Charles Rhodes Smith (March 20, 1896
– September 30, 1993
) was a politician in
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, Canada. He served in the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...
from 1941 to 1952 as a
Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...
, and was a
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the governments of
Stuart Garson
Stuart Sinclair Garson (December 1, 1898 – May 5, 1977) was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th premier of Manitoba from 1943 to 1948, and later became a Federal cabinet minister.
Life and career
Born in St. Catharine ...
and
Douglas Campbell.
Education and early career
Born in
Portage la Prairie
Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was .
Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
, Manitoba, the son of Richard Henry Smith and Marion Sarah Marshall, Smith was educated at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.[Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...](_blank)
, receiving
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
,
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
and
B.C.L.
Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of University of O ...
degrees. He worked as a barrister, and was also a lecturer at the Manitoba Law School. From 1935 to 1941, he served as an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
in the City of
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
. Smith was also a member of the O.C. 104th Company, and received the rank of Major in 1941. In 1924, he married Luella Gertrude Lick.
In the
1941 provincial election, Smith was a star candidate for the Liberal-Progressives in the
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
constituency.
During this period, Winnipeg elected ten members via a
single transferable ballot
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
. Smith finished third on the first count with 4,955 votes, and was declared elected on the second count following transfers from fellow Liberal-Progressive
J.S. McDiarmid. He served as a government backbencher in the parliament which followed.
Political success
Smith was re-elected in the
1945 provincial election.
He fell to fifth place on the first count, but was elected on the eleventh count following transfers from
Paul Bardal
Paul Bardal (November 5, 1889 in Winnipeg, Manitoba – February 6, 1966) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal-Progressive MLA from 1941 to 1945, and again from 1949 to 1953.
Barda ...
, another Liberal-Progressive. On February 15, 1946, he was appointed
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
in the government of Stuart Garson. When Douglas Campbell became
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
on December 14, 1948, promoted Smith to Minister of Education.
Winnipeg's electoral map was redrawn before the
1949 provincial election, with the single ten-member constituency replaced by three four-member constituencies. Smith ran for re-election in
Winnipeg Centre
Winnipeg Centre (french: Winnipeg-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1925 and since 1997.
History
This riding was originally created in 1914 f ...
, and was elected
on the first count following a first-place finish. On August 16, 1950, he was promoted again to Attorney General of Manitoba.
Despite the party's name, the Liberal-Progressives were further to the right than the other major political parties in Manitoba.
CCF leader
Lloyd Stinson
Lloyd Cleworth Stinson (February 29, 1904 – August 28, 1976) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada, and the leader of that province's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1953 to 1959. Although widely regarded as a capable leader, he ...
once described Smith as "the only genuine liberal in the Campbell cabinet". There are rumours that Smith came within one vote of defeating Campbell to become leader of the Liberal-Progressive Party, at a private caucus vote held in late 1948.
He was considered to be a gentlemanly and dignified figure, and as one of the most intelligent members of the house.
Later career
He resigned from the legislature in 1952 to become chair of the Federal Restrictive Trade Practices Commission. A year later, he was named chair of the Canada Labor Relations Board. In 1963, he was appointed Judge of the
Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba
The Court of King's Bench of Manitoba (french: Cour du Banc du Roi du Manitoba)—or the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, depending on the monarch—is the superior court of the Canadian province of Manitoba.
The court is divided into tw ...
. Named to the
Manitoba Court of Appeal
The Manitoba Court of Appeal (french: Cour d'appel du Manitoba) is the court of appeal in, and the highest court of, the Canadian province of Manitoba. It hears criminal, civil, and family law cases, as well as appeals from various administrative ...
in 1966, he became its
chief justice the following year.
In 1971, he began working on a comprehensive inquiry for the provincial government of
Edward Schreyer
Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation.
Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...
, examining the legal and financial development of the Churchill Forest Industries in
The Pas
The Pas ( ; french: Le Pas) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, located at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provinc ...
.
Later in the decade, he chaired a separate inquiry into flooding policies and aboriginal rights in northern Manitoba.
He died in Winnipeg at the age of 97.
Smith was the father-in-law of
Muriel Smith Muriel Smith may refer to:
* Muriel Smith (politician)
* Muriel Smith (singer)
Muriel Burrell Smith (February 23, 1923 – September 13, 1985) was an American singer. In the 1940s and 1950s, she was a star of musical theater and opera, and w ...
, who was a provincial cabinet minister in the government of
Howard Pawley
Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his t ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles Rhodes
1896 births
1993 deaths
Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs
Judges in Manitoba
Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba