Thomas Laird Kennedy (August 15, 1878 – February 13, 1959) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, and served briefly as the 15th

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 ...

, from 1948 to 1949. He was first elected as the Conservative member for Peel in the 1919 provincial election, after serving in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the Canadian Cyclist Battalion. He had been a longtime resident of Streetsville (now part of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

), Ontario, where he was master of River Park

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

in 1908 and 1909. Kennedy was first appointed Minister of Agriculture in 1930 by Premier

Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to ...

and continued in the position under Premier George S. Henry until the Conservative government's defeat in the 1934 provincial election. Kennedy was a casualty in the election losing his seat to the landslide that elected the government of Liberal Mitchell Hepburn. Kennedy returned to the legislature in the 1937 election and returned to government when the newly renamed Progressive Conservatives won the 1943 election. The new premier, George Drew, returned Kennedy to the position of Minister of Agriculture he had held a decade previously. Drew moved to federal politics in 1948 after losing his own seat in the 1948 provincial election which, nevertheless, re-elected the Tory government. Following Drew's departure, Kennedy was named interim leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and thus also

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

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 ...

. He remained so for seven months until the party could hold its April 27, 1949 leadership convention. The convention elected Leslie Frost as the new party leader, who succeeded Kennedy as Premier on May 4, 1949. Kennedy remained as Agriculture Minister until 1953, when he stepped down from Cabinet at the age of 75. He remained a member of the legislature until his death in 1959.

Legacy

Thomas L. Kennedy Secondary School in

, which first opened to students in 1953, was named in his honour. It is the oldest school of its kind in the city that is still in operation. Tomken Road is named after him, in the form of a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

. There is no evidence that Kennedy Road in Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon is named for him. Rather it is believed to be named for a family that lived on the route. Kennedy is related to the Kennedy settlers in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Township, for whom (namely James Kennedy) Kennedy Road in eastern Toronto and

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...

is named. His nephew Douglas Kennedy was a Tory MPP from 1967 to 1985.

References

External links

*
Thomas Laird Kennedy fonds
Archives of Ontario {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Thomas Laird 1878 births 1959 deaths Canadian Anglicans Premiers of Ontario Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario