1. George Hees was a noted athlete, winning championships in boxing and lacrosse at Cambridge.
18 Facts About George Hees
1. 2.
George Hees attended The Royal Military College of Canada from 1927 to 1931.
3.
George Hees then attended the University of Toronto and concurrently served for four years with The Royal Grenadiers, a Militia Regiment based in Toronto.
4.
George Hees served in the Canadian Army in North-West Europe during the Second World War.
5.
George Hees was wounded in the arm during the battle, evacuated, and repatriated to Canada where he was discharged from active service.
6.
George Hees was President of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1953 to 1956.
7.
George Hees considered leaving the Conservatives for the Liberals, but did not do so.
8.
George Hees returned to Parliament in the 1965 election as a PC, defeating Liberal MP Pauline Jewett in the rural riding of Northumberland, and remained in the front rows of the opposition ranks for almost two decades.
9.
George Hees ran for the leadership of the PC Party at its 1967 leadership convention, and placed fourth in a field of eleven on the first ballot.
10.
George Hees remained for two further ballots before withdrawing, and supporting the eventual winner, Nova Scotia Premier Robert Stanfield.
11.
George Hees was noted for being involved in a 1972 election campaign incident.
12.
On 22 September 1972, George Hees forcefully ejected campaign worker Douglas MacDonald from his motel room in Trenton, Nova Scotia.
13.
George Hees struck MacDonald's head against the door, shattering some glass that lacerated him in several places.
14.
George Hees's plea failed and on 22 February 1974, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ordered him to pay $6,175 to MacDonald.
15.
In 1981, George Hees was the Chairman of the Canada-US Permanent Joint Board on Defence.
16.
When Brian Mulroney led the party to a majority government in 1984, George Hees was named Minister of Veterans Affairs.
17.
George Hees retired from politics at the 1988 Canadian federal election.
18.
George Hees was portrayed by Christopher Plummer in the 1997 TV miniseries The Arrow.