Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power, (18 January 1888 – 30 May 1968) was a Canadian politician and ice hockey player. Many members of his family, including his father, two brothers, a son and a grandson, all had political careers; two of his brothers also played ice hockey.

Early life

Born in Sillery, Power played ice hockey while studying law. From 1906, he played for the

Quebec Bulldogs The Quebec Bulldogs (french: Bulldogs de Québec) were a men's senior-level ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club (french: Club de hockey de Québec), and later as the Quebec Athletic Club ...

of the

Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) was a men's amateur – later professional – ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with the top clubs from two other leagues: four ...

(ECAHA). A proficient scorer, he scored four goals in one game in 1908 and five goals in a game in 1909.

Military service

Power served overseas in World War I, first as a private in the Westmount Battalion then to

3rd Battalion (Toronto Regiment), CEF The 3rd Battalion (Toronto Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force that saw service in the First World War. It was created on 2 September 1914 with recruits from Toronto, primarily from ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and then as an acting

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

with the

14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment), CEF The 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment), CEF was a battalion of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force. History The 14th Battalion was authorized on 1 September 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 27 and 29 September 1914. ...

. He was wounded during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. He was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during military operations.

Political career

He entered politics in the 1917 federal election in which he was elected as a " Laurier Liberal" during the

Conscription Crisis of 1917 The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (french: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also b ...

. In 1935, Power was appointed minister of pensions and health in the Liberal

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Charles Gavan Power

During World War II, he served as Acting Minister of National Defence (1940) and Minister of National Defence for Air (1940 to 1945) and was responsible for expanding the Royal Canadian Air Force. His opposition to

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

led him to resign from the cabinet during the Conscription Crisis of 1944, after the government passed an Order in Council to send conscripts overseas. Power sat as an " Independent Liberal" for the duration of the war and was re-elected as an Independent Liberal in the 1945 federal election. He then rejoined the party and ran to succeed King in the 1948 Liberal leadership convention but came a poor third. Charles Power retired from the House of Commons in 1955. He was appointed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on 28 July 1955 and served until his death in 1968.(31 May 1968)
Charles G. Power Is Dead at 80; Canadian Legislator 51 Years
'' The New York Times'', p. 29 (paywall)

Family

His father, William Power, was also a Member of Parliament from Quebec, retiring in 1917. His brother

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

was also an ice hockey player. Another brother,

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, was also an ice hockey player, as well as a Liberal member of the

Legislative Assembly of Quebec The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...

. Still another brother, William, became a Liberal member of the Legislative Council of Quebec. His son Frank Power also became a Liberal Member of Parliament, as did his grandson Lawrence Cannon, who also became a Conservative cabinet minister and later as Canadian Ambassador to France.

References

* Power, Charles Gavan, 1888–1968 and Ward, Norman, 1918-1990. ''A party politician: the memoirs of Chubby Power'' / Edited by Norman Ward. Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1966. 419 p. : plates. ; 24 cm.

External links

*
The Canadian Encyclopedia: Charles Gavan Power

Charles Gavan Power fonds
a
Queen's University Archives

Charles Gavan Power fonds
at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Charles Gavan 1888 births 1968 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian senators from Quebec Independent Liberal MPs in Canada Laurier Liberals Lawyers in Quebec Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Quebec City Quebec Bulldogs (NHA) players Quebec people of Irish descent Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Ice hockey people from Quebec City Canadian people of World War II Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Canadian Expeditionary Force officers