Robert Wellington Mayhew, (October 13, 1880 – July 28, 1971) 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 and diplomat. Born in

Cobden, Ontario Cobden is a small community in the Township of Whitewater Region, in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located northwest of Ottawa, and roughly halfway between Renfrew and Pembroke on Highway 17. History The area around Cobden was o ...

, the son of Charles Mayhew and Sarah Dunlop Mayhew, he founded the Sidney Roofing and Paper Co. Ltd. in 1912 which became one of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

's largest businesses. 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 ...

for the riding of

in a 1937

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. 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 ...

, he was re-elected in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, and

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. From 1945 to 1948, he was the

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 ...

to the Minister of Finance. From 1948 to 1952, he was the Minister of Fisheries. From 1952 to 1954, he was the first Canadian Ambassador to Japan. In 1951, in San Francisco, along with

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

, he signed, on behalf of Canada, the Peace Treaty with Japan. In 1966, he was awarded the City of Victoria's Freedom of the City, the highest award given by the city, for "eminent public service". He married Grace Logan in 1908 and had three children. His only daughter, Jean Edwards Mayhew, married to James Alexander Lawrason, died January 5, 2006, in

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

. His son Alan married Canadian sculptor

Elza Mayhew Elza Edith Mayhew (January 19, 1916 – January 11, 2004) was a Canadian sculptor who worked mainly in bronze. Life The daughter of Alice Bordman and George Lovitt, She was born Elza Edith Lovitt in Victoria, British Columbia. Mayhew recei ...

; he died in 1943 while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force when his plane went down in a hurricane.

References

External links

*
Robert Wellington Mayhew fonds
at University of Victoria, Special Collections
Robert Mayhew shot and killed a man
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayhew, Robert 1880 births 1971 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Renfrew County Ambassadors of Canada to Japan 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada