Albert Edward Matthews (May 17, 1873 – December 16, 1949) was the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

. Matthews was born in

Lindsay, Ontario Lindsay is a community of 22 367 people (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 census) on the Scugog River in the Kawartha Lakes (Ontario), Kawartha Lakes region of south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately west of Peterborough, Ontario, Peterboro ...

. He worked as an investment broker in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and rose to the position of director of various companies. Matthews served as Ontario's 16th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1937 to 1946. He took office during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

while

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the 20th cent ...

was

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

. Hepburn had come to office promising to show austerity by curtailing the perks and privileges of, among others, the lieutenant-governor.

Chorley Park Government House was the official residence of the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada and Ontario, Canada. Four buildings were used for this purpose, none of which exist today, making Ontario one of four provinces not to have an official vice-reg ...

, the grand official residence of the lieutenant-governor since 1915, was closed in the first year of Matthews' term and its contents auctioned off leaving him with a suite in the legislative buildings for

official functions An official function is either an event, such as a convention, that has an official purpose for one's employment, vocation or profession-whether run by a person, institution or governmental agency-or an official duty. Attending events with officia ...

. As a result, Matthews did less official entertaining during his term in office at Queen's Park quarters than anticipated. He instead hosted royalty and other dignitaries at his Toronto estate. Making many visits to churches, hospitals, military, civic, and government functions in his role as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Matthews brought a steady dignity to his service while in office. Highlights of his tenure include the August 18, 1938, opening with US President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

of the

Thousand Islands Bridge The Thousand Islands International Bridge (french: Pont des Mille-îles) is an American-maintained international bridge system over the Saint Lawrence River connecting northern New York in the United States with southeastern Ontario in Canada. Co ...

, connecting Ontario to New York State. Matthews was also present for the first visit to Canada by a reigning

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...

, King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

, who was accompanied by his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Matthews and Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn officially welcomed the King and Queen to Queen's Park, Toronto, on May 22, 1939. Matthews died in

Windermere, Ontario Windermere is a community on Lake Rosseau, located within and governed by the municipality of Muskoka Lakes The Township of Muskoka Lakes is a municipality of the District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. It has a year-round popula ...

, in 1949 and was buried in

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. It was opened in November 1876 and is located north of Moore Park, a neighbourhood of Toronto. The cemetery has k ...

. In 1960, to commemorate his lifetime of service in the Baptist Church, the Matthews Memorial Tower was built at

McMaster Divinity College McMaster Divinity College, also known as MDC, is a Baptist Christian seminary in Hamilton, Ontario affiliated with McMaster University and the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec ( Canadian Baptist Ministries). The institution's mission is to ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. One of his sons was

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Major General and businessman Bruce Matthews and the other was Paul Matthews, a very successful Toronto stockbroker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Albert Edward 1873 births 1949 deaths Canadian Baptists Lieutenant Governors of Ontario People from Kawartha Lakes