Thomas McQuesten
Encyclopedia
Thomas Baker McQuesten was a Canadian
athlete, militiaman, lawyer, politician and government appointee who lived in Hamilton, Ontario
.
Although he once played football
for the Hamilton Tigers (now part of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
of the Canadian Football League
), he is best known for his work in elected and appointed offices. Neither he nor his brothers and sisters married, so his legacies are the parks, roads, and monuments in Hamilton and throughout Ontario that he was instrumental in creating.
) in nearby Waterloo County
, the youngest son of Isaac McQuesten and Mary Baker McQuesten. His father died almost bankrupt when he was six years old, and the family homestead narrowly avoided being sold to cover these debts. His family remained staunch Presbyterians
, except one (Rev. Calvin, Chaplain
of the Hamilton Sanitarium) and rejected joining the United Church of Canada
in 1925.
He received his primary and secondary education in Hamilton
at Central School, Queen Victoria Schools and the Hamilton Collegiate Institute. In his graduating year of 1900, the HCI football team won the Ontario Championship.
Since there was no university in Hamilton at the time, McQuesten had to leave the city for his post-secondary education. He earned a B.A.
in English, history, and classics at the University of Toronto
. Extracurricular activity included rowing for the Toronto Argonauts
(which was also a football team), president of Zeta Psi
fraternity and editor of The Varsity
newspaper.
Although a fellow U of T student beat his application for a Rhodes scholarship, McQuesten continued his education at Osgoode Hall
, also in Toronto. He received his LL.B. law degree and was admitted to the bar in 1907. He began practicing law as a prelude to a planned political career, serving in firms in Toronto, Elk Lake
and Hamilton.
During his early adulthood, McQuesten served part-time in the militia
. In 1902, he was in the Royal Canadian Artillery and in 1904 he was a military surveyor. When the First World War began, he wanted to enlist but his family pressured him not to.
between 1913 and 1920, and tirelessly promoted park
s as chairman of the Works Committee. In 1917, he and others presented a well-written but ultimately unadopted report on town planning with emphasis on railway
lands.
Since his electoral ambitions reached higher, he began his climb in the Liberal Party of Ontario. In the early 1920s, he was an executive of the Hamilton Liberal Association and by the early 1930s he rose to provincial president. Finally, in 1934, he was elected as an MLA (later styled MPP) for Hamilton (the Legislative Assembly site says the riding was Hamilton Wentworth, but other sources say Hamilton West).
The newly elected MLA entered the provincial cabinet, serving concurrently as minister of highways (a position he held until 1943) and minister of public works. Among the many construction projects he spearheaded across Ontario were:
Due in part to the start Second World War, Liberal Premier
Mitchell Hepburn
decided to keep the legislature and its second term government going longer than was popular. McQuesten participated in this strategy, adding a shifting number of portfolios to highways: mines (1940, 1942-43), municipal affairs (1940-43), and public works again (1942-43).
McQuesten did not stand for re-election in 1943 and the Liberal Party was defeated by the Conservatives
, banished from government until David Peterson
became premier in 1985. His government appointments, however, continued after he left elected office.
For instance, his advocacy for parks on Hamilton City Council
earned him an appointment to the permanent position on the Board of Parks Management in 1922, where he remained until his death in 1948. In this position, he supported the construction of the Rock Gardens at the Royal Botanical Gardens
in the 1920s and 1930s. After his retirement from electoral politics, McQuesten resumed his interest in the RBG and became and executive member of that organization, active there until almost before he died.
Among the many Hamilton civic leaders and boosters, McQuesten helped encourage McMaster University
to relocate from downtown Toronto to west Hamilton in 1930. His motivations may have included the fact he had to move himself to attend university and that while there he lost the Rhodes Scholarship to a full-time Toronto resident in what was regarded as a slight against Hamilton.
After being elected an MLA in 1934, he served for a decade as the appointed chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission
. Fort George
at Niagara-on-the-Lake
was rebuilt during his tenure.
He used his role as transportation minister to secure appointment as chairman of the Canada-U.S. Niagara Falls Bridge Commission in 1939. In addition to the more usual transportation aspects of the job, he used his position to engage in petty rivalry with wartime Prime Minister of Canada
and fellow Liberal William Lyon Mackenzie King
over an inscription on carillon
bells.
In his last year of life, McQuesten suffered from intestinal cancer which had metastasized to his throat and he died on January 13, 1948. Shortly before dying, he was named Hamilton's Citizen of the Year.
After his death, the Hamilton High Level Bridge on York Boulevard
was renamed Thomas B. McQuesten High Level Bridge. The structure was planned and built in the 1920s and '30s by the parks board when he was most active on it. It spans the channel linking Cootes Paradise
and the Desjardins Canal
to Hamilton Harbour
.
His historic downtown family home was willed to the City of Hamilton after the death of the last of his five unmarried siblings in 1968. After its restoration was complete in 1971, Whitehern
has been open as a civic museum
and has occasionally served as a period film location. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1962.
The McQuesten neighbourhood in Hamilton is named after him. It is bounded by Barton Street East
(north), Queenston Road
(south), Parkdale Avenue North
(west) and the Red Hill Valley Trail. Landmarks in this neighbourhood include the Red Hill Valley Parkway
, Red Hill Valley Trail and Hillcrest Park.
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...
athlete, militiaman, lawyer, politician and government appointee who lived in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
.
Although he once played football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
for the Hamilton Tigers (now part of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
), he is best known for his work in elected and appointed offices. Neither he nor his brothers and sisters married, so his legacies are the parks, roads, and monuments in Hamilton and throughout Ontario that he was instrumental in creating.
Early life
McQuesten was born in Hespeler (now Cambridge, OntarioCambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
) in nearby Waterloo County
Waterloo County, Ontario
Waterloo County, created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973, was the forerunner of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It consisted of five townships: Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot, Waterloo, and North Dumfries...
, the youngest son of Isaac McQuesten and Mary Baker McQuesten. His father died almost bankrupt when he was six years old, and the family homestead narrowly avoided being sold to cover these debts. His family remained staunch Presbyterians
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
, except one (Rev. Calvin, Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of the Hamilton Sanitarium) and rejected joining the United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
in 1925.
He received his primary and secondary education in Hamilton
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is the public school board in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, which was formed January 1, 1997 via the amalgamation of the Hamilton and Wentworth County school boards. HWDSB teaches approximately 50,000 students in its 114 neighbourhood schools...
at Central School, Queen Victoria Schools and the Hamilton Collegiate Institute. In his graduating year of 1900, the HCI football team won the Ontario Championship.
Since there was no university in Hamilton at the time, McQuesten had to leave the city for his post-secondary education. He earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English, history, and classics at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Extracurricular activity included rowing for the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
(which was also a football team), president of Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi
The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternity and editor of The Varsity
The Varsity
The Varsity is a restaurant chain, iconic in the modern culture of Atlanta, Georgia. The main branch of the chain is the largest drive-in fast food restaurant in the world...
newspaper.
Although a fellow U of T student beat his application for a Rhodes scholarship, McQuesten continued his education at Osgoode Hall
Osgoode Hall
Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto constructed between 1829 and 1832 in the late Georgian Palladian and Neoclassical styles. It houses the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice, and the Law Society of Upper Canada...
, also in Toronto. He received his LL.B. law degree and was admitted to the bar in 1907. He began practicing law as a prelude to a planned political career, serving in firms in Toronto, Elk Lake
Cobalt, Ontario
Cobalt is a town in the district of Timiskaming, province of Ontario, Canada, with a population of 1,223 In 2001 Cobalt was named "Ontario's Most Historic Town" by a panel of judges on the TV Ontario program Studio 2, and in 2002 the area was designated a National Historic Site.-History:Silver was...
and Hamilton.
During his early adulthood, McQuesten served part-time in the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. In 1902, he was in the Royal Canadian Artillery and in 1904 he was a military surveyor. When the First World War began, he wanted to enlist but his family pressured him not to.
Electoral politics
McQuesten served as an aldermanCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
between 1913 and 1920, and tirelessly promoted park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s as chairman of the Works Committee. In 1917, he and others presented a well-written but ultimately unadopted report on town planning with emphasis on railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
lands.
Since his electoral ambitions reached higher, he began his climb in the Liberal Party of Ontario. In the early 1920s, he was an executive of the Hamilton Liberal Association and by the early 1930s he rose to provincial president. Finally, in 1934, he was elected as an MLA (later styled MPP) for Hamilton (the Legislative Assembly site says the riding was Hamilton Wentworth, but other sources say Hamilton West).
The newly elected MLA entered the provincial cabinet, serving concurrently as minister of highways (a position he held until 1943) and minister of public works. Among the many construction projects he spearheaded across Ontario were:
- the Queen Elizabeth WayQueen Elizabeth WayThe Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...
and the Burlington Bay Skyway BridgeBurlington Bay James N. Allan SkywayThe Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway, originally called the Burlington Bay Skyway, is a pair of high-level freeway bridges located in Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, Canada...
linking Toronto, Ontario with Fort ErieFort Erie, OntarioFort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York.... - the Niagara ParkwayNiagara ParkwayThe Niagara Parkway, formerly known as Niagara Boulevard and historically as the Niagara Road, is a scenic road in the province of Ontario that travels on the Canadian side of the Niagara River from the town of Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake...
along the Niagara RiverNiagara RiverThe Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
and the Rainbow BridgeRainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls)The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls is an international steel arch bridge across the Niagara River gorge, and is a world-famous tourist site. It connects the cities of Niagara Falls, New York, United States , and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada .-Construction:The Rainbow Bridge was built near the...
over it in Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, OntarioNiagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903... - the Blue Water BridgeBlue Water BridgeThe Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, USA and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada...
in SarniaSarnia, OntarioSarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River.... - the Highway 20 link to the Niagara EscarpmentNiagara EscarpmentThe Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
in Stoney CreekStoney Creek, OntarioStoney Creek is a community in Ontario, Canada.Note: This article will only deal with matters up to its amalgamation with Hamilton.-Geography and population:...
. - the Highway 2AHighway 401 (Ontario)King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
through Oshawa, OntarioOshawa, OntarioOshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
, now Highway 401.
Due in part to the start Second World War, Liberal Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Hepburn
Mitchell Frederick Hepburn was the 11th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1934 to 1942. He was the youngest Premier in Ontario history, appointed at age 37....
decided to keep the legislature and its second term government going longer than was popular. McQuesten participated in this strategy, adding a shifting number of portfolios to highways: mines (1940, 1942-43), municipal affairs (1940-43), and public works again (1942-43).
McQuesten did not stand for re-election in 1943 and the Liberal Party was defeated by the Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
, banished from government until David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
became premier in 1985. His government appointments, however, continued after he left elected office.
Appointed politics
Throughout his life, McQuesten was able to parlay electoral success into permanent appointments to non-partisan agencies. This suited his technocratic (and sometimes autocratic) nature, allowing him to focus on necessary and useful but rarely politically interesting or rewarding activities.For instance, his advocacy for parks on Hamilton City Council
Hamilton City Council
The Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.The current council consists of the mayor plus fifteen councillors, one elected from each of the city's wards. The incumbent council was elected in a municipal election on November 13, 2006...
earned him an appointment to the permanent position on the Board of Parks Management in 1922, where he remained until his death in 1948. In this position, he supported the construction of the Rock Gardens at the Royal Botanical Gardens
Royal Botanical Gardens, Ontario
Royal Botanical Gardens is headquartered in Burlington and also include lands in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the major tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and Toronto, as well as a significant local and regional horticultural, education, conservation and scientific resource...
in the 1920s and 1930s. After his retirement from electoral politics, McQuesten resumed his interest in the RBG and became and executive member of that organization, active there until almost before he died.
Among the many Hamilton civic leaders and boosters, McQuesten helped encourage McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
to relocate from downtown Toronto to west Hamilton in 1930. His motivations may have included the fact he had to move himself to attend university and that while there he lost the Rhodes Scholarship to a full-time Toronto resident in what was regarded as a slight against Hamilton.
After being elected an MLA in 1934, he served for a decade as the appointed chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission
Niagara Parks Commission
The Niagara Parks Commission, or Niagara Parks for short, is an agency of government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River.- History :...
. Fort George
Fort George, Ontario
Fort George National Historic Site is a historic military structure at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, that was the scene of several battles during the War of 1812...
at Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
was rebuilt during his tenure.
He used his role as transportation minister to secure appointment as chairman of the Canada-U.S. Niagara Falls Bridge Commission in 1939. In addition to the more usual transportation aspects of the job, he used his position to engage in petty rivalry with wartime Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
and fellow Liberal William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
over an inscription on carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
bells.
Death and tributes
After his death, the Hamilton High Level Bridge on York Boulevard
York Boulevard (Hamilton, Ontario)
York Boulevard is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Formerly known as Highway 2 and Highway 6,starts off in Burlington, Ontario at Plains Road West as a two-way arterial road that wraps around and over the Hamilton Harbour and enters the city of Hamilton in the West-end past...
was renamed Thomas B. McQuesten High Level Bridge. The structure was planned and built in the 1920s and '30s by the parks board when he was most active on it. It spans the channel linking Cootes Paradise
Cootes Paradise
Cootes Paradise is the largest wetland at the western end of Lake Ontario, on the west side of Hamilton Harbour. It is bordered by the cities of Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens , a private charitable status organization. These lands...
and the Desjardins Canal
Desjardins Canal
The Desjardins Canal, named after its promoter Pierre Desjardins, was built to give Dundas, Ontario, easier access to Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes system of North America...
to Hamilton Harbour
Burlington Bay
Burlington Bay, known more commonly as Hamilton Harbour, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach and Burlington Beach...
.
His historic downtown family home was willed to the City of Hamilton after the death of the last of his five unmarried siblings in 1968. After its restoration was complete in 1971, Whitehern
Whitehern
Whitehern Historic House and Garden in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, built shortly before 1850, is a Late Classical house that is now a historic house museum....
has been open as a civic museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
and has occasionally served as a period film location. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1962.
The McQuesten neighbourhood in Hamilton is named after him. It is bounded by Barton Street East
Barton Street (Hamilton, Ontario)
Barton Street is an arterial road in the Lower City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It's also the longest street in the city. It starts off at the Western end of town at Locke Street North and is a two-way street that stretches eastward through a number of different and varied communities in the...
(north), Queenston Road
Queenston Road (Hamilton, Ontario)
Queenston Road is a two-way Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Also known as Highway 8. It starts off at the Queenston Traffic Circle and travels eastward over the Red Hill Valley Parkway and into Stoney Creek past the Fruitland and Winona communities and into Niagara Region as...
(south), Parkdale Avenue North
Parkdale Avenue (Hamilton, Ontario)
Parkdale Avenue, is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off just South of Lawrence Road at Hixon Road and is a two-way street throughout, stretching northward through the city's North End industrial neighbourhood and ends just north of the Burlington Street East...
(west) and the Red Hill Valley Trail. Landmarks in this neighbourhood include the Red Hill Valley Parkway
Red Hill Valley Parkway
The Red Hill Valley Parkway , referred to as the Red Hill Creek Expressway during planning is a municipal expressway in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario. The route connects the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, Hamilton's second municipal expressway, to the Queen Elizabeth Way near Hamilton...
, Red Hill Valley Trail and Hillcrest Park.
External links
- Whitehern historical
- Whitehern archives
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario parliamentary service entry