Canadian politician
Arthur Laing
,
PC
(9 September 1904 ? 13 February 1975),
[1]
a
Canadian
politician, was actively involved with the
BC Liberals
, but his primary achievements were federally as a
Liberal
member of parliament. He served in the
cabinets
of
prime ministers
Lester B. Pearson
and
Pierre Trudeau
.
History
[
edit
]
Early life
[
edit
]
Arthur Laing was born in Eburne, BC on 9 September 1904 to Thomas (1864?1951)
[2]
and Marion (1870?1949)
[3]
Laing. His father, a farmer on
Sea Island
[4]
(namely south Eburne), belonged to the group that initiated the BC Federation of Agriculture.
Arthur graduated from the
University of British Columbia
(UBC) with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA) in 1926. He joined the Vancouver Milling and Grain Company that year. He became manager of the Agriculture Chemicals Division of Buckerfields Ltd. in 1933.
[5]
Political career
[
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]
Laing was a member of the Richmond School Board 1930?43, including chair for 8 years.
[5]
He unsuccessfully ran as the BC Liberals candidate for Delta in 1937 and 1941.
[6]
Laing was president of the BC Liberals
[7]
prior to representing
Vancouver South
1949?53 in the
House of Commons
.
He resigned his seat to become leader of the BC Liberals, immediately before the
1953 provincial election
.
[8]
Only three other Liberal candidates were elected to the
BC legislature
that year. He represented
Vancouver-Point Grey
1953?56. He lost in 1956, and in the 1957
Burnaby
by-election.
[6]
After six years in the post, Laing stepped down as the party leader.
[9]
Returning as the member for
Vancouver South
1962?72, he was Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources (1963), Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1966), Minister of Public Works (1968), and Minister of Veterans’ Affairs (1972). He sat in the
Senate
1972?75.
Many dignitaries were present among the 700 mourners who attended his funeral.
[10]
Marriage and children
[
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]
In 1937, he married Geraldine Hyland (possibly Highland) (1909?1978).
[11]
Linda Laurine, an only child, married David Billingsley.
[5]
Honours
[
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]
He was initiated an honorary member of the Blood Band of the Blackfoot Indian Confederacy in 1967. A new government building in
Yellowknife
was named after him in 1969. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of
Vancouver
in 1974. Two geographical features, posthumously named in 1975, were the Arthur Laing Peninsula on
Ellesmere Island
in Canada's northernmost national park (
Quttinirpaaq
),
[12]
and the Arthur Laing Peak on the Alaska/Yukon border. Although the name was announced in September 1974, the
Arthur Laing Bridge
, in
Metro Vancouver
, did not open to traffic until August 27, 1975
[13]
and was officially dedicated on May 15, 1976.
[14]
He had been a strong advocate for this link.
[15]
Accepted by daughter Linda on his behalf, he received one of the nine LFS Centenary Awards, issued in 2008, for outstanding achievements of UBC alumni.
[5]
Archives
[
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]
There is an Arthur Laing
fonds
at
Library and Archives Canada
.
[16]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]