Howard Charles Green Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Howard Charles Green
Office1:Secretary of State for External Affairs
Term Start1:June 4, 1959
Term End1:April 21, 1963
Primeminister1:John Diefenbaker
Predecessor1:John Diefenbaker
Successor1:Paul Martin Sr.
Office2:Minister of Public Works
Term Start2:June 21, 1957
Term End2:August 19, 1959
Predecessor2:Robert Winters
Successor2:David James Walker
Riding3:Vancouver South
Parliament3:Canadian
Predecessor3:Angus MacInnis
Successor3:Arthur Laing
Term Start3:October 14, 1935
Term End3:June 26, 1949
Riding4:Vancouver Quadra
Parliament4:Canadian
Predecessor4:Riding established
Successor4:Grant Deachman
Term Start4:June 27, 1949
Term End4:April 7, 1963
Birth Date:5 November 1895
Birth Place:Kaslo, British Columbia, Canada
Party:Conservative
Relations:Robert Francis Green (uncle)

Howard Charles Green (November 5, 1895 – June 26, 1989) was a Canadian federal politician.

Opposition career

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1935 federal election as a Conservative from Vancouver, British Columbia in the election which saw the defeat of Prime Minister R. B. Bennett's government. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 28 years. Between his first election in 1935 and the 1949 federal election he was MP for the riding of Vancouver South. From 1949 until he was voted out of office, he represented the riding of Vancouver Quadra.

In 1942, he was a candidate at the party's leadership convention, and placed fourth. At the same convention, the Conservative Party changed its name to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

In 1946, after the sudden death of Royal Maitland, the leader of the British Columbia Progressive Conservatives, Green was courted for the job. Green's leadership would have solved a political problem: under the party's coalition agreement with the Liberal Party, the Conservatives were entitled to the ministerial portfolio of Attorney General, but the party had no other lawyers in caucus; Green, a barrister, would be suited to the job.[1] However, Premier John Hart got around the problem by appointing a Liberal as attorney general while naming two more Tories to cabinet.[2] With the post of attorney general no longer available, Green declined to seek the leadership.[3]

Green was a fierce critic of Louis St. Laurent and Lester B. Pearson's actions in the Suez Crisis. In the debate upon Pearson's return from the United Nations, Green said the Liberal government "by its actions in the Suez crisis, has made this month of November 1956, the most disgraceful period for Canada in the history of this nation," and that it was "high time Canada had a government which will not knife Canada's best friends in the back."

Ministerial offices

When John Diefenbaker became prime minister after a surprise victory in the 1957 Canadian federal election, Green became Minister of Public Works. He became Secretary of State for External Affairs in 1959 following the death of Sidney Earle Smith.

Anti-nuclear stance

He was a strong supporter of the Commonwealth of Nations and advocated nuclear disarmament, backing Diefenbaker's position against having Canada accept nuclear-tipped Bomarc missiles—a position that led to the resignation of several ministers and contributed to the fall of the Diefenbaker government. He helped promote the country's international role until he was defeated along with the Tory government in the 1963 federal election.

Archives

There is a Howard Charles Green fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[4]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. News: 1946-03-29 . Green Suggested for B.C. Cabinet . 8 . Vancouver Sun.
  2. News: 1946-04-04 . Cabinet Enlarged As Wismer Named Attorney-General . 1 . Vancouver Daily Province.
  3. News: 1946-04-15 . Conservatives to Name Leader June 14–15 . 3 . Vancouver Daily Province.
  4. Web site: Howard Charles Green fonds, Library and Archives Canada. September 3, 2020.