Alfred Wallace Downer (May 1, 1904 – August 3, 1994) was a Canadian politician and longtime member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Background

Downer was born near Penetanguishene in Simcoe County, Ontario. He was educated at Cookstown Continuation School, Alliston High School, the University of Toronto and Wycliffe College. After completing his schooling, he was ordained an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest. He was a vicar and then a canon in the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...

and a member of the Conservative Party.

Politics

He ran unsuccessfully in the provincial riding of Wellington Northeast in 1929 and then was first elected to the legislature as the member for Dufferin—Simcoe in the

1937 election The following elections occurred in the year 1937. Asia * 1937 Philippine local elections * 1937 Iranian legislative election * 1937 Soviet Union legislative election India * 1937 Indian provincial elections * 1937 Madras Presidency legislative ...

. He served as

Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of P ...

until 1975,Alfred Downer's parliamentary history, Ontario Legislature
/ref> winning a provincial record of ten consecutive elections. While an elected MPP, he also served in the military during World War II, serving as chaplain of the Queen's York Rangers in North Africa and Europe. From 1955 until 1959, he served as Speaker of the legislative assembly. He also served as a liquor control commissioner beginning in 1960. Downer was a candidate in the 1961 PC leadership convention, but was eliminated on the third ballot. Downer had expected to run in the 1975 election and had expected to win his party's nomination by acclamation but was upset by another candidate, George McCague, at the Progressive Conservative nomination meeting. In 1994, Downer died at the age of 90. in Collingwood, Ontario.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, Alfred 1904 births 1994 deaths Canadian Anglican priests Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs World War II chaplains