Francis William Maine (15 September 1937 – 29 September 2018) was a Canadian
chemical engineer, a
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...
,
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
, and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who was a member of the
Liberal Party of Canada. He was his party's representative in the
House of Commons of Canada. Along with serving as a Member of Parliament, Maine served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of State for Science and Technology.
Maine immigrated to Canada from England at the age of 10, and studied Engineering Chemistry at
Queen's University. Awarded an
Athlone Fellowship, he studied Chemistry at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
, earning his PhD. While at Cambridge, Maine earned his Blue as captain of the University of Cambridge Judo team, also competing for Britain. Upon returning to Canada, he worked as a polymer chemist, and became head of Reinforced Plastics R&D at Fibreglass Canada.
He was elected at the
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
riding in
the
1974 general election, serving in the
30th Canadian Parliament
The 30th Canadian Parliament was in session from September 30, 1974, until March 26, 1979. The membership was set by the 1974 election on July 8, 1974, and was only changed somewhat due to resignations and by-elections before it was dissolved pr ...
. A key issue for Maine was the role science and innovation policy could play in building Canada’s knowledge economy. Following realignment of ridings, Maine was defeated at the
Guelph electoral district in the
1979 federal election by
Albert Fish of the
Progressive Conservative party. Maine ran for federal Parliament again at the
Guelph—Wellington riding, this time as an independent candidate in the
1993 election, but was defeated.
After politics, Maine returned to plastics and composites R&D, but this time as a scientist-entrepreneur. He co-invented and commercialized oriented polymer products.
He also served on the Science Council of Canada.
He died on Sept 29, 2018 in Guelph, leaving behind his wife of nearly 60 years, Mary-Eva Maine, 4 children, and 6 grandchildren.
His daughter is academic
Elicia Maine. His granddaughter is cyclist
Katherine Maine.
References
https://www.lipad.ca/members/record/a181579e-08c7-4a7c-8b99-f2e691029d3d/1/
External links
*
1937 births
2018 deaths
Canadian chemists
Engineers from Ontario
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Canadian chemical engineers
20th-century Canadian engineers
21st-century Canadian engineers
People from Hayes, Bromley
Scientists from Ontario
20th-century Canadian scientists
21st-century Canadian scientists
20th-century chemists
21st-century chemists
English emigrants to Canada
{{Liberal-Ontario-MP-stub