Frederick Gordon Bradley (March 21, 1886 – March 30, 1966) was a

Newfoundlander Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland and the continent ...

and

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 ...

politician.

Parentage

Born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Colony Newfoundland was an English, and later British, colony established in 1610 on the island of Newfoundland. That followed decades of sporadic English settlement on the island, which was at first only seasonal. Newfoundland was made a Crown colony ...

, he was the son of Norman Bradley and Evangeline Trimm.

Education and employment

Bradley became the principal of the Methodist School in Bonavista after finishing his education at Methodist College in 1906. Three years later, he studied law at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and was called to the bar in 1915. Later he started his own law practice.

Politics

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

, he was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

representing the electoral district of Port de Grave. A

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, he was a

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in the cabinet of

Walter Stanley Monroe Walter Stanley Monroe (May 14, 1871 – October 6, 1952) was a businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1924 to 1928 as leader of the Liberal-Conservative Progressive Party. He was born in Ireland in 1871, ...

until he resigned from the caucus in 1926 to sit as an Independent. He was re-elected in 1928 representing the electoral district of Trinity Centre as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

and served as Minister without Portfolio and Solicitor-General in the cabinet of

Richard Squires Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG (January 18, 1880 – March 26, 1940) was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932. As prime minister, Squires attempted to reform Newfoundland's fishing industry, but failed ...

. Re-elected in 1932, as only one of two Liberals, he was the leader of the opposition. An opponent of the creation of the

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...

, he returned to his law practice in 1933.

Newfoundland National Convention

In 1947, Bradley was elected to sit in the

Newfoundland National Convention The Newfoundland National Convention of 1946 to 1948 was a forum established to decide the constitutional future of Newfoundland. Nominations On 11 December 1945 the British Government announced that there would be an election to a national c ...

. After the death of Cyril J. Fox he became the chairman.

The London and Ottawa Delegations

The Newfoundland National Convention dispatched two delegations, one to the United Kingdom (the "London Delegation") and one to Canada (the "Ottawa Delegation").

London Delegation

The London Delegation was unsuccessful in its attempt to get the promise of continued financial aid if Newfoundland were to resume Responsible Government.

Ottawa Delegation

The Ottawa Delegation negotiated terms of union for Confederation between Newfoundland and Canada in 1947. Its members (with their districts) were: * T. G. W. Ashbourne (Twillingate) * F. G. Bradley (Bonavista South) *

Charles Ballam Charles Hubert Ballam (May 10, 1901 – December 12, 1981) was a Canadian union leader, officeholder and delegate at Newfoundland National Convention. Ballam was born in 1901 in Curling, Newfoundland Colony, son of Alice and Manoah Ballam. ...

(Humber) * Lester Burry (Labrador) * P. W. Crummey (Bay de Verde) *

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

(Bonavista Centre) The negotiations were largely a one way affair. Any union with Canada was dictated by the

British North America Act The British North America Acts, 1867–1975, are a series of acts of Parliament that were at the core of the Constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. Some of the a ...

(BNA), under which Canada had come into being in 1867.

Post-Confederation

After Confederation with Canada, he was appointed

Secretary of State for Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Sco ...

Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, making him the first Canadian federal cabinet minister from Newfoundland. He was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

representing the riding of

Bonavista—Twillingate Bonavista—Twillingate was a federal electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 1968. This riding was created in 1949 when Newfoundland joined the Canadian Conf ...

in the 1949 federal election. In 1953, he was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

representing the senatorial division of Bonavista-Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador. He died in office in 1966.

References

Frederick Gordon Bradley

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Frederick 1886 births 1966 deaths Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada 20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Government ministers of the Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland National Convention members Place of death missing Canadian King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada