Gordon Carton | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1963–1975 | |
| Preceded by | New riding |
| Succeeded by | Phil Givens |
| Constituency | Armourdale |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 14,1921 |
| Died | April 6,2017 (aged 95) |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse | Marjorie Davis |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Mississauga,Ontario,Canada |
| Occupation | Business executive |
Gordon Robert Carton (July 14,1921 - April 6,2017) was a Canadian politician from Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1975 who represented the riding of Armourdale. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bill Davis. [1]
Carton was born in Toronto,Ontario in 1921. His parents were Arthur Carton and Lucinda Bain. He was educated at Victoria College where he received a degree in 1946. He went to Osgoode Hall Law School and graduated in 1949. He worked as a lawyer before entering politics. He married Marjorie Davis. Together they raised two daughters Heather and Janice. [2]
Carton was active in politics his teen years. His first political effort was campaigning on behalf of the first Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MP elected in Ontario,Joe Noseworthy,in 1942.
He was elected in the 1963 provincial election in the new riding of Armourdale where he defeated Liberal candidate Allan Hollingworth. [3] He was re-elected in the general elections in 1967 [4] and 1971. [5]
During his first term as an MPP,Carton criticized the policies of his own government when it came to treating property owners adjacent to new or expanded highways. [6] As a result of an extremely controversial speech he gave in the Ontario Legislature,the government reversed its policies and began to offer compensation to property owners adversely affected by highway construction. [7] Carton supported Bill Davis for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in January 1971. [8]
After Davis won the leadership,he appointed Carton as the Minister of Labour from March 1,1971. [9] He served briefly for two months as Minister of Financial and Commercial Affairs after Arthur Wishart. [10] On February 2,1972 he was appointed as the Minister of Transportation and Communications. [11] On February 27,1974,Davis shuffled his Cabinet and Carton was removed from the Transportation portfolio and not given another post. Some argued that this was due to a difference of opinion between Davis and Carton regarding the construction of new expressways in Ontario. [12]
He decided to retire before the 1975 election.
In 1975,Carton became the Vice-President of Silverwood Dairies Ltd.,which later became Silcorp Ltd. In that role,he oversaw the introduction of Baskin-Robbins ice cream to Canada. He created an organization called the Ideal Advisory Board and in 2009 he was appointed to an advisory board for Connexall,a global communications company. [13]
