Brian Brooke Claxton (23 August 1898 – 13 June 1960) 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 ...

veteran of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, federal Minister of National Health and Welfare and Minister of National Defence.

Early life

He was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and received his early education at

Lower Canada College Lower Canada College (LCC) is an English-language elementary and secondary level independent school located in Montreal, Quebec. The school offers education from Kindergarten through Grade 11. Students graduate from Grade 11 and then have the o ...

. He was a gifted student and entered

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

in September 1915 after completing grade 11. While at McGill he was a member of the

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which would ...

. After a year at university he left McGill in 1916 and enlisted with the

Victoria Rifles of Canada (For hearth and home) , colors = , colors_label = , march = "Huntsmen's Chorus" and '' Lutzow's Wild Hunt'' , mascot = , equipment = ...

Professional career and achievements

He served overseas with the Royal Canadian Field Artillery on the Western Front, and saw action, which experience marked him profoundly. He was promoted to the rank of Battery Sergeant-Major in the field and was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

. Returning to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

after the War, Claxton completed his course at McGill, graduating with honours in Law. He practised his profession in Montreal. In 1939 he was created a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. He had an academic post at McGill where he was associate professor of commercial law until 1944. Claxton was active in community service. He served as President of the Canadian Club of Montreal, Chairman of the Montreal branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, chairman of the Board of Governors of

from 1925 until 1934, and was a graduate fellow of the Corporation of McGill University. The burgeoning nationalism after World War I led Claxton to become involved in associations such as the Canadian League and the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

Society. He was also an intervenor on behalf of the federal government in the

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these prin ...

issue concerning jurisdiction over

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

broadcasting. He was active in laying the foundations for the establishment of the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...

Political career

His political career began in the general election of 1940 when he was first elected to the House of Commons as Liberal Member for the constituency of St. Lawrence-St. George, Montreal. He was re-elected in 1945 and again in 1949. He was appointed in 1943 as Parliamentary Assistant to the

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 ...

. He served in the federal Liberal cabinets of

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

and Louis St. Laurent. In 1944 he was named the first Minister of the newly created Department of National Health and Welfare (1944–46). He was responsible for the organization of the department and implementation of the administration system for the universal Family Allowances social welfare scheme. In 1946 Claxton became Minister of National Defence in which portfolio he served until 1954. In 1947 he headed the Canadian delegation to the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

Conference on

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

held in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. As vice-chairman of the Cabinet Committee on

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, in 1949 he signed the terms of union on behalf of Canada. He represented Canada at the meetings of the Defence Committee under the

North Atlantic Treaty The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 194 ...

in Washington, D.C.,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. As Minister of National Defence he guided post-war demobilization, helped shape Canadian

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

foreign policy, and presided over Canada's participation in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. In 1947, Claxton reopened RMC as a 3-service cadet college offering a 4-year academic degree. He said, "The role of the officer in modern war can only be properly discharged if they have education and standing in the community comparable to that of any of the other professions as well as high qualities of character and physique." In 1949 he appointed Rear-Admiral

Rollo Mainguy Vice-Admiral Edmond Rollo Mainguy, (11 May 1901 – 29 April 1979) was a senior officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. Naval career Mainguy was born in Victoria, British Columbia, on 11 May 1901. He attended the Royal Naval College of Canada in 19 ...

to head a commission of inquiry into the so-called "mutinees" on several navy ships that year. The Mainguy Report found no sign of

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

subversion, and noted that the sailors involved had some justified grievances.

Family

Claxton's brother-in-law was Second Lieutenant Donaldson Lizars Savage who died on 15 November 1916 at the age of 20. Savage was killed in action in Somme, France the same year he graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada. Savage, who served in the 56th Field Coy, Royal Engineers, informed Claxton about the recruiting (

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

) practises then in place at the RMC. As Minister of National Defence, Claxton gave instructions that abuses would not be tolerated when RMC reopened after the war.

Later life

In 1954 he retired from politics, but continued to play an important role in the creation of the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

. He was just sixty-one when he died. At his death in 1960, The Montreal Gazette wrote that the Honourable Brooke Claxton "faced death … with unbreakable courage." He astounded associates by working hard right to the end and "never relaxing his grip." He was honoured by the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

with the degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

at its Golden Jubilee Convocation in 1959. The Brooke Claxton Building in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, where the Department of Health is based, was named in his honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claxton, Brooke 1898 births 1960 deaths Lawyers from Montreal Canadian Anglicans Canadian legal scholars Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Military personnel from Montreal Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Liberal Party of Canada MPs McGill University alumni McGill University faculty Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Montreal Academics from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Canadian Ministers of Health and Welfare Canadian King's Counsel McGill University Faculty of Law alumni