Monty Davidson

Monty Davidson (born 1936) was a union official and politician. He served as the New Democratic Member of Provincial Parliament for Cambridge from 1975 until 1981.

Davidson was a staff representative for the Textile Workers of America and a long-time union organizer. He want to work, at the age of 15, for the Stauffer and Dobbie Co. textile plant in Galt, Ontario and became shop steward at the age of 17.[1]

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1975 and was re-elected in 1977 defeating Progressive Conservative Bill Barlow by fewer than 500 votes.[2] He lost to Barlow four years later in the 1981 election by 849 votes.[3]

After his defeat he took a job with the occupational health and safety branch of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

"It's a full-time job and I'm very fortunate that there were people looking out for me who were willing to give me this kind of work in an area that I'm familiar with."[4] In his later career, he worked at the Workers Health and Safety Centre in Cambridge before retiring in 1999.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Labouring on; Fewer industries means fewer unions, but times are changing, organizers say", Kitchener-Waterloo Record, August 30, 2003
  2. ^ "Former Cambridge MPP hasn't lost taste for politics", Kitchener-Waterloo Record , February 26, 1993
  3. ^ "Former Cambridge MPP Barlow to be honored by Tories, friends," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, April 12, 1991
  4. ^ "THE LOSERS For ex-MPPs, it's limelight to limbo," Globe and Mail, August 24, 1981