Leslie Frost
|
The Honourable Leslie Miscampbell Frost |
|
|---|---|
The Hon. Leslie Miscampbell Frost
|
|
| 16th Premier of Ontario | |
|
In office May 4, 1949 – November 8, 1961 |
|
| Monarch |
George VI Elizabeth II |
| Lieutenant Governor |
Ray Lawson Louis Orville Breithaupt John Keiller MacKay |
| Preceded by | Thomas Kennedy |
| Succeeded by | John Robarts |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Victoria | |
|
In office October 6, 1937 – May 16, 1963 |
|
| Preceded by | William Newman |
| Succeeded by | Ronald Glen Hodgson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 20, 1895 Orillia, Ontario |
| Died | May 4, 1973 (aged 77) Lindsay, Ontario |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery |
| Political party | Ontario PC Party |
| Spouse(s) | Gertrude Jane Carew |
| Alma mater |
University of Toronto Osgoode Hall Law School |
| Religion | Presbyterianism, United |
Leslie Miscampbell Frost, PC CC QC (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the 16th Premier from May 4, 1949 to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man Ontario"; he was also known as "the Silver Fox".
Born in Orillia, Ontario, he was the son of William Sword Frost and Margaret Jane Barker. His father was a jeweller and mayor of Orillia; his mother was an important figure in the early days of The Salvation Army. He attended the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School. During World War I, he was an officer with "C"Company 157th Battalion (Simcoe Foresters), CEF, and served with the 20th Battalion, Queen's York Rangers in France and Belgium. In 1918, after being wounded, he was discharged with the rank of Captain. He was called to the Bar in 1921.
In 1926, he married Gertrude Jane Carew. They had no children. The couple lived in Lindsay, Ontario, but Frost preferred his property at Pleasant Point on Sturgeon Lake north of Lindsay. When Frost and his brother, Cecil Gray Frost, first moved to Lindsay to establish a law practice, they rented a building at Pleasant Point that had been the community store and commuted to town by steamer. Frost bought the property in 1925 and, in about 1950, bought adjacent property where he built the winterized log cabin that was his refuge while he was premier and in retirement.
In 1937, he was first elected to the Ontario legislature and thereafter never lost an election. He was the Treasurer of Ontario and Minister of Mines from 1943 to 1955. Frost was chosen as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party following Premier George Drew's decision to enter federal politics. Dubbed "Old Man Ontario" and "The Laird of Lindsay", Frost led the province during the economic boom of the 1950s. His low-key approach garnered him the nickname "The Great Tranquilizer". Combining small-town values with progressive policies, he took the Tories through three successive electoral victories winning majority governments in 1951, 1955 and 1959.
...
Wikipedia