Robert Coates (politician)
| Robert Coates | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Canadian Parliament | |
|
In office 1957–1988 Cumberland (1957–1966) Cumberland—Colchester North (1966–1976) Cumberland—Colchester (1976–1988) |
|
| Preceded by | Azel Randolph Lusby |
| Succeeded by | Bill Casey |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert Carman Coates March 10, 1928 Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Died | January 12, 2016 (aged 87) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative Party of Canada |
| Profession | Author, barrister, lawyer |
Robert Carman Coates, PC, QC (March 10, 1928 – January 11, 2016) was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.
Coates was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1957 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Coates was a backbencher during the John Diefenbaker and Joe Clark governments. He was appointed to the Cabinet of Brian Mulroney as Defence Minister following the Tory victory in the 1984 election.
Coates' main initiative was the re-introduction of separate uniforms for the naval, land and air branches of the military.Liberal Paul Hellyer had unified the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force into an integrated Canadian Forces with a single uniform in 1967. Coates and other Progressive Conservatives had long derided this decision as disrespectful of tradition. Although it provided a huge boost to military morale, particularly in the navy, the restoration was strongly opposed by the then-Chief of Defence Staff, General Gerard Thériault, on grounds that the dark green imposed in the 1960s was the only possible "distinctly Canadian" uniform colour. While Coates reintroduced distinctive uniforms for each service, he was unable to reverse the unification of the forces.
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