Charles Drury

Brigadier-General Charles Mills "Bud" Drury, PC OC CBE DSO QC (17 May 1912 – 12 January 1991) was a Canadian military officer, lawyer, civil servant, businessman and politician.[2]

The Honourable Charles Mills Drury
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Saint-Antoine—Westmount
In office 18 June 1962 – 24 June 1968
Preceded by	A. Ross Webster
Succeeded by	District abolished in 1966
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Westmount
In office 25 June 1968 – 26 January 1978
Preceded by	District created in 1966
Succeeded by	Don Johnston
Personal details
Born	17 May 1912 Westmount, Quebec, Canada
Died	12 January 1991 (aged 78)
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Jane Ferrier Counsell[1]
Children	4
Awards	Order of Canada Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	/  Canadian Army
Years of service	1933–1970
Rank	Brigadier-General
Battles/wars	World War II

Early life and education

Born in Westmount, Quebec, he was the elder son of Victor Montague Drury (1884–1962), a prominent businessman who was the son of Major-General Charles William Drury (1856–1913) and the brother-in-law of Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook.[3] He was educated at Selwyn House School and Bishop's College School,[4] and he later attended the Royal Military College of Canada, McGill University (B.C.L., 1936) and the University of Paris.[5]

Career

Drury served in the Canadian military from 1933 to 1936,[6] then he practiced law from 1936 to 1939.[5] During World War II, he was a Canadian Army officer and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in 1945.[6] After the war, he headed the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration mission in Poland from 1945 to 1947.[5]

He then entered the Canadian civil service and was appointed as deputy minister of the Department of National Defence from 1949 to 1955.[6] He spent 1955 to 1962 working on private family business before running for election to the House of Commons of Canada.[5]

Drury was elected as a Liberal party Member of Parliament (MP) for the Montreal riding of Saint-Antoine—Westmount (later Westmount) in the 1962 federal election. He was re-elected in the 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972 and 1974 elections.

He held many ministerial positions in the governments of prime ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, including Defence Production, Industry, Trade and Commerce, Treasury Board, National Defence (acting), Public Works and Finance (acting).[6]

After leaving politics in 1978, Drury became chairman of the National Capital Commission from 1978 to 1984. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1980.[7]

Electoral record (partial)

1974 Canadian federal election: Westmount
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Drury	20,816	57.61
	Progressive Conservative	Michael Meighen	11,575	32.03
	New Democratic	Peter P. Berlow	3,140	8.69
	Social Credit	Joseph Ranger	412	1.14
	Marxist–Leninist	Lawrence Tansey	190	0.53
Total valid votes			36,133	100.00
Total rejected ballots			994
Turnout			37,127	71.96
Electors on the lists			51,592

References

1. BGen Charles Drury, The Canada Veterans Hall of Valour.
2. Charles Mills Drury, The Canadian Encyclopedia.
3. William Fong (24 October 2008). J.W. McConnell: Financier, Philanthropist, Patriot. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-7735-7468-7.
4. Selwyn House School Yearbook 1950
5. "Charles M. Drury" (PDF). Office of Central Reference. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
6. The Hon. Charles Drury, Parliament of Canada biography.
7. Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 3 January 2021.

External links

• Charles Drury – Parliament of Canada biography
• Order of Canada citation
• Charles Mills Drury at The Canadian Encyclopedia