Colin William George Gibson, (February 16, 1891 – July 3, 1974) was a Canadian politician, land surveyor and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Career

He graduated from the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

in 1911 (cadet # 805), where

Kenneth Stuart Lieutenant-General Kenneth Stuart (September 9, 1891 – November 3, 1945) was a senior Canadian Army officer who saw active service during both the First World War and, later, the Second World War. During the latter conflict, he served as Chief ...

, a future

Commander of the Canadian Army The commander of the Canadian Army (french: commandant de l'Armée canadienne) is the institutional head of the Canadian Army. This appointment also includes the title Chief of the Army Staff (french: links=no, chef de l'état-major de l'Armée) ...

, was a fellow cadet. He served with the Royal Fusiliers of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in 1914 and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1915 where he was a Member of

Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Delt, ADPhi, A-Delt, or ADP, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Alpha Delta Phi was originally founded as a literary society by Samuel Eells in 1832 at Hamilton College in Cli ...

. He was lieutenant-colonel of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry from 1929 to 1934. He practiced law from 1919. He was a founding member of the

ex-cadet club in

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 ...

in 1930. He became

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of Hamilton Garrison from 1935 to 1939. As Member of Parliament for Hamilton West, he was reelected three times from 1940.03.26 to 1950. He was first elected as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Hamilton West in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

, with 55.9% of the vote in a two candidate race. Following his election, he was appointed as

Minister of National Revenue The minister of national revenue (french: ministre du revenu national) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. T ...

(1940.07.08 - 1945.03.07). Near the end of his first term, he was also appointed as the acting and later permanent Minister of National Defence for Air (1945.03.08 - 1946.12.11). He served as Secretary of State (1948.11.15 - 1949.03.31) and (1946.12.12 - 1948.11.14). He was Minister for Mines and Resources (1949.04.01 - 1950.01.17). Following his re-election with 40.2% of the vote (in a three-way, four-party race), he continued as Minister of National Defence for Air (1945.01.11 - 1945.03.07). He was made the Secretary of State for Canada (1948.11.15 - 1949.03.31) and (1946.12.12 - 1948.11.14). Just before the end of his second term, he was moved to the post of

Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (Canada) The minister of natural resources () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). In addition to NRCan, the minister oversees the federal government's natural resources portfolio, ...

(1949.04.01 - 1950.01.17). He continued in this post after he was re-elected in 1949 (with 43.5% of the vote). He resigned from both cabinet and parliament upon his appointment as

Puisne judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

of the

Supreme Court of Ontario The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Created in 1881 pursuant to the Ontario Judicature Act (1881), the Supreme Court of Ontario had two branches: the High Court of Justice Division and the Appell ...

. He died in 1974.

Family

Gibson was the son of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

John Morison Gibson Sir John Morison Gibson (January 1, 1842 – June 3, 1929) was a Canadians, Canadian politician and the List of lieutenant governors of Ontario#Lieutenant Governors of Ontario, 1867-present, tenth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Biography ...

, former

Attorney General of Ontario The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

. His son, Colin D. Gibson, held the riding of Hamilton—Wentworth from 1968 to 1972.

Legacy

The Gibson Medal at the

is awarded to the top graduating student in the Arts Division.

References

Books

*4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976. *H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969. *H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC - A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982 *H16511 Dr. Richard Preston "R.M.C. and Kingston: The effect of imperial and military influences on a Canadian community" 1968 *H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. Royal Military College. ingston The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Colin 1891 births 1974 deaths Canadian Presbyterians Judges in Ontario Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario Royal Military College of Canada alumni Royal Fusiliers officers Canadian military personnel from Ontario British Army personnel of World War I