Leslie Egerton Blackwell (9 November 1897 – 20 October 1959) was a Canadian politician, soldier, lawyer, and land developer.
Background
He was born in Lindsay, Ontario in 1897,[1][2] but moved to Toronto when he was young. He grew up and was educated in the Parkdale area of Toronto.[3] He joined the Canada Army as a private in 1916, during the First World War. His unit, the 204th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry, was commanded by future Ontario Attorney General, Lieutenant-Colonel William Price.[3] He was severely injured in the war, losing a leg during the Battle of Cambrai in 1918.[4] He came back to Canada and eventually graduated from the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall law school.[4]
After Drew's departure from provincial politics, Blackwell was a candidate to replace him in the 1949 Conservative leadership election, placing second to Leslie Frost.[3] He did not join Frost's cabinet and served his remaining time as a backbencher in the legislature, and did not run in the 1951 election.[3]
He went back to his private law practice and became involved in land development. He was working on the Thorncliffe Park housing development, in Toronto, when he was hospitalized in early October 1959.[4] He finally succumbed to complications due to pneumonia on 20 October 1959.[3]