John Keith McBroom Laird (12 January 1907 – 12 November 1985) was a Canadian

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

. He was a member of the

Canadian Liberal Party The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

, a well-known

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, and a law partner of

Paul Martin, Sr. Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin (June 23, 1903 – September 14, 1992), often referred to as Paul Martin Sr., was a noted Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the father of Paul Martin, who served as 26th prime minister of ...

, who was the father of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

. He served as

Senator 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 ...

for Windsor, Ontario in the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

from 6 April 1967 until 12 January 1982.

Personal life

Laird was born in Blenheim,

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 ...

, Canada.

Political relatives

Sir Alexander Stevenson Sir Alexander Stewart Stevenson (9 April 1860 – 24 May 1936) was a Scottish councillor and a lay preacher. Life Alexander Stevenson was born on 9 April 1860 at Dalry, Ayrshire, Scotland. His family moved and he was educated at Grange School, ...

(1860–1936)

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Lord Provost - 1st cousin, twice removed * Lord James Stevenson (1873–1926) Member of

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

- 2nd cousin, once removed *

Stewart Stevenson James Alexander Stewart Stevenson (''Gaelic: Seamus Alasdair Stiùbhart MacSteafain''; born 15 October 1946) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and Minister for En ...

(born 1946) Member of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

- 3rd cousin

External links

* 1907 births 1985 deaths Canadian senators from Ontario Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada senators Politicians from Chatham-Kent 20th-century Canadian lawyers {{Ontario-politician-stub