Joseph Wilfred Spooner (February 8, 1910 – February 14, 2001) was a politician in

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 ...

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 ...

. He was a Progressive Conservative member of 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 ...

from 1955 to 1967 who represented the northern Ontario riding of Cochrane South. He was a cabinet minister in the governments of

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

and

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

. Prior to his provincial role he served as a municipal councillor for Timmins City Council from 1939 to 1951 and then as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Timmins from 1952 to 1955.

Background

Outside politics Spooner was an accountant and worked for an insurance agency serving clients in northeastern Ontario. Spooner was one of the charter members of the Rotary Club of Timmins.

Politics

He was considered an extremely influential voice for Northern Ontario during his time at Queen's Park. He held three different ministerial positions, including serving as Minister of Lands and Forests, Minister of Mines and Minister of Municipal Affairs. As Minister of Mines, he was credited with implementing important health and safety initiatives in response to the dire working conditions in the gold mines in the Kirkland Lake district. As Minister of Lands and Forests, he expanded the provincial park system. He officially opened Cold Creek Conservation Area in 1962.

Cabinet posts

Later life

In 1978, Premier

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 ...

appointed Spooner as the chair of the

Ontario Northland Transportation Commission The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in Northern ...

. In 1987, he received an honorary doctorate from

University of Sudbury The University of Sudbury () is a bilingual and tri-cultural university in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It provides undergraduate programming in both French and English in Religious Studies, Philosophy, Indigenous Studies, and in French in Journali ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spooner, Joseph Wilfred 1910 births 2001 deaths Mayors of Timmins Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario