John MacLean (Canadian)
Encyclopedia
John MacLean was a Canadian
politician and businessperson. He was a candidate at the 1967 leadership convention
of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
, a centre-right party that formed the official opposition in the Canadian House of Commons
at the time. He was also the operator of a Hertz
car rental agency and British Petroleum
gas station in Brockville, Ontario
.
The convention had been called after a revolt by party members against the leadership of John Diefenbaker
. The party was badly divided between supporters and opponents of the former prime minister.
MacLean had previously worked as a journalist for the Toronto Telegram, Quebec Chronicle, Ottawa Journal, Financial Post
and Toronto Star
newspapers.
MacLean was an unsuccessful PC candidate in the 1965 election
in which he won 10,066 votes (47.1% of the total vote), compared to Liberal candidate Ross Matheson's 10,365.
MacLean was the first to declare his candidacy for the party leadership in 1967. MacLean set himself up as the spokesperson for youth in the party, and ran largely in order to create a larger role for himself in the party. He was not successful in doing this: he failed to win a delegateship from his home riding of Leeds. During he campaign, he was also defeated for the PC nomination in Leeds riding by Desmond Code
, who was the sitting MP for neighbouring Lanark riding.
He said that the party should declare a moratorium on tax increases, and aim to “squeeze” government spending in order to reduce taxes, and train a corps of military specialists for civilian emergencies in Canada and abroad. His speech at the convention also did not increase the party’s respect for him: he spoke without a prepared text for only 12 of the 19 minutes allotted to him. He funded the $10,000 cost of his campaign by himself.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician and businessperson. He was a candidate at the 1967 leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1967
The 1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held to choose a leader for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 4th and 9th, 1967...
of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
, a centre-right party that formed the official opposition in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
at the time. He was also the operator of a Hertz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
car rental agency and British Petroleum
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
gas station in Brockville, Ontario
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...
.
The convention had been called after a revolt by party members against the leadership of John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker
John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
. The party was badly divided between supporters and opponents of the former prime minister.
MacLean had previously worked as a journalist for the Toronto Telegram, Quebec Chronicle, Ottawa Journal, Financial Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
and Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
newspapers.
MacLean was an unsuccessful PC candidate in the 1965 election
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
in which he won 10,066 votes (47.1% of the total vote), compared to Liberal candidate Ross Matheson's 10,365.
MacLean was the first to declare his candidacy for the party leadership in 1967. MacLean set himself up as the spokesperson for youth in the party, and ran largely in order to create a larger role for himself in the party. He was not successful in doing this: he failed to win a delegateship from his home riding of Leeds. During he campaign, he was also defeated for the PC nomination in Leeds riding by Desmond Code
Desmond Code
Desmond Morton Code was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a construction superintendent and contractor by career....
, who was the sitting MP for neighbouring Lanark riding.
He said that the party should declare a moratorium on tax increases, and aim to “squeeze” government spending in order to reduce taxes, and train a corps of military specialists for civilian emergencies in Canada and abroad. His speech at the convention also did not increase the party’s respect for him: he spoke without a prepared text for only 12 of the 19 minutes allotted to him. He funded the $10,000 cost of his campaign by himself.