Fletcher Stewart Thomas

Fletcher Stewart Pickering "Tommy" Thomas (June 7, 1897 – November 9, 1957) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1945 to 1957 who represented the central Ontario riding of Elgin. He served as a cabinet minister under Leslie Frost, holding two successive positions between 1951 and 1956.

Tommy Thomas
Ontario MPP
In office
June 4, 1945 – November 9, 1957
Preceded byMitchell Hepburn
Succeeded byRon McNeil
ConstituencyElgin
Personal details
Born(1897-06-07)June 7, 1897
Toronto Township, Ontario, Canada
DiedNovember 9, 1957(1957-11-09) (aged 60)
St Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Resting placeElmdale Memorial Park Cemetery
CitizenshipCanadian
Political partyProgressive Conservative
SpouseMyrtle Symes
ChildrenPatricia, Carolyn, Shirley and Robert
Alma materOntario Agricultural College
OccupationAgricultural agent
Military service
AllegianceCanadian
Branch/serviceCanadian Field Artillery
Years of service1916–1919
RankGunner
Unit56th Battery
Battles/warsWorld War I, North Russia Intervention

Background

Born in 1897 in Toronto Township, Ontario to Joseph P. Thomas and Maggie Stewart,[1] Thomas and his mother moved to Streetsville nine years later following the death of his father.[2]

In 1915, he enrolled at the Ontario Agricultural College,[2] but put his studies on hold in 1916 to enlist as a gunner in the Canadian Field Artillery.[3] He served in France and was also one of the "Polar Bears" in the North Russia Intervention before being discharged in 1919.[4][5]

Returning to OAC, he graduated in 1922 and became an agricultural agent working in Grey County, Port Arthur and Elgin County (serving in the last area for 19 years).[2] He became a farmer in Elgin County in 1935, specializing in tobacco and apples.[4] In 1940, he was instrumental in organizing the first International Plowing Match to be held there.[2][6]

He died in 1957. He is buried in Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery.[7]

Politics

In the 1945 Ontario election, Thomas ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Elgin, defeating Mitchell Hepburn. Modest in victory, he said in his acceptance speech, "I am no wonder boy, and I repeat, I don't crave publicity. My ambition now is to be a good member for Elgin and to spend the rest of my time looking after my farm."[5]

He would later be reelected in the 1948, 1951 and 1955 elections.[8][9][10]

In 1951, he was appointed as Minister of Public Works in the government of Leslie Frost, where he was in charge of coordinating the province's conservation projects.[4] In 1953 he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture. As Ministers of Agriculture, he led the organization of the first cooperative marketing schemes for fruit and tobacco growers.[11] He also went to the Supreme Court of Canada in order to clarify the status of Ontario's agricultural marketing legislation.[12] He resigned from his role as Minister in 1956 because of ill health, but continued to serve in the Legislature.[13]

On his death in 1957, Leslie Frost said in tribute, "In both posts, the tremendous contribution he made to the great farming community of Ontario, and in connection with conservation works, was of a high order indeed."[11]

References
  1. "Ontario Births, 1869-1912". familysearch.org. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  2. "Was Minister of Agriculture For Province". The Globe and Mail. November 11, 1957. p. 13.
  3. "Gunner Fletcher Stewart Pickering Thomas". Canadian Great War Project. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  4. "2 Named to Cabinet; November Vote Seen". The Globe and Mail. October 3, 1951. p. 1.
  5. "Nixon May Lead Opposition as Elgin Drops Hepburn". Toronto Daily Star. June 5, 1945. p. 11. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  6. "The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo: Past Match Sites". Ontario Plowmen's Association. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  7. "Fletcher Stewart Thomas 1897-1957". cemetery.canadagenweb.org. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  8. Canadian Press (June 8, 1948). "How Ontario Electors Voted in all 90 Ridings". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. 24.
  9. Canadian Press (November 22, 1951). "Complete Ontario Vote". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal. p. 4.
  10. Canadian Press (June 10, 1955). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 4.
  11. "Former Cabinet Minister Fletcher S. Thomas Dies". Toronto Daily Star. November 11, 1957. p. 39.
  12. Re The Farm Products Marketing Act, 1957 CanLII 1, [1957] SCR 198 (22 January 1957)
  13. "Goodfellow Sworn In As Thomas' Successor". The Globe and Mail. August 2, 1956. p. 5.
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