Canadian politician
Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power MC PC Canadian politician and ice hockey player. Many members of his family, including his father, two brothers, a son and a grandson, all had political careers; two of his brothers also played ice hockey.
Early life
Born in Sillery , Power played ice hockey while studying law. From 1906, he played for the Quebec Bulldogs of the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA). A proficient scorer, he scored four goals in one game in 1908 and five goals in a game in 1909.
Military service
Power served overseas in World War I , first as a private in the Westmount Battalion then to 3rd Battalion (Toronto Regiment), CEF as captain and then as an acting major with the 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment), CEF .[ 1] Battle of the Somme . He was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during military operations.
Political career
He entered politics in the 1917 federal election in which he was elected as a "Laurier Liberal " during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 .
In 1935, Power was appointed minister of pensions and health in the Liberal cabinet of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King .
Charles Gavan Power from Canadian men of affairs in cartoon (1922) During World War II , he served as Acting Minister of National Defence (1940) and Minister of National Defence for Air (1940 to 1945) and was responsible for expanding the Royal Canadian Air Force . His opposition to conscription led him to resign from the cabinet during the Conscription Crisis of 1944 , after the government passed an Order in Council to send conscripts overseas. Power sat as an "Independent Liberal " for the duration of the war and was re-elected as an Independent Liberal in the 1945 federal election . He then rejoined the party and ran to succeed King in the 1948 Liberal leadership convention but came a poor third.
Charles Power retired from the House of Commons in 1955. He was appointed to the Senate on 28 July 1955 and served until his death in 1968.[ 2]
Family
His father, William Power , was also a Member of Parliament from Quebec, retiring in 1917. His brother James was also an ice hockey player. Another brother, Joe , was also an ice hockey player, as well as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec . Still another brother, William , became a Liberal member of the Legislative Council of Quebec . His son Frank Power also became a Liberal Member of Parliament, as did his grandson Lawrence Cannon , who also became a Conservative cabinet minister and later as Canadian Ambassador to France .
References
Power, Charles Gavan, 1888–1968 and Ward, Norman, 1918-1990. A party politician: the memoirs of Chubby Power / Edited by Norman Ward. Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1966. 419 p. : plates. ; 24 cm.
External links
1 The office of Postmaster General was abolished when the Post Office Department became a Crown Corporation known as the
Canada Post Corporation on October 16, 1981.
International National Other
