Robert Smith (Canadian judge) explained

Robert Smith
Constituency Mp:Stormont
Parliament:Canadian
Predecessor:Robert Abercrombie Pringle
Successor:Duncan Orestes Alguire
Term Start:1908
Term End:1911
Office2:Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
Predecessor2:None (new position)
Successor2:Henry Hague Davis
Term Start2:1927
Term End2:1933
Nominator2:William Lyon Mackenzie King
Birth Date:1858 12, df=yes
Birth Place:Ramsay Township, Canada West
Death Place:Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Nationality:Canadian
Party:Liberal
Children:Arnold Neilson Smith
Allegiance:Canadian Militia
Serviceyears:1897 - 1910
Rank:Captain
Lieutenant Colonel
Unit:59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment (1897-1908)
Commands:59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment (1908-1910)
Honorific Prefix:The Honourable

Robert Smith (7 December 1858  - 18 March 1942) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Born in Lanark County, Canada West (now Ontario), the son of William Smith and Jean Neilson, he was educated in Almonte and at Osgoode Hall. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1885. He then practiced law in Cornwall, Ontario.

In 1888, Smith married Florence Parker Pettit.[1]

Smith joined the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment on May 28, 1897 and commanded the regiment as Lieutenant Colonel from 1908 to April 11, 1910.

In 1904, he ran for the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal in the riding of Stormont, Ontario. He lost but won in 1908. He did not run for re-election.

In 1908, Smith was named King's Counsel. Smith was a director and secretary-treasurer for the Montreal and Cornwall Navigation Company. He served as lieutenant-colonel in the militia.[1]

In 1922, he was appointed to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Ontario and then to the Appellate Division. In 1926, he sat on the Supreme Court as an ad hoc judge and was appointed as a judge in 1927. He retired in 1933.

For reasons unknown, the federal government took over a year to appoint a replacement for Justice Smith, eventually appointing Henry Hague Davis in 1935.[2]

Smith died in Ottawa at the age of 83.[1]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Johnson, J.K. . The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967 . 1968 . Public Archives of Canada.
  2. Book: James G. Snell. Frederick Vaughan. The Supreme Court of Canada: History of the Institution. University of Toronto Press. 1985. 0802034179. registration., p. 148.