Editing Gordon Daniel Conant

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = Gordon Daniel Conant
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|QC|size=100%}}
| image         = Hon. Gordon Conant, M.L.A. 1937 (cropped).jpg
| caption       = Conant, {{circa|1937}}
| order         = 12th
| office        = Premier of Ontario
| term_start    = October 21, 1942
| term_end      = May 18, 1943
| monarch       = [[George VI]]
| lieutenant_governor = [[Albert Edward Matthews|Albert E. Matthews]]
| predecessor   = [[Mitchell Hepburn]]
| successor     = [[Harry Nixon]]
| office5       = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] for [[Ontario (provincial electoral district)|Ontario]]
| term_start5   = October 6, 1937
| term_end5     = June 30, 1943
| predecessor5  = [[W. E. N. Sinclair|William Edmund Newton Sinclair]]
| successor5    = [[Arthur Henry Williams]]
| office2       = [[Attorney General of Ontario]]
| term_start2   = October 12, 1937
| term_end2     = May 18, 1943
| predecessor2  = [[Arthur Roebuck]]
| successor2    = [[Eric William Blake Cross]]
| office4       = Leader of the [[Ontario Liberal Party]] ([[Interim leader (Canada)|interim]])
| term_start4   = October 21, 1942
| term_end4     = April 30, 1943
| predecessor4  = [[Mitchell Hepburn]]
| successor4    = [[Harry Nixon]]
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1885|1|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = Cedar Dale, East Whitby Township, [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date    = {{death date and age |1953|01|02|1885|01|11}}
| death_place   = [[Oshawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| restingplace  = Oshawa Union Cemetery
| profession    = Lawyer
| alma_mater    = [[University of Toronto]]
| party         = [[Ontario Liberal Party|Ontario Liberal]]
| spouse        =
}}
'''Gordon Daniel Conant''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|QC}} (January 11, 1885 &ndash; January 2, 1953) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and the 12th [[premier of Ontario]], from 1942 to 1943.

==Personal life==
Born in Cedar Dale, East Whitby Township (now part of the City of [[Oshawa]]) in [[Ontario]], Conant was a member of one of Oshawa's early European families. He was educated at the [[University of Toronto]] and [[Osgoode Hall Law School]], and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1912. He practiced law in Oshawa. In 1913 he married Verna Conant (née Smith), daughter of [[E.&nbsp;D. Smith]]. Together they had three children. Outside politics, Conant served as president of Oshawa General Hospital, Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club and South Ontario Canadian Club. In 1933, he was made a [[King's Counsel]]. From 1943 to 1951, he was a [[Master (judiciary)|Master]] of the [[Supreme Court of Ontario]]. In 1944, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Toronto. Conant died on January 2, 1953.

==Municipal politics==
In 1914, he was Deputy Reeve of [[Oshawa]] and [[Reeve (Canada)|Reeve]] in 1915. In 1916–1917, Conant became the youngest Mayor of Oshawa. After his office he dedicated himself to the development of [[hydroelectricity|hydro-electric]] power in Ontario. Due to his efforts, Ontario gained controlled of its own electrical system. In 1934, he became [[Crown Attorney]] for [[Ontario County, Ontario|Ontario County]].

==Provincial politics==
In the [[1937 Ontario general election|1937 elections]], he was elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] representing the electoral district of [[Ontario (provincial electoral district)|Ontario]]. A [[Liberal Party of Ontario|Liberal]], he was appointed [[Attorney-General of Ontario]] in 1937 in the government of [[Mitchell Hepburn]].

Hepburn resigned suddenly, in October 1942, after a long series of erratic acts and especially due to his feud with [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] that split Hepburn's cabinet and threatened the unity of his party. Hepburn announced that he was remaining leader of the party and Conant was selected as the new Premier by the [[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario|Lieutenant Governor]]. The party, led by King's supporters, demanded a [[1943 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election|leadership convention]] and Conant and Hepburn were forced to acquiesce. Conant ran for the leadership but collapsed hours before the leadership vote and withdrew his candidacy.<ref name="con">{{cite news|title=Conant Suffers Collapse, Quits Leadership Race|work=Toronto Daily Star|date=30 April 1943}}</ref>  Former [[Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Ontario|Provincial Secretary and Registrar]] [[Harry Nixon]] was elected new Liberal leader and was thus appointed Premier in May 1943.

==Commemorations==
"Conant Street" in the Cedardale area of Oshawa is named after his family, as was the Conant Public School (now closed). Two other streets in the same neighbourhood were also named after him, "Gordon Street" and "Daniel Street".

On July 20, 1966, the [[Ontario Heritage Trust|Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board]] unveiled a blue and gold plaque in Lakeview Park. On August 14, 1966, the plaque was stolen and a week later was found in 26 feet of water at the Oshawa Harbour by local diver Robert Stevenson. The plaque was later moved closer to Henry House (one-third of the [[Oshawa Museum]]).

In 2010, the Ontario Heritage Trust's Premier Gravesites Program placed a bronze/granite plaque and a Provincial flag outside the Mausoleum at Oshawa's Union Cemetery, where Conant is interred.

==See also==

* [[Mitchell Hepburn#Resignation]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite web|url=http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/140/AUTH_JOIN/HEADING/Conant,+Gordon,+1885-1953?JUMP|title=Conant, Gordon, 1885–1953|work=[[Archives of Ontario]]|access-date=June 29, 2006|archive-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223415/http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/140/AUTH_JOIN/HEADING/Conant%2C%20Gordon%2C%201885-1953?JUMP|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite web|title=Flag, plaque to mark Gordon Conant's Oshawa grave|url=http://www.durhamregion.com/community-story/3518061-flag-plaque-to-mark-gordon-conant-s-oshawa-grave/|website=durhamregion.com|date=19 November 2010 |access-date=August 6, 2014}}
*{{cite news|title=Oshawa Times|date=August 19, 1966}}
* {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7987995/many_pay_tribute_at_funeral_of_gordon/|title=Many Pay Tribute At Funeral Of Gordon Conant|work=The Ottawa Journal|date=6 Jan 1953|page=8|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=24 December 2016}}

==External links==
* {{Find a Grave|7051680}}
* {{Ontario MPP biography|id=gordon-daniel-conant}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
 | before=[[Mitchell Hepburn]]
 | title=[[List of Ontario premiers|Premier of Ontario]]
 | years=1942–1943
 | after=[[Harry Nixon]]
}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box
 | before=[[Mitchell Hepburn]]
 | title=[[Ontario Liberal Party|Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party]]
 | years=1942–1943 ''(interim)''
 | after=[[Harry Nixon]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Hepburn Ministry}}
{{Ontario Liberal Leaders}}
{{ONPremiers}}
{{Ontario Attorneys General}}
{{Mayors of Oshawa}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conant, Gordon Daniel}}
[[Category:1885 births]]
[[Category:1953 deaths]]
[[Category:Conant family|Gordon Daniel]]
[[Category:Attorneys general of Ontario]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party]]
[[Category:Mayors of Oshawa]]
[[Category:Lawyers in Ontario]]
[[Category:Canadian King's Counsel]]
[[Category:Members of the United Church of Canada]]
[[Category:Premiers of Ontario]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ontario]]