Editing C. D. Howe (section)

{{short description|Canadian politician (1886–1960)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]<!--appointed to Privy Council of U.K., so entitled to "Right Honourable"-->
| name                = C. D. Howe
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image               = C.D. Howe, wartime.jpg
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Howe {{circa}} 1940
| office              = [[Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry|Minister of Trade and Commerce]]
| primeminister       = [[W. L. Mackenzie King]]<br />[[Louis St. Laurent]]
| term_start          = 19 January 1948
| term_end            = 21 June 1957
| predecessor         = [[James Angus MacKinnon]]
| successor           = [[Gordon Churchill]]
| office1             = [[Department of Defence Production|Minister of Defence Production]]
| primeminister1      = Louis St. Laurent
| term_start1         = 1 April 1951
| term_end1           =  20 June  1957
| predecessor1        = ''Office established''
| successor1          = [[Howard Charles Green]] (acting)
| office2             = [[Department of Munitions and Supply|Minister of Reconstruction and Supply]]
| primeminister2      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start2         = 1 January 1946
| term_end2           =  14 November 1948
| predecessor2        = ''Office established''
| successor2          = [[Robert Winters]]
| office3             = [[Department of Munitions and Supply|Minister of Reconstruction]]
| primeminister3      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start3         = 	13 October 1944
| term_end3           =  21 December 1945
| predecessor3        = ''Office established''
| successor3          = ''Office abolished''
| office4             = [[Department of Munitions and Supply|Minister of
Munitions and
Supply]]
| primeminister4      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start4         = 9 April 1940
| term_end4           =  31 December 1945
| predecessor4        = ''Office established''
| successor4          = ''Office abolished''
| office5             = [[Minister of Transport (Canada)|Minister of Transport]]
| primeminister5      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start5         = 13 May 1942
| term_end5           = 5 October 1942
| predecessor5        = [[Arthur Cardin]]
| successor5          = [[Joseph-Enoil Michaud]]
| termlabel5          = Acting
| primeminister6      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start6         = 2 November 1936
| term_end6           = 7 July 1940
| predecessor6        = ''Office established''
| successor6          = Arthur Cardin
| office7             = [[Minister of Transport (Canada)#Minister of Railways and Canals (1879–1936)|Minister of Railways and Canals]]
| primeminister7      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start7         = 23 October 1935
| term_end7           = 1 November 1936
| predecessor7        = [[Robert James Manion]]
| successor7          = ''Office abolished''
| office8             = [[Minister of Transport (Canada)#Minister of Marine (1930–1936)|Minister of Marine]]
| primeminister8      = W. L. Mackenzie King
| term_start8         = 23 October 1935
| term_end8           = 1 November 1936
| predecessor8        = [[Lucien Henri Gendron]]
| successor8          = ''Office abolished''
| riding9             = [[Port Arthur (federal electoral district)|Port Arthur]]
| parliament9         = Canadian
| term_start9         = 14 October 1935
| term_end9           = 10 June 1957
| predecessor9        = ''Riding created''
| successor9          = [[Doug Fisher (politician)|Douglas M. Fisher]]
| birth_name          = Clarence Decatur Howe
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1886|1|15|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1960|12|31|1886|1|15|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| restingplace        = 
| party               = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| children            = 5
| profession          = {{hlist|Legislator|engineer|business leader}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|Alice Worcester|1916}}
| education           = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
| signature           = CD Howe Signature.svg
}}

'''Clarence Decatur Howe''' {{post-nominals|list=[[List of Privy Counsellors (1936–1952)#1946|PC (UK)]], [[List of members of the Privy Council for Canada (1911–1948)#King_3|PC (Can)]]}} (15 January 1886&nbsp;– 31 December 1960) was an American-born Canadian engineer, businessman and [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] politician. Howe served as a [[Cabinet of Canada|cabinet minister]] in the governments of [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime ministers]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] and [[Louis St. Laurent]] continuously from 1935 to 1957. He is credited with transforming the Canadian economy from agriculture-based to industrial. During the [[World War II|Second World War]], his involvement in the war effort was so extensive that he was nicknamed the "Minister of Everything".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/canadawar/cdhowe_e.shtml |title=The War Economy and Controls: C. D. Howe |publisher=[[Canadian War Museum]] |access-date=6 August 2013}}</ref>

Born in [[Massachusetts]], Howe moved to [[Nova Scotia]] as a young adult to take up a professorship at [[Dalhousie University]]. After working for the Canadian government as an engineer, he began his own firm and became wealthy. In 1935, he was recruited as a Liberal candidate for the [[House of Commons of Canada]] by Mackenzie King. The Liberals won the election in a landslide and Howe won his seat. Mackenzie King appointed him to the Cabinet. There, he took major parts in many new enterprises, including the founding of the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC) and [[Trans-Canada Air Lines]] (today [[Air Canada]]). Howe played a crucial role in Canada's war effort during WWII and recruited many corporate executives (as [[One-dollar salary|"dollar-a-year-men"]]) to serve as executives in wartime enterprises.

Howe was impatient with parliamentary debates for his proposals, causing him to struggle with gaining popularity amongst parliamentarians; he was often accused of dictatorial conduct by the Opposition. As the Liberal government entered its third decade, it and Howe came to be seen as arrogant. The Government's attempt to impose [[cloture|closure]] in the 1956 [[Pipeline Debate]] led to major controversy in the House of Commons. In [[1957 Canadian federal election|the 1957 election]], Howe's actions and policies were made an issue by [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Opposition leader]] [[John Diefenbaker]]. Howe faced a serious challenge in his [[Electoral district (Canada)|riding]], but was expected to make speeches elsewhere as a major Liberal leader. Howe lost his seat in the election, and Diefenbaker became Prime Minister, ending almost 22&nbsp;years of Liberal rule. Howe returned to the private sector, accepting a number of corporate directorships, and died suddenly of a heart attack in December 1960.