Richard Potter (Canadian politician)

Last updated
Richard Thomas Potter
Ontario MPP
In office
1967–1975
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded by Hugh O'Neil
Constituency Quinte
Personal details
Born(1915-01-20)January 20, 1915
Belleville, Ontario
Died February 16, 2009(2009-02-16) (aged 94)
Oakville, Ontario
Political party Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s) Enid Grace Weaver
Children 4 children, Thomas, Frances, Andrew, Karen
Profession Doctor
Portfolio Minister without portfolio, 1971-1972
Military service
Allegiance Canadian
Service/branch Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
Years of service 1939-1945
Rank Lieutenant Colonel

Richard Thomas Potter (January 20, 1915 – February 16, 2009) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1975 who represented the eastern Ontario riding of Quinte. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bill Davis.

Ontario Province of Canada

Ontario is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province accounting for 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is also Ontario's provincial capital.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario political party in Ontario, Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, often shortened to Ontario PC Party, PC, or Conservatives, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Premier Doug Ford since March 10, 2018.

Contents

Background

He was educated locally and attended Queen's University from which institution he graduated as a Physician in 1939. He immediately enlisted as a military medic in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and used his experience and expertise as a doctor to treat soldiers who were injured as a result of battles they fought in Europe. He served in an advance mobile unit to care for the injured of war; at the time of discharge he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. Potter returned to Belleville following his military service and worked as a family doctor and anesthetist. He married Enid Grace Weaver and together they raised four children. [1]

Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps

The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army.

Politics

In 1950 he entered municipal politics when he was elected as Alderman in Belleville and ran for Mayor and was elected to that office in 1951, running on a campaign promise to establish a municipal health unit and expand community facilities. [1]

In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town.

In the 1967 provincial election, Potter ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Quinte. He defeated Ronald Joss of the Liberal party by 4,092 votes. [2] He was re-elected in 1971. [3] In 1971, when Bill Davis became Premier, he appointed Potter to cabinet as a Minister without portfolio. [4] A year later he was promoted to Minister of Health. [5] In 1974 he was shuffled to Minister of Correctional Services. [6]

Bill Davis Canadian politician, former Premier of Ontario

William Grenville "Bill" Davis, is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th Premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was minister of education. He succeeded Robarts as Premier of Ontario and held the position until resigning in 1985.

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authority wherein a minister without portfolio, while he or she may not head any particular office or ministry, still receives a ministerial salary and has the right to cast a vote in cabinet decisions. In some countries where the executive branch is not composed of a coalition of parties and, more often, in countries with purely presidential systems of government, such as the United States, the position of minister without portfolio is uncommon.

Cabinet positions

Ontario Provincial Government of Bill Davis
Cabinet posts (2)
PredecessorOfficeSuccessor
Syl Apps Minister of Correctional Services
1974-1975		 John Smith
Bert Lawrence Minister of Health
1972-1974		 Frank Miller

Later life

He decided to retire from politics at the age of 60 in 1975 having brought some badly needed changes in the health and welfare departments. In 1976 he was appointed as regional coroner which required him to close his private medical practice and serve as a full-time public servant. [7] He died in Oakville, Ontario after he and his wife moved to a nursing home to be closer to their grandchildren. [1]

Oakville, Ontario Town in Ontario, Canada

Oakville is a suburban town in southern Ontario, located in Halton Region on Lake Ontario halfway between Toronto and Hamilton, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of the most densely populated areas of Canada. The 2016 census reported a population of 193,832.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Ellsworth, Barry (February 21, 2009). "Former city mayor dies". Belleville Intelligencer.
  2. ↑ Canadian Press (October 18, 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2.
  3. ↑ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  4. ↑ Manthorpe, Jonathan; Slinger, John (March 2, 1971). "Changes in policies promised: Davis priorities to include environment and jobless". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  5. ↑ "The Cabinet for Ontario". The Globe and Mail. February 3, 1972. p. 4.
  6. ↑ Dunlop, Marilyn (February 27, 1974). "The new cabinet lines up like this". The Toronto Star. p. A3.
  7. ↑ "Second term: Potter is appointed Belleville coroner". The Globe and Mail. September 8, 1976. p. 4.
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