Keith Brown (Ontario politician)

Keith Roy Brown (November 7, 1926 – July 7, 2015) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1959 to 1967 representing the riding of Peterborough.

Keith Brown
Ontario MPP
In office 1959–1967
Preceded by	Harold Scott
Succeeded by	Walter Pitman
Constituency	Peterborough
Personal details
Born	November 7, 1926 Bonarlaw, Ontario
Died	July 7, 2015 (aged 88) Peterborough, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Marjorie
Children	3
Occupation	Businessman

Background

Brown was born in Bonarlaw, Ontario. He was a member of the United Church of Canada and a freemason. He has owned several businesses in Peterborough, including a car dealership and a property development company.[1][2][3] He and his wife Marjorie raised three daughters.[4]

Politics

Brown was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1959 general election, winning by a significant margin in Peterborough.[5] He was re-elected in 1963.[6] He did not run in 1967 citing business pressure.[7] The Progressive Conservatives held a majority government in the legislature throughout this period, and Brown served as a backbench supporter of the Leslie Frost and John Robarts administrations.

Brown served as Chairman of the Committee of the Whole House (i.e., Deputy Speaker) for a period in the 1960s. On one occasion, he was the target of a motion of non-confidence by the opposition.[8][9] He was later the campaign manager for Sam Murphy in the 1967 election. Murphy was defeated by New Democratic Party candidate Walter Pitman.[10]

During the 1967 election, a controversy arose over property that Brown had purchased for $85,000 in 1964 and sold for $210,000 in early 1967. The Ontario Housing Corporation (OHC) expressed interest in the land shortly thereafter, and some reports suggested the possibility of an improper relationship between Brown, the subsequent landowners, and the OHC. Brown dismissed this, saying that he was uninvolved in the OHC proposal and that in light of later developments his selling price had been too low.[7] Trade and Development Minister Stanley Randall later confirmed that Brown had not been involved in the OHC's discussions and described the accusations against him as "wholly unreasonable and completely unwarranted."[11]

Later life

Brown's automobile firm gave financial support to Chris Stockwell in his bid to succeed Mike Harris as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the party's 2002 leadership election.[12] His son-in-law, Daryl Bennett, was elected as the mayor of Peterborough in 2010; Brown was in attendance for the campaign launch.[13]

He spent nearly 60 years with his wife, Marjorie, before she died in 2005. Brown died in Peterborough, Ontario on July 7, 2015.[14]

Electoral record

1959 Ontario general election: Peterborough
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Keith Brown	13,984	58.17
	Liberal	Joseph Slattery	7,975	33.18
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Edmund Humphrey	1,834	7.63
	Social Credit	Martin Graves	246	1.02
Total valid votes			24,039

1963 Ontario general election: Peterborough
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Keith Brown	16,972	58.05
	Liberal	Jack McCarney	7,777	26.60
	New Democratic	Mildred Sutton	4,490	15.36
Total valid votes			29,239	100.00

References

1. Wedley, Brendan (2010). "Men who would be mayor: Bennett". Peterborough Examiner. Archived from the original on 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
2. Marchen, Jack (August 3, 2004). "'The Taxi Guy with the taxi cap'". Peterborough Examiner. p. C1.
3. "Del Mastro is a family affair". Peterborough This Week. March 16, 2005. p. 18.
4. "Roy 'Keith' Brown: Obituary". Canadian Obituaries. July 7, 2015. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
5. Canadian Press (June 12, 1959). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 26.
6. Canadian Press (September 26, 1963). "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 25.
7. Young, Scott (October 11, 1967). "The snowballing effect (in dollars) of buying and selling a piece of land". Globe and Mail. p. 7.
8. "Inexperienced but still right, Chairman says". Globe and Mail. March 23, 1962. p. 5.
9. "Ask the Premier". Globe and Mail. February 13, 1963. p. 4.
10. Dafoe, John (October 18, 1967). "Two ministers lose seats". Globe and Mail. p. 1.
11. MacKenzie, James (July 20, 1968). "Minister clears ex-MPP in OHC land deal". Globe and Mail. p. 5.
12. "Chris Stockwell: Statement of Campaign Period Income and Expenses (2002 leadership election)]". Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06.
13. Wedley, Brendan (November 13, 2010). "Bennett touts leadership". Peterborough Examiner.
14. Kovach, Joelle (July 9, 2015). "Former Peterborough MPP Keith Brown dies". Peterborough Examiner.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)