John Chester MacRae

J. Chester MacRae
MC
Member of Parliament
for York-Sunbury
In office
June 10, 1957 – October 29, 1972
Preceded byMilton Fowler Gregg
Succeeded byRobert Howie
Personal details
Born(1912-08-29)August 29, 1912
Hope Town, Quebec, Canada
DiedOctober 5, 1997(1997-10-05) (aged 85)
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative

John Chester "Chet" MacRae MC (August 29, 1912 – October 5, 1997) was a Canadian school teacher, soldier, and politician. Known by his second name, Chester, he was widely referred to as "Chet."

Born in Hope Town, Quebec, MacRae lived most of his life in the Province of New Brunswick. He graduated from high school in Campbellton, New Brunswick then attended the provincial Normal School in Fredericton. He taught in the public school system until 1940.

A veteran of World War II, serving in the Canadian Army he rose to the rank of captain in New Brunswick's North Shore Regiment and participated in the D-Day Normandy Landings in France. He was awarded a number of medals including the Military Cross. In later years he was appointed an honorary Colonel of the First Battalion Royal New Brunswick Regiment, the Carleton-York regiment.

MacRae was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1957 as the Progressive Conservative Party's candidate in the York-Sunbury riding. He was re-elected in 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1968. He served until September 1, 1972.

He died at a Fredericton hospital in 1997.[1]

Archives

There is a John Chester MacRae fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[2] Archival reference number is R3367.

Electoral history

1968 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Chester MacRae 17,394 55.39 +6.87
Liberal Paul Burden 12,983 41.34 -4.40
New Democratic Patrick Callaghan 1,028 3.27 -2.47
Total valid votes 31,405 100.00


1965 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Chester MacRae 15,813 48.52 +0.04
Liberal Paul Burden 14,909 45.74 +0.78
New Democratic Patrick Callaghan 1,872 5.74 +2.67
Total valid votes 32,594 100.00
1963 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Chester MacRae 15,827 48.48 -0.11
Liberal David Dickson 14,678 44.96 +2.09
Social Credit George Nickerson 1,142 3.50 -1.32
New Democratic Lovell Clark 1,001 3.07 -0.65
Total valid votes 32,648 100.00


1962 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Chester MacRae 15,255 48.59 -4.83
Liberal David Dickson 13,461 42.87 -1.45
Social Credit George Nickerson 1,513 4.82 Ø
New Democratic John Simonds 1,167 3.72 +1.46
Total valid votes 31,396 100.00

Changes for the New Democratic Party are based on the 1958 results of its predecessor, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation.

1958 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Chester MacRae 15,813 53.42 +3.96
Liberal David Dickson 13,118 44.32 -3.89
Co-operative Commonwealth Lawrence Bright 669 2.26 -0.07
Total valid votes 29,600 100.00
1957 Canadian federal election: Fredericton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative John Chester MacRae 13,356 49.46 +6.71
Liberal Milton Fowler Gregg 13,018 48.21 -4.49
Co-operative Commonwealth Lawrence Bright 628 2.33 -2.21
Total valid votes 27,002 100.00

References

  1. ^ "Vital Statistics", Fredericton Daily Gleaner, October 7, 1997, pg.D7
  2. ^ "Finding aid to John Chester MacRae fonds, Library and Archives Canada" (PDF).