Gordon Carton

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]

Gordon Carton
Ontario MPP
In office
1963–1975
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byPhil Givens
ConstituencyArmourdale
Personal details
Born(1921-07-14)July 14, 1921
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedApril 6, 2017(2017-04-06) (aged 95)
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouse(s)Marjorie Davis
Children2
ResidenceMississauga, Ontario, Canada
OccupationBusiness executive

Background

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]

Politics

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 Canada, 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.

Cabinet posts
Ontario provincial government of Bill Davis
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Charles MacNaughton Minister of Transportation and Communications
1972–1974		 John Rhodes
Arthur Wishart Minister of Financial and Commercial Affairs
December 1971 – February 1972		 Eric Winkler
Dalton Bales Minister of Labour
1971–1972		 Fern Guindon

Later life

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]

References
  1. "Gordon Robert Carton, QC". R. S. Kane Funeral Home. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. Keiran Simpson, ed. (1985). Canadian Who's Who. University of Toronto Press. p. 200.
  3. Canadian Press (September 26, 1963). "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 25. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  4. Canadian Press (October 18, 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  5. "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  6. "PC Charges Province Robbing Homeowners In Widening of 401". The Globe and Mail. March 18, 1964. p. 23.
  7. "Queen's Park Will Buy Homes Within 50 Feet Of Widened No. 401". The Globe and Mail. May 26, 1964. p. 1.
  8. "Survey of Tory MPPs finds 23 who favor Davis for leadership". The Globe and Mail. December 11, 1970. p. 1.
  9. Manthorpe, Jonathan; Slinger, John (March 2, 1971). "Changes in policies promised: Davis priorities to include environment and jobless". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  10. "Labor Minister assumes second Cabinet post on temporary basis". The Globe and Mail. December 9, 1971. p. 9.
  11. "The Cabinet for Ontario". The Globe and Mail. February 3, 1972. p. 4.
  12. "An encouraging alignment". The Globe and Mail. February 27, 1974. p. 6.
  13. "Connexall Appoints Advisory Board". Ottawa, Ontario: Canada NewsWire. October 16, 2009.
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