Louis Hodgson Explained

Lou Hodgson
Office:Ontario MPP
Term Start:1963
Term End:1967
Predecessor:New Riding
Successor:Tim Reid
Constituency:Scarborough East
Party:Progressive Conservative
Birth Date:21 March 1936
Birth Place:Victoria, Ontario, Canada
Death Place:Haliburton, Ontario, Canada
Occupation:Police officer
Spouse:Kleo McWatters
Children:2
Relations:Clayton Hodgson, father
Glen Hodgson, brother

Louis Maclean "Lou" Hodgson (March 21, 1936 – July 7, 2012) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1967 who represented the eastern Toronto riding of Scarborough East.

Background

Hodgson was born in Victoria, Ontario. His father, Clayton Hodgson, was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1945 to 1963. Prior to being elected, Hodgson was an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and also worked for the Ontario department of Transport and as a salesman.[1] He was married to Kleo McWatters and they raised a son and a daughter.[2]

Politics

Hodgson ran in the 1963 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the new riding of Scarborough East. He defeated Liberal candidate Jack Drysdale by 1,704 votes.[3] His brother Glen Hodgson also won a seat in the Caledon riding of Victoria.[4] He served as a backbench supporter of the government of John Robarts.

He was defeated in the 1967 election by Liberal candidate Tim Reid in an extremely close three-way race in which the margin was 216 votes and all three candidates were separated by less than half a percent of the total votes.[5]

Later life

After the 1967 election, Hodgson retired from politics. During his time in office, he established a Young PC Club in his riding and one its first members, Dennis Timbrell, went on to become a prominent Cabinet Minister in a future PC government. In the late 1960s, the government recruited Hodgson to establish the first drivers education programs in Ontario high schools.

He died in Haliburton in 2012.[2] He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Haliburton, Ontario.

Notes and References

  1. News: Election '63 in Metro: Scarboro East . Toronto Star . September 10, 1963 . 29.
  2. News: Louis Maclean Hodgson . July 7, 2012 . Community Funeral Homes . November 25, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180523173000/http://www.communityfuneralhomes.com/obituary.php?recordID=599 . May 23, 2018 . dead .
  3. News: Canadian Press . 78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved . The Windsor Star . September 26, 1963 . Windsor, Ontario . 25 .
  4. News: Liberals draw a near blank in new ridings . Adams . Robert . Toronto Star . September 26, 1963 . 31.
  5. News: Canadian Press . Tories win, but... . The Windsor Star . October 18, 1967 . Windsor, Ontario . B2 .