William Ross Macdonald
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The Honourable William Ross Macdonald, P.C., O.C., CD, QC (December 25 1891 - May 28 1976), served as the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1968 to 1974, and as Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1949 to 1953.
Early life
Macdonald was born in Toronto, Ontario, to a dry goods merchant who had immigrated from Scotland. He went on to study law at the University of Toronto and the Osgoode Hall. Upon completion, he practised law in Brantford, Ontario, and served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the First World War.
In 1921, Macdonald married Muriel Whittaker.
Political career
Macdonald sought Liberal Party nomination to run for election to the Canadian House of Commons for the 1926 election, but lost the nomination by a single vote. He won the nomination for the Brantford riding in the next election, but lost the election. Macdonald was elected in the 1935 election|1935. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) until 1953.
During World War II, Macdonald was a staunch supporter of conscription. After the war, he served as Deputy Speaker (1945-1949) and then as Speaker of the House of Commons (1949-1953).
In 1953, the Prime Minister, Louis St. Laurent, appointed Macdonald to the Canadian Senate, where he became Leader of the Government in the Canadian Senate and a minister without portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. From 1954 until the Liberal government's defeat in the 1957 election, Macdonald seved as Solicitor General of Canada.
With the defeat of the Liberals, he became Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate, and served again as Government Leader when the Liberals returned to power in 1963. He retired from the Cabinet in 1964.
Lester Pearson appointed Macdonald to serve as Lieutenant Governor from 1968 to 1974. In this role, he was involved with many service groups, such as the Canadian Order of Foresters and the Kiwanis Club.
In 1974, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. The Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford was renamed the W. Ross Macdonald School in his honour.
He died in Toronto in 1976.
| Preceded by: Gaspard Fauteux | Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons 1949–1953 | Succeeded by: Louis-René Beaudoin |
| Preceded by: William Earl Rowe | Lieutenant Governor of Ontario 1968–1974 | Succeeded by: Pauline Mills McGibbon |