Robert William Macaulay (May 25, 1921 – August 17, 2010) 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 ...

politician.

Background

Macaulay was born in Toronto in 1921 to Hazel and

Leopold Macaulay Leopold Macaulay (25 November 1887 – 24 December 1979) was a Canadian politician and lawyer, born in Peterborough, Ontario. Macaulay was a Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that ...

. His father served as an MPP and a cabinet minister in the government of George Henry in the 1930s. He attended

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

before enlisting in the army 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 ...

where he served with the 48th Highlanders. After the war, he studied 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 ...

and graduated with a degree in law from

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart (architect), John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is n ...

. He was called to the bar in 1948 and worked in the field for over 50 years. He and his wife Joy raised two children.

Politics

Macaulay was elected to 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 ...

as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the

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 ...

riding of Riverdale in the 1951 Ontario election. He was re-elected three times and served for 13 years. In 1958,

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario () is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincia ...

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

appointed him to the cabinet as

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 ...

with responsibilities in the Treasury Board. He was also appointed as a vice-chairman of

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...

. In 1959, he was promoted to the new position of Minister of Energy Resources. When Frost retired, Macaulay ran to succeed him in the 1961 Progressive Conservative leadership convention finishing third on the fifth ballot. The victor,

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

, made Macaulay his Minister of Economics and Development. Macaulay retained his seat in the 1963 Ontario election, but he resigned from cabinet shortly afterwards citing health reasons. He remained in the legislature until May 1964 when he resigned his seat and returned to private life.

Cabinet positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macaulay, Robert 1921 births 2010 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Politicians from Toronto Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario