George Sharratt Pearson (April 27, 1880 – August 24, 1966) 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 ...

politician in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented the ridings of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

from 1928 to 1933,

Alberni-Nanaimo Alberni-Nanaimo was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia which was used only in the general elections of 1933 and 1937. For other current and historical ridings on Vancouver Island, please see Vancouver Isla ...

from 1933 to 1941 and

Nanaimo and the Islands Nanaimo is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. Demographics Geography The riding contains most of the city of Nanaimo plus the uninhabited Five Finger Island, Snake Island and Hu ...

from 1941 to 1952 in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

as a

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 ...

. He was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

in 1880, the son of Joseph Dudley Pearson and Emma Sharratt. Pearson came to Canada in 1889; he was educated in

Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

. In 1904, Pearson married Emmeline Pearce. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Labour and Commissioner of Fisheries. Pearson was president of the Nanaimo General Hospital. From 1941 to 1952, he was a member of a Liberal-Conservative coalition in the provincial assembly. Pearson died in Nanaimo at the age of 86 in 1966. In 1942 Pearson was a powerful political leader who adamantly advocated for the entire Japanese population to be driven out of British Columbia, in spite of military, navy and RCMP assertion, that they posed no threat. According to Canadian lawyer Mark Sakamoto, “B.C.politicians took the floor. They were led by George Pearson, B.C.’s minister of labour. He was half mad with rage. His position was that the entire Japanese population could not be trusted and he sought a final solution for his province: drive them all out.” The George Pearson Centre of the Vancouver Hospital, originally known as the Pearson Tuberculosis Hospital, was named in his honour. The Pearson Bridge and Pearson Park in Nanaimo and the retired BC ferry MV George S. Pearson were also named after Pearson. On September 14, 2021, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority announced that they would be renaming the George Pearson Centre due to his history of lobbying against the rights and freedoms of Japanese Canadians in the 1940s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, George S 1880 births 1966 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs