| The Hon. Sidney Earle Smith |
|
|---|---|
| 2nd President of the University of Manitoba | |
| In office 1934–1944 |
|
| Preceded by | James Alexander MacLean |
| Succeeded by | Henry Percy Armes, acting |
| 7th President of the University of Toronto | |
| In office 1945–1957 |
|
| Preceded by | Henry John Cody |
| Succeeded by | Claude Bissell |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Hastings—Frontenac |
|
| In office 1957–1959 |
|
| Preceded by | George Stanley White |
| Succeeded by | Rod Webb |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 9, 1897 Port Hood Island, Nova Scotia |
| Died | March 17, 1959 (aged 62) Ottawa, Ontario |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Cabinet | Secretary of State for External Affairs (1957-1959) |
Sidney Earle Smith, PC (March 9, 1897 – March 17, 1959) was a noted academic and Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
Born and raised on Nova Scotia's Port Hood Island, he grew up speaking both English and Gaelic. He was an excellent student, and became a lawyer and a professor of law. He lectured at Osgoode Hall, and then at Dalhousie University, By 1929, he was Dean of Dalhousie's law school. In 1934, he left the Maritimes to become president of the University of Manitoba. In 1945, he was appointed the president of the University of Toronto. He remained in that role for twelve years, overseeing a major period of the university's expansion.
Long a strong Conservative, but very much in the Red Tory tradition, Smith became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1956, he was considered a possibility for the party's leadership, but decided not to run, disappointing those who wished to prevent the populist John Diefenbaker from becoming leader.
After Diefenbaker won a surprise minority government in 1957, Smith was appointed as Secretary of State for External Affairs. Despite Smith's brilliance and popularity in academia, his success in this new role was limited. After holding the position for two years, Smith died suddenly of a stroke in 1959.
Sidney Smith Hall, the central building of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto, is named after him.
Martin Friedland, The University of Toronto: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||