John Palmer MacBeth (November 19, 1921 – March 20, 1991) was a 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 was a Progressive Conservative member of 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 1981. He represented the ridings of

York West York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

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in the west end of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Behind Oliver Mowat, Davis was the List of premiers of Ontario by time in office, second-longes ...

Background

MacBeth was born in

, the son of John Charles McKay MacBeth and Virginia Maria Palmer. MacBeth served in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1943 to 1945 on the corvette 'Orangeville' and attained the rank of Petty Officer. After the war he studied as a lawyer and graduated from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

in 1948. He worked with his father. Their law firm became MacBeth and MacBeth. Later he practiced with a friend from kindergarten Douglas Swinarton Johnson as the law firm MacBeth and Johnson. His other lifelong friend, Andrew Leroy or uncle Wump, was also from kindergarten. He and his wife Ruth raised three children, John, Wendy and Nancy. He enjoyed clothes, cheap cigars and making fires. For years he and Ruth made their own Christmas cards, some needed a box for mailing. Fascinated as a boy by 'Mutiny on the Bounty', late in life he saw Pitcairn Island. Every day he read from the Bible. The kilt of his ancestors who came to the Red River settlement in 1812 was worn for Christmas family gatherings. Community involvement ranged from the Kiwanis club of the Kingsway, to Masons lodge 655, to president of the Ontario Cancer Society.

Politics

He was the last reeve of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district and former city within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west end, Etobicoke is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the east by the Humber River (Ontario), Humber River, on the ...

from 1963 to 1966 and was also chairman of the Etobicoke board of education. He had served on the Etobicoke Hydro commission as well. In the 1971 provincial election he ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of

. He defeated Liberal candidate Dave Rattray by 14,180 votes. He was re-elected in 1975 in the riding of

defeating Liberal candidate Alex Marchetti. He was re-elected in 1977. MacBeth was appointed to cabinet On June 1, 1974 as

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

to replace Fern Guindon who was seeking Federal office. In October 1975 he was promoted to Provincial Secretary for Justice 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 ...

. In 1977, he briefly held the position of Minister of Correctional Services after

Arthur Meen Arthur Kenneth Meen (March 17, 1924 – March 2, 2008) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1977 who represented the Toronto riding of York East. He s ...

retired from office. MacBeth said that one of his best accomplishments was passing a Sunday closing law in Ontario. He said, "I still get letters from people who are thankful that they do not have to work on those days." The legislation proved to be unwieldy and was eventually repealed in 1992. He retired from politics in 1981.

Cabinet positions

Later life

After retiring from politics, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Ontario Police Commission which he held until 1987. He died while vacationing in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

after achieving a life goal to see all 50 states (Texas was the last) and is buried by his parents and youngest daughter with his wife at

Park Lawn Cemetery Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacBeth, John Palmer 1921 births 1991 deaths Military personnel from Toronto Mayors of Etobicoke Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Metropolitan Toronto councillors Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II Royal Canadian Navy personnel Burials at Park Lawn Cemetery 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario