Ronald Alexander Stewart (April 13, 1927 – January 10, 2022) was a Canadian businessman and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 1988, representing Simcoe South for the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; ) was a Centrism, centre to centre-right List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 unti ...

Early life

Stewart was born in

Beeton Beeton is a small community located in southern Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada between Tottenham and Alliston; all three were amalgamated in 1991 into the single Town of New Tecumseth. Beeton was named for a local apiary. Formerly known as Cl ...

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 ...

, on April 13, 1927. He initially attended

Waterloo College Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

, before dropping out in 1948 to help his father with his wholesale business after his business partner died. Under his direction, Stewart Wholesale Company Limited expanded to five locations. Stewart eventually returned to college – now renamed to Wilfrid Laurier University – in 1977 and graduated with a degree in political science at the age of 50.

Political career

Stewart entered federal politics in 1979, running in the election that year for the

. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, representing the riding of Simcoe South. As an opposition MP following the 1980 election, he served as assistant critic for Small Business and Tourism. He was responsible for tabling the

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

that led to "

O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...

" being officially adopted as the country's national anthem. The bill ultimately became the ''National Anthem Act'' after receiving

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on June 27, 1980, four days before

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

. After the Conservatives regained power in 1984 federal election, Stewart was appointed parliamentary secretary to

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

on November 1 that year. He acted in that capacity until October 1986, when he was made parliamentary secretary to the

Minister of Supply and Services Minister of Supply and Services was an office in the Cabinet of Canada from 1969 to 1996. On July 12, 1996, office of the Minister of Supply and Services and the office of the Minister of Public Works were abolished and replaced with the office of M ...

. During his tenure as an MP, he played a pivotal part in bringing

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

and

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

car plants to his riding, as well as the Mariposa School of Skating. He vigorously opposed a

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

tabled by

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

Svend Robinson Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2004, representing suburban Vancouver-area constituencies in the city of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He was the first ...

in 1986 to allow gay and lesbian Canadians to work in the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

and

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. Stewart was also of the opinion that federally-provided bilingual services were appropriate where numbers warranted. He and

Jack Scowen Jack Douglas Scowen (12 December 1925 – 27 May 2001) was a Progressive Conservative party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Limerick, Saskatchewan and became a farmer and seed grower by career. He narrowly defeat ...

openly disagreed with their party leader, Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

, when the government was supporting efforts to translate

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

provincial legislation into French. Scowen and Stewart believed such efforts for the province's 23,000

Fransaskois Fransaskois (; cf. Québécois), Franco-Saskatchewanais () or Franco-Saskatchewanians are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of Saskatchewan. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, approximately 17,735 residents o ...

would be expensive and unnecessary. Stewart retired from politics in 1988 and did not seek another term in the following federal election.

Personal life

Stewart was married to Emma Stewart (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Wallwin) until his death. Together, they had four children: Donna, Robert, Julie, and Shane. After his political career ended, Stewart returned to the business community. He was a member of the

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...

and was also a director of the

Royal Order of Jesters The Royal Order of Jesters is a masonic male fraternal organization, allowing only Shriners in good standing to join. Admission is by invitation only. Formation The original meeting resulting in the formation of the Order was held on February 2 ...

. Stewart died at his home in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

on January 10, 2022, at the age of 94.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ronald Alexander 1927 births 2022 deaths 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Businesspeople from Simcoe County Politicians from Simcoe County Wilfrid Laurier University alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs People from New Tecumseth