Sidney Earle Smith

Sidney Earle Smith, PC QC (March 9, 1897 – March 17, 1959) was a noted academic and Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.

The Honourable Sidney Earle Smith PC QC
4th Dean of Dalhousie Law School
In office 1929–1934
Preceded by	John Erskine Read
Succeeded by	Vincent C. MacDonald
2nd President of the University of Manitoba
In office 1934–1944
Preceded by	James Alexander MacLean
Succeeded by	Henry Percy Armes, acting
7th President of the University of Toronto
In office 1945–1957
Preceded by	Henry John Cody
Succeeded by	Claude Bissell
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Hastings—Frontenac
In office 1957–1959
Preceded by	George Stanley White
Succeeded by	Rod Webb
Personal details
Born	(1897-03-09)March 9, 1897 Port Hood Island, Nova Scotia
Died	March 17, 1959(1959-03-17) (aged 62) Ottawa, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Cabinet	Secretary of State for External Affairs (1957-1959)

Early life and education

Born and raised on Nova Scotia's Port Hood Island, Smith grew up speaking both English and Gaelic. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of King's College, followed by an LL.B. from Dalhousie University.[1]

Career

Smith became a lawyer and a professor of law, lecturing at Osgoode Hall Law School and then at Dalhousie University. In 1929, he became dean of Dalhousie's law school. In 1934, he left the Maritimes to become president of the University of Manitoba. In 1945, he was appointed the president of the University of Toronto. He remained in that role for twelve years, overseeing a major period of the university's expansion.

Politics

A strong Conservative in the Red Tory tradition, Smith became a prominent member of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1956, he was considered a possibility for the party's leadership, but decided not to run, disappointing those in the party establishment who wished to prevent the populist John Diefenbaker from becoming leader.

After Diefenbaker won a surprise minority government in 1957, Smith was appointed as Secretary of State for External Affairs. Despite Smith's brilliance and popularity in academia, his success in this new role was limited. After holding the position for two years, he died suddenly of a stroke in 1959.

Posthumous recognition

Sidney Smith Hall, the central building of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto, is named after him.

Election results

Canadian federal by-election, 4 November 1957: Hastings—Frontenac
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Sidney Earle Smith	10,513
	Labour	Ross Dowson	266
Called upon Mr. White's appointment to the Senate, 20 August 1957.

References

1. Sidney Smith fonds, Library and Archives Canada

Martin Friedland, The University of Toronto: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.

External links

• Sidney Earle Smith – Parliament of Canada biography
• Sidney Earle Smith archival papers held at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services