Norman Otto Hipel (March 21, 1890 – February 16, 1953) 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, noted for his service 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 ...

for Ontario in the cabinet of

Mitchell Hepburn Mitchell Frederick Hepburn (August 12, 1896 – January 5, 1953) was the 11th premier of Ontario, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37. He was the only Ontario Liberal Party leader in the 20th cent ...

. He served as MLA for

Waterloo South Waterloo South was a federal electoral district and a provincial electoral district in Canada. Federally, it was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the Bri ...

Personal background and career

Hipel was born in rural Waterloo Township,

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 ...

near

Breslau, Ontario Breslau is a community located within the township of Woolwich, part of the Waterloo Regional Municipality in Ontario Canada. Separated from the city of Kitchener by the Grand River, Breslau is named after the former German city of Breslau, now ...

on 21 March 1890, to parents Henry Hipel and Louisa Pelz. He received formal education at the Riverbank School and the Breslau Public School, but he left school early to help support his family, and began work as a store clerk in a

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

dry goods store. He returned home in 1906 to learn carpentry from his father, and by 1911 had become a building contractor and, in 1913, he moved to

Preston, Ontario Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to 1973 it was an independent town, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the city of Galt, Ontario ...

, and in 1920 started his own construction company, N. O. Hipel Ltd, with ten employees, five

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s and a portable

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

. The company specialized in buildings that required large, uninterrupted floor space. In 1928 his company developed patents on barn and skating rink construction, and built a large number of arenas including the Hespeler Memorial Arena erected in 1947. Hipel was a member of the Preston Board of Trade, the Ontario Club and was a president and director of the South Waterloo Agricultural Society. He was also a director on the Waterloo County Health Association board, and at the time of his death was also the Preston representative for the South Waterloo Memorial Hospital, now known as the Cambridge Memorial Hospital.

Politics

Hipel began his political career in 1921 when he ran for and was elected to the Preston town council. In 1922 he became the town's reeve, and served as mayor in 1923 and 1924. In 1930 he ran successfully as the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

candidate to represent Waterloo South in 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 ...

, and was re-elected in 1934. He served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

from 1935 to 1938, and was chosen to represent Ontario at the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. ...

in 1937. In 1938 Hipel was appointed Minister of Labour for Ontario in the cabinet of Mitchell Hepburn. As Minister of Labour, he organized the Farm Service Force to help in the harvesting of crops 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 ...

, and in 1939 he opened the Aircraft Mechanics Training School in Galt, where thousands were trained in radio operation and aircraft maintenance for the war effort. With help from the federal government, he also organized the War Emergency Training Program, providing education in manufacturing skilled required in the production of war materials. Hipel also served as Ontario Minister of Lands and Forests in 1941 and 1943. In this position, Hipel set aside forest lands and established a school at Dorset for the training of

forest rangers ''The Forest Rangers'' is a Canadian television series that ran from 1963 to 1965. It was a co-production between CBC Television and ITC Entertainment and was Canada's first television show produced in colour. Executive producer Maxine Samuel ...

. He also authorized the first large scale conservation project, known as the Ganaraska watershed area. In 1942 and 1943 he served as

Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario The Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario was a senior position in the provincial cabinet of Ontario from before Canadian Confederation until the 1960s. The Provincial Secretary and Registrar was originally the second highest position in ...

, and was elected President of the Ontario Liberal Association in 1947. Hipel ran unsuccessfully in the 1948. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1950 receiving only 12 votes on the first ballot.

External links and references

*
City of Cambridge Hall of Fame
Norman O. Hipel. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hipel, Norman 1890 births 1953 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Provincial Secretaries of Ontario Mayors of places in Ontario People from the Regional Municipality of Waterloo