Russell Daniel Rowe (December 1, 1914 – September 21, 1994) 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 who served as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario () is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Notable elections 1920 Nelson Parliament was a Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal representing Prince Edw ...

from 1974 to 1977.

Background

Born in

Campbellford, Ontario Campbellford is an unincorporated place and former town in Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada, in the township municipality of Trent Hills. It lies approximately midway between Toronto and Ottawa. It is situated on both the Trent-Sever ...

, the son of Harold Rowe and Elizabeth Jane Roe, he was educated at Campbellford High School and Queen's University. Rowe served as a pilot in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

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 ...

. After leaving the military he worked as a teacher and stockbroker. He married Marjorie Emma McKeown in 1942 and they had six children. Rowe died at home in Cobourg, Ontario.

Politics

Rowe 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 ...

in the 1963 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

riding. He was appointed Deputy Speaker in 1971 by

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 ...

and also chaired the select committee on economic and cultural nationalism in Canada. In 1974, he was appointed Speaker after Allan Reuter was forced to resign due to poor health. It was during Rowe's term that the Speaker was given the added responsibility of administering the staff and operations of the legislative buildings and grounds. The 1975 provincial election produced Ontario's first

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

in thirty years presenting Rowe with a challenging and rowdy session. He was a popular speaker, however, considered "sweet-tempered" by MPPs on both sides of the House. Rowe was appointed to a third term as Speaker following the 1977 election (which produced a second minority) but resigned shortly into the session to resume his seat on the

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 ...

. He retired from politics before the 1981 general election. In 1983, he was named to the

Liquor Control Board of Ontario The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO, ) is a Crown agency that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It wa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Russell 1914 births 1994 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario