John Alexander (Pete) Robertson (October 6, 1913 – February 19, 1965) was a Canadian politician who served as a member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

. Robertson was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta and worked as a grocery store manager in the 1930s. During

World War II 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 ...

, he served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

as a member of the

Canadian Provost Corps The Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) was the military police corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Provost Corps was authorized on 15 June 1940. The Canadian Provost Corps was amalgamated with the police forces of the Royal Canadian Navy and R ...

as a corporal and then acting

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. He was a freight train conductor for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

at the time of his surprise appointment by Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

to the Senate in 1962."Comings and Goings", ''Globe and Mail'', December 3, 1962 He was told of his appointment while in a

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

Ignace, Ontario Ignace is a township in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located at Highway 17 (Trans Canada Highway) and Secondary Highway 599, and on the Canadian Pacific Railway between Thunder Bay and Kenora. It is on the shore of Agi ...

."Senator told of appointment in CPR caboose", ''Globe and Mail'', February 22, 1965 Earlier he had been the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of

Kenora—Rainy River Kenora—Rainy River was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 2004. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Fort William and Rainy River and Por ...

in the 1958 federal election, but was defeated by 183 votes. He also ran for the

Ontario legislature The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

in a 1962

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the riding of

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

, but was again defeated. He died of a heart attack at the age of 51 while in office.

References

External links

* 1913 births 1965 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidates in Ontario provincial elections Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1958 Canadian federal election Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army soldiers {{Ontario-politician-stub