Laurence George South (February 26, 1925 – October 28, 2022) was a Canadian politician in Ontario. He served as a Liberal 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 1985 to 1990.

Background

South grew up in Toronto's East End. After serving in the army at the end of WWII, he was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, received

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

and

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degrees. He worked as an engineer with the Ontario Water Resources Commission (later, Ministry of the Environment) in Toronto and then Kingston. On retirement, South entered political life.

Politics

South was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent J. Earl McEwen by about 2,500 votes in the eastern Ontario riding of Frontenac—Addington. He was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1987 election, but lost to Fred Wilson of the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Dev ...

by 1,400 votes in the 1990 election. He was a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

supporter of

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Back ...

's government during his time in the legislature, and served as a

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 ...

in 1987 and 1988–1989. He was an opponent of nuclear energy during his time in office.

Personal life and death

South died at his home near

Gananoque, Ontario Gananoque ( ) is a town in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville of Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,383 year-round residents in the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Canadian Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred t ...

, on October 28, 2022, at the age of 97.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:South, Larry 1925 births 2022 deaths Canadian Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Toronto Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Toronto 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario