Edwin A. Goodman, (1918 – August 23, 2006) 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 ...

lawyer and political figure. Goodman graduated from Toronto's

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

in 1947 and was one of the founding partners of

Goodmans LLP Goodmans LLP is a Canadian corporate law firm. First established in Toronto in 1917 by David Bertram Goodman, Goodmans LLP now has approximately 200 lawyers. The firm acts for Canada's largest corporations, financial institutions and multinatio ...

, a

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 ...

law firm as well as a life bencher of the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

. He is best known, however, for his political work as an advisor and fundraiser for both the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

and particularly the

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

, having been a friend and advisor to both

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 ...

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Roba ...

and Premier

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

. He has served as the national chair of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and as vice-president of both the Ontario and federal Progressive Conservative Party. Goodman was also active in charity work as honorary president of

Scouts Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the Frenc ...

and as a director for various bodies such as the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and Princess Margaret Hospital. He was also chairman of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

for six years. He was considered a

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...

and was part of the circle known as the

Big Blue Machine The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political p ...

that helped keep the Ontario Tories in power under Robarts and Davis. He once ran for public office losing to Communist

J.B. Salsberg Joseph Baruch (J.B.) Salsberg (November 5, 1902 – February 8, 1998) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Labor-Progressive Party, Labor-Progressive member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1943 to 1955 who represented the ridi ...

of the

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal Front organization, front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 Canadian federal election, 1940 federal elect ...

after World War II. In April 1975 his daughter Joanne Goodman was killed in a highway accident. He named a lecture series at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

which every year invites a history to give a series of lectures to the University community In 1992, Goodman was named to the

Security Intelligence Review Committee The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC; french: Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignement de sécurité) was a committee of Privy Councillors that was empowered to serve as an independent oversight and review body for the o ...

and was appointed to the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

. His autobiography, ''The Life of the Party'', was published in 1988. He is also an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. Goodman died following a heart attack.

References

*Rob Feguson
`Patriot and philanthropist' Toronto lawyer was Tory stalwart Received Order of Canada in 1983
''Toronto Star'', August 24, 2006

External links

Order of Canada Citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Edwin A. 1918 births 2006 deaths Jewish Canadian politicians Lawyers in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Canadian political consultants Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Royal Ontario Museum Osgoode Hall Law School alumni