Francis Henry Keefer
| Francis Henry Keefer | |
|---|---|
| Frank | |
| Born | 1860-07-24 Strathroy, Upper Canada |
| Died | 1928-12-04 Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| Partner | |
Francis Henry Keefer (24 July 1860 – 4 December 1928 (aged 68)), known as Frank, was a lawyer and politician who represented Port Arthur in both federal and provincial politics during the early twentieth century.
Early life and education
Keefer was born on 24 July 1860 in Strathroy, Upper Canada, the son of James Keefer, a merchant and village reeve, and Maria Cook.[1] He attended Strathroy Grammar School and Upper Canada College, before completing a BA at the University of Toronto in 1881 and an MA and LLB in 1882.[1]
Career in Port Arthur
Keefer arrived in Prince Arthur's Landing (soon renamed Port Arthur) in 1883, initially described as a metallurgist.[1] He was called to the bar in 1884 and joined a law practice with his brother Thomas Alexander Keefer and Edward Robert Cameron.[2] He served as solicitor for the Town of Port Arthur from 1889 to 1910, and received appointments as federal Queen's Counsel in 1897 and provincial King's Counsel in 1907.[1]
Keefer was active in Port Arthur's civic and fraternal life, holding membership in the Foresters, Oddfellows, and the Port Arthur Club, and serving as a delegate to the Church of England General Synod.[1] His family had deep connections to the history of Welland Canal construction — his ancestor George Keefer had been a founding figure of the Welland Canal Company — and this background shaped his lifelong interest in Great Lakes waterway development.[1]
Federal politics
Keefer had been active in Conservative politics from an early stage, serving as secretary of the Liberal–Conservative Association of West Algoma and advising Prime Minister John A. Macdonald during the 1891 federal election campaign.[1] He stood for Parliament in the 1908 election but was defeated by James Conmee.[1]
In the 1917 wartime election, Keefer won the seat of Port Arthur and Kenora as a Unionist-Conservative, serving until 1921.[3] During his time in the House of Commons, he served as parliamentary under-secretary of state for external affairs from 1918 to 1920 and as counsel to the federal Food Board.[1][4]
Keefer championed margarine as a wartime substitute for butter, workers' compensation for railway employees, and stronger voting protections for railway workers.[1][5] His central preoccupation was the improvement of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence waterway and the promotion of trade with the West Indies.[1]
In May 1921 he opposed legislation establishing the Lake of the Woods Control Board, arguing that Kenora's water rights should not be subordinated to Winnipeg without negotiation or compensation.[6] As early as November 1920 he was publicly advocating for the creation of a new province — to be called Superior — carved from northwestern Ontario.[1]
Provincial politics
Ontario Conservative leader George Howard Ferguson recruited Keefer to contest the June 1923 provincial election for the riding of Port Arthur.[7] He won the seat and held it until defeat in 1926, serving during that period as legislative secretary for northern Ontario and securing Port Arthur as the regional headquarters of the provincial Department of Lands and Forests.[1]
At Queen's Park, Keefer continued monitoring St. Lawrence waterway matters on Ontario's behalf and mobilized opposition to what he called "the Chicago steal" — the unauthorized diversion of water from Lake Michigan into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal — coordinating with the Great Lakes Harbours Association of Canada and the United States.[1][8] In 1927, he wrote to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King drawing a direct line between their shared waterway concerns and the Welland Canal Company directorships held by their respective ancestors a century before.[1]
Death
In May 1928, Keefer was appointed public trustee for Ontario, but he died before he could establish significant influence in the role.[1] He died of a heart attack in Toronto on 4 December 1928 and was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Thorold.[1][9][10][11]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Jamie Benidickson."Jamie Benidickson, "Keefer, Francis Henry," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).2005.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ "Canada Law Journal, vol. 20 (1884)."[newspaper].Canada Law Journal.1884.pp. 356, 391.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Canadian Annual Review, 1917–1927/28."[book].Canadian Annual Review.1927.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ John Hilliker; Donald Barry."John Hilliker and Donald Barry, Canada's Department of External Affairs, vol. 1."[book].Canada's Department of External Affairs (2 vols., Montreal and Kingston, 1990–95).1990.vol. 1.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ W. H. Heick."W. H. Heick, A propensity to protect: butter, margarine and the rise of urban culture in Canada."[book].1991.Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Canada, House of Commons, Debates, 31 May 1921."[record].House of Commons Debates.1921.pp. 4184–98.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Peter Oliver."Peter Oliver, G. Howard Ferguson: Ontario Tory."[book].1977.University of Toronto Press.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Christopher Armstrong."Christopher Armstrong, The politics of federalism: Ontario's relations with the federal government, 1867–1942."[book].1981.University of Toronto Press.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ Fort William Daily Times-Journal, 5 December 1928, p. 1
- ↑ "Death notice."[newspaper].Toronto Daily Star.1928-12-05.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ "Death notice."[newspaper].Thorold Post.1928-12-06.6, 13, 27 Dec. 1928.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)