Ernest D'Israeli Smith (December 8, 1853 – October 15, 1948) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

businessman and politician who founded a food company that bears his name.

Life

He was born in the hamlet of Winona, part of Saltfleet Township (which became Stoney Creek) on

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. His wife, Christina Ann Smith, was the first president of the Women’s Institute in Stoney Creek, which was also organized by

Adelaide Hoodless Adelaide Sophia Hoodless (née Addie Hunter; February 27, 1858 – February 26, 1910) was a Canadian educational reformer who founded the international women's organization known as the Women's Institute. She was the second president of the Hamil ...

and

Erland Erland is a Nordic countries, Nordic given name with several possible origins. It is typically believed to come from the Old Norse or , meaning ''foreigner''. Other possible origins are and the Proto-Norse words * (''here'') and * (''noble'', ''i ...

and

Janet Lee Janet Lee (, born October 22, 1976) is a Taiwanese-American retired tennis player. She won three doubles titles during her professional career on the WTA Tour. She competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments in both singles and doubles. Her car ...

. In his mature years, Smith relied on his sons to spearhead new business ventures. An expansion to Britain was foiled by the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and continued fruit sales in Canada were reduced by 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 ...

of the 1930s. Consequently, the company concentrated on tomato production for export since it was more of a staple than fruit. His farms were a place where women worked during the First World War as part of the Women's Work on the Land program. This program brought female university students onto farms during the summer to help with food production.Library and Archives Canada, Lois Allan fonds, MG 30 C 173, volume 1, handwritten page of diary regarding work at the E.D. Smith Jam Factory, summer of 1918, archival reference number R1792-0-2-E
/ref> After the start of the

Second World War 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 ...

, E.D. Smith & Sons Ltd. acquired the Canadian rights to H.P. Sauce Ltd. of Britain and in 1948 the latter's subsidiary Lea & Perrins Ltd. On October 15, 1948, E.D. Smith died. The private company bearing his name was sold to Imperial Capital in 2001. In October 2007 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of

TreeHouse Foods TreeHouse Foods Inc. is a multinational food processing company specializing in producing private label packaged foods headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Created in 2005 and consisting entirely of acquisitions, in 2010 the company had sales ...

, Inc. Its current product line includes jams & spreads, syrups, pie fillings, ketchup, sauces, and salad dressings. The E.D. Smith archives and collection (family and factory) is currently housed in the

Erland Lee Museum The Erland Lee Museum is a National Historic Site of Canada located on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Ontario. Originally a farmhouse belonging to Erland and Janet Lee, the museum is recognized as the birthpla ...

in Stoney Creek

Political career

Smith was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as the Conservative

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 ...

(MP) for Wentworth South in 1900. Under redistribution, four years later Smith was re-elected as MP for the combined constituency of

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

which covered all of

Wentworth County Wentworth County is one of the 141 Cadastral divisions of New South Wales. The Murray River is the boundary to the south, and the Anabranch of the Darling River is the western boundary. It includes the area where the Darling River joins the Mu ...

outside

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. He won a by-election in 1905. Smith 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 ...

in 1913, and served until he resigned in 1946 just two years before his death.

References

External links

*
E. D. Smith Foods, Ltd., corporate siteTreehouse Foods, Inc., corporate site''Agricultural History''
pay-per-read scholarly article {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, E.D. 1853 births 1948 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian senators from Ontario Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario