Hugh Edwin Munroe

Hugh Edwin Munroe
M.D.
Hugh Edwin Munroe during his time as Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.
5th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan
In office
March 31, 1931 – September 10, 1936
Monarch George V
Edward VIII
Governor General The Earl of Willingdon
The Earl of Bessborough
The Lord Tweedsmuir
Premier J.T.M. Anderson
James G. Gardiner
William John Patterson
Preceded by Henry William Newlands
Succeeded by Archibald Peter McNab
Personal details
Born May 31, 1878
Glengarry County, Ontario
Died March 12, 1947 (aged 68)
Florida, USA
Nationality Canadian
Political party Conservative
Other political
affiliations		 Provincial Rights Party
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
Occupation physician
Profession Politician

Hugh Edwin Munroe, M.D., (May 31, 1878 – March 12, 1947) was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan during the Great Depression.

He was born in Glengarry County, Ontario and educated at McGill University where he earned his medical degree before undertaking post-graduate studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Munroe subsequently settled in Saskatchewan where he established his medical practice. He was involved in local and provincial politics - he was defeated as a candidate for the Provincial Rights Party in the 1905 provincial election when he was a candidate in Saskatoon County. In the 1912 provincial election he ran as the Conservative canadidate in Saskatoon City but was again defeated.

He served in World War I as a lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his military service.

He returned to Saskatchewan after the war and resumed his medical practice and political activity. He was appointed lieutenant governor of the province by Conservative federal Prime Minister R.B. Bennett in 1931.

In the midsts of the economic crisis, Muroe used his office to raise money for relief projects and charity. Nevertheless, many Canadians viewed the ceremonial office as a frivolity and excess during times of hardship and there was a movement to abolish the position. However, the provincial Legislature overwhelmingly defeated a motion to suspend the Office of the Lieutenant-Governor in 1934.

Munroe retired from office in 1936.

References