John Palmer MacBeth (November 19, 1921 – March 20, 1991) was a politician in

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. 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 1975 to 1981. He represented the ridings of

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and

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in the west end of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

Background

MacBeth was born in

, the son of John Charles McKay MacBeth and Virginia Maria Palmer. MacBeth served in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

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 ...

from 1943 to 1945 on the corvette 'Orangeville' and attained the rank of Petty Officer. After the war he studied as a lawyer and graduated from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

in 1948. He worked with his father. Their law firm became MacBeth and MacBeth. Later he practiced with a friend from kindergarten Douglas Swinarton Johnson as the law firm MacBeth and Johnson. His other lifelong friend, Andrew Leroy or uncle Wump, was also from kindergarten. He and his wife Ruth raised three children, John, Wendy and Nancy. He enjoyed clothes, cheap cigars and making fires. For years he and Ruth made their own Christmas cards, some needed a box for mailing. Fascinated as a boy by 'Mutiny on the Bounty', late in life he saw Pitcairn Island. Every day he read from the Bible. The kilt of his ancestors who came to the Red River settlement in 1812 was worn for Christmas family gatherings. Community involvement ranged from the Kiwanis club of the Kingsway, to Masons lodge 655, to president of the Ontario Cancer Society.

Politics

He was the last reeve of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

from 1963 to 1966 and was also chairman of the Etobicoke board of education. He had served on the Etobicoke Hydro commission as well. In the 1971 provincial election he ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of

. He defeated

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 ...

candidate Dave Rattray by 14,180 votes. He was re-elected in 1975 in the riding of

defeating Liberal candidate Alex Marchetti. He was re-elected in 1977. MacBeth was appointed to cabinet On June 1, 1974 as

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

to replace Fern Guindon who was seeking Federal office. In October 1975 he was promoted to Provincial Secretary for Justice and Solicitor General. In 1977, he briefly held the position of Minister of Correctional Services after

Arthur Meen Arthur Kenneth Meen (March 17, 1924 – March 2, 2008) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1977 who represented the Toronto riding of York East. He ...

retired from office. MacBeth said that one of his best accomplishments was passing a Sunday closing law in Ontario. He said, "I still get letters from people who are thankful that they do not have to work on those days." The legislation proved to be unwieldy and was eventually repealed in 1992. He retired from politics in 1981.

Cabinet positions

Later life

After retiring from politics, he was appointed vice-chairman of the

Ontario Police Commission The Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC; French: ''Commission civile de l’Ontario sur la police''), previously known as the Ontario Police Commission and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services, is an independent quasi-judicial ...

which he held until 1987. He died while vacationing in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

after achieving a life goal to see all 50 states (Texas was the last) and is buried by his parents and youngest daughter with his wife at

Park Lawn Cemetery Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacBeth, John Palmer 1921 births 1991 deaths Military personnel from Toronto Mayors of Etobicoke Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Metropolitan Toronto councillors Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II Royal Canadian Navy personnel