John Reginald Rhodes (September 26, 1929 – September 25, 1978) was a broadcaster and politician from

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario 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 ...

from 1971 to 1978. He died while still in office on a trip to the Middle East in 1978.

Background

Rhodes was born in

, the son of John Francis Rhodes, and educated there. In 1955, he married Vivian Louise Shook. Rhodes was a popular radio and television personality on CJIC in the 1960s.

Politics

Rhodes was elected to

Sault Ste. Marie City Council The Corporation of the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario is run by a city council of 10 Councillors, representing five Ward (electoral subdivision), wards, and a mayor. Prior to the 2018 Ontario municipal elections, 2018 m ...

, and was mayor from 1969 to 1971. Rhodes was elected as an

MPP MPP or M.P.P. may refer to: * Marginal physical product * Master of Public Policy, an academic degree * Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa * ''Merriweather Post Pavilion ...

in the 1971 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Sault Ste. Marie. served in the

. In 1974 he was appointed to cabinet as the Transportation and Communications. As Minister of Transportation he opposed a seat belt law and helmets for moped drivers. As minister he allowed the paving of the

Spadina Expressway William R. Allen Road, also known as Allen Road, the Allen Expressway and colloquially as the Allen, is a short expressway and arterial road in Toronto. It starts as a controlled-access expressway at Eglinton Avenue West, heading north to just ...

from Lawrence to Eglinton. In October 1975 he was shuffled to the Minister of Housing. In January 1978 he was moved to the Minister of Industry and Tourism. He died in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1978. He had just arrived from

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, after attending trade talks when he experienced a massive heart attack. He was 48 years old. Both opposition leaders lauded Rhodes after learning of his death. Liberal Stuart Smith called Rhodes "one of the ablest and warmly human members." New Democrat Michael Cassidy said, he was an "engaging fellow who played the political game with an enormous amount of gusto. He enjoyed respect from all sides of the house."

Cabinet positions

Legacy

He was named posthumously to the

Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame The Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame is a series of markers located throughout downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The Walk of Fame is a joint project between the city of Sault Ste. Marie and its Downtown Association ...

in September 2007."4 added to Walk of Fame"
''

Sault Star ''The Sault Star'' is a Canadian broadsheet daily newspaper based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It is owned by Postmedia. In 2015, the newspaper had a daily paid circulation of 7,577 weekdays and 7,763 on Saturdays. Its total circulation includi ...

'', June 2010.The John Rhodes Community Centre
in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario was also named after him. The John Rhodes Community Centre is a facility for hosting sporting events and other tourism related activities. Algoma University also presents an annual

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

named in Rhodes' memory. In 1981, the John. R. Rhodes Driver Examination Centre in Malton, Ontario was opened. It was demolished in 2004 and moved to nearby Brampton, Ontario.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, John 1929 births 1978 deaths Mayors of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs