Sidney Earle Smith (9 March 1897 – 17 March 1959) was an academic and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

Early life and education

Born and raised on

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

's Port Hood Island, Smith grew up speaking both English and

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from the

University of King's College The University of King's College is a public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and ...

, followed by an LL.B. from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

.Sidney Smith fonds
Library and Archives Canada

Career

Smith became a lawyer and a professor of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, lecturing at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

and then at

. In 1929, he became dean of Dalhousie's law school. In 1934, he left the Maritimes to become

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

. In 1945, he was appointed the president of 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 ...

. He remained in that role for twelve years, overseeing a major period of the university's expansion.

Politics

A strong Conservative in the

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a Centre-right politics, centre-right or Paternalistic conservatism, paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition. It is most predominant in Canada; however, it is also found in the ...

tradition, Smith became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1956, he was considered a possibility for the party's leadership, but decided not to run, disappointing those in the party establishment who wished to prevent the populist

from becoming leader. After Diefenbaker won a surprise minority government in 1957, Smith was appointed as Secretary of State for External Affairs. Despite Smith's brilliance and popularity in academia, his success in this new role was limited. After holding the position for two years, he died suddenly of a stroke in 1959.

Posthumous recognition

Sidney Smith Hall, the central building of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the

, is named after him.

Election results

References

Martin Friedland, ''The University of Toronto: A History.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

External links

*
Sidney Earle Smith archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management ServicesSidney Earle Smith fonds
s held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sidney 1897 births 1959 deaths Canadian legal scholars Dalhousie University alumni Deans of law schools in Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Members of the United Church of Canada Politicians from Inverness County, Nova Scotia Presidents of the University of Toronto Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Canadian people of Scottish descent University of Manitoba Schulich School of Law alumni Canadian Secretaries of State for External Affairs 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada