fellow of the Corporation of McGill University. The burgeoning nationalism after World War I led Claxton to become involved in associations such as the Canadian League and the

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Society. He was also an

intervenor In law, intervention is a procedure to allow a Party (law), nonparty, called intervenor (also spelled intervener) to join ongoing litigation, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of the court, without the permission of the original lit ...

on behalf of the federal government in the

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issue concerning jurisdiction over

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broadcasting. He was active in laying the foundations for the establishment of the

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Political career

His political career began in the general election of 1940 when he was first elected to the House of Commons as Liberal Member for the constituency of St. Lawrence-St. George, Montreal. He was re-elected in 1945 and again in 1949. He was appointed in 1943 as Parliamentary Assistant to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. He served in the federal Liberal cabinets of

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

and

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957. Born and raised in southeastern Quebec, St. Laurent was a leading la ...

. In 1944 he was named the first Minister of the newly created Department of National Health (1944–46). He was responsible for the organization of the department and implementation of the administration system for the universal Family Allowances social welfare scheme. In 1946 Claxton became Minister of National Defence in which portfolio he served until 1954. In 1947 he headed the Canadian delegation to the

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Conference on

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held in

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. As vice-chairman of the Cabinet Committee on

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, in 1949 he signed the terms of union on behalf of Canada. He represented Canada at the meetings of the Defence Committee under the

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and

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. As Minister of National Defence he guided post-war demobilization, helped shape Canadian

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foreign policy, and presided over Canada's participation in the

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. In 1947, Claxton reopened RMC as a 3-service cadet college offering a 4-year academic degree. He said, "The role of the officer in modern war can only be properly discharged if they have education and standing in the community comparable to that of any of the other professions as well as high qualities of character and physique." In 1949 he appointed Rear-Admiral Rollo Mainguy to head a commission of inquiry into the so-called "mutinees" on several navy ships that year. The Mainguy Report found no sign of

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

subversion, and noted that the sailors involved had some justified grievances.

Family

Claxton's brother-in-law was Second Lieutenant Donaldson Lizars Savage who died on 15 November 1916 at the age of 20. Savage was killed in action in Somme, France the same year he graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada. Savage, who served in the 56th Field Coy, Royal Engineers, informed Claxton about the recruiting (

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

) practises then in place at the RMC. As Minister of National Defence, Claxton gave instructions that abuses would not be tolerated when RMC reopened after the war.

Later life

In 1954 he retired from politics, but continued to play an important role in the creation of the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

. He was just sixty-one when he died. At his death in 1960, The Montreal Gazette wrote that the Honourable Brooke Claxton "faced death … with unbreakable courage." He astounded associates by working hard right to the end and "never relaxing his grip." He was honoured by the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

with the degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

at its Golden Jubilee Convocation in 1959. The Brooke Claxton Building in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, where the Department of Health is based, was named in his honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Brooke 1898 births 1960 deaths Lawyers from Montreal Canadian Anglicans Canadian legal scholars Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Military personnel from Montreal Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Liberal Party of Canada MPs McGill University alumni Academic staff of McGill University Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Montreal Academics from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Ministers of health and welfare of Canada Canadian King's Counsel McGill University Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada