Charles Gavan Power Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Charles Gavan Power
Office:Minister of National Defence for Air
Primeminister:W. L. Mackenzie King
Term Start:23 May 1940
Term End:26 November 1944
Predecessor:Office created
Successor:Angus Lewis Macdonald
Office1:Associate Minister of National Defence
Primeminister1:W. L. Mackenzie King
Term Start1:23 May 1940
Term End1:26 November 1944
Predecessor1:Office created
Successor1:Vacant
Office2:Postmaster General
Primeminister2:W. L. Mackenzie King
Term Start2:19 September 1939
Term End2:22 May 1940
Predecessor2:Norman Alexander McLarty
Successor2:James Lorimer Ilsley (Acting)
Office3:Minister of National Defence
Primeminister3:W. L. Mackenzie King
Term Start3:11 June 1940
Term End3:4 July 1940
Predecessor3:Norman McLeod Rogers
Successor3:James Ralston
Termlabel3:Acting
Office4:Minister of Pensions and National Health
Primeminister4:W. L. Mackenzie King
Term Start4:23 October 1935
Term End4:18 September 1939
Predecessor4:Donald Matheson Sutherland
Successor4:Ian Alistair Mackenzie
Office5:Senator for Gulf
Term Start5:28 July 1955
Term End5:30 May 1968
Appointed5:Louis St. Laurent
Riding6:Quebec South
Parliament6:Canadian
Term Start6:17 December 1917
Term End6:27 July 1955
Predecessor6:Riding created
Successor6:Francis Gavan Power
Birth Date:18 January 1888
Birth Place:Sillery, Quebec, Canada
Death Place:Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Resting Place:Saint Patrick's Cemetery, Sillery, Quebec, Canada
Nationality:Canadian
Party:Liberal
Children:3, including Frank
Relations:
Alma Mater:Université Laval
Occupation:Lawyer
Allegiance: Canada
Branch:Canadian Expeditionary Force
Rank:Acting Major
Serviceyears:1915-1918
Mawards:Military Cross
Battles:Battle of the Somme

Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power (18 January 1888  - 30 May 1968) was a 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] He was wounded during the 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.

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Minister for Air | Maclean's | SEPTEMBER 15 1941. 6 November 2020. 13 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201213035939/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1941/9/15/minister-for-air. dead.
  2. (31 May 1968). Charles G. Power Is Dead at 80; Canadian Legislator 51 Years, The New York Times, p. 29 (paywall)