Harold James Kirby was a lawyer, real estate agent and political figure in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. He represented Eglinton

Eglinton (provincial electoral district)

Eglinton was a provincial electoral district located in Toronto, Ontario. From 1926 until 1999 it elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. At its abolishment in 1999 it consisted of the neighbourhoods of Davisville and Lawrence Park in the north end of the old city of Toronto. It was...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1934 to 1943 as a Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 member.

He was born in Maple

Maple, Ontario

Maple is a high-growth suburban community northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Vaughan in York Region.-Geography:The west branch of the Don River rises to the northwest and flows 1 km west of Maple. Several creeks are to the east and the Black Creek begins slightly west...

, the son of James Henry Kirby, and educated in North Toronto and at Osgoode Hall

Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...

. Kirby served overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canadian Expeditionary Force

The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He was Minister of Health from 1937 to 1943 and Minister of Public Welfare from 1942 to 1943.