1. Robert Stanfield was a lawyer before becoming the leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party in 1948, with the goal of reviving the party that did not have a single seat in the legislature.
46 Facts About Robert Stanfield
1. 2.
In 1972, Robert Stanfield recovered the PCs' standing and narrowly lost to Trudeau for a second time.
3.
Robert Stanfield was a strong supporter of bilingualism, putting him at odds with some members of the PC Party.
4.
Robert Stanfield resigned as leader in 1976 and from politics in 1979.
5.
Robert Stanfield died in Ottawa in 2003 from complications due to pneumonia.
6.
Robert Stanfield was one of only several people granted the style "The Right Honourable" who were not so entitled by virtue of an office held.
7.
Robert Stanfield studied economics and political science at Dalhousie University and was awarded the Governor General's Silver Medal for achieving the highest standing when he graduated in 1936 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
8.
Robert Stanfield then studied at Harvard Law School, where he was an honours student near the top of his class and the first Canadian editor of the Harvard Law Review.
9.
Robert Stanfield graduated from Harvard in 1939 and was called to the bar in 1940.
10.
In 1948, Robert Stanfield was elected leader of the party, and began the process of reviving the party.
11.
Robert Stanfield led reforms on education, human rights, and health care.
12.
Robert Stanfield led the PCs to three re-elections in 1960,1963, and 1967, each time with larger majorities.
13.
In 1957, Robert Stanfield's government established the crown corporation Industrial Estates Limited to attract new industry in Nova Scotia.
14.
In 1963, Robert Stanfield's government established the Nova Scotia Voluntary Planning Board to assist the minister of finance in creating measures to increase the rate of economic growth through voluntary economic planning.
15.
Robert Stanfield's government raised the limit on agricultural loans from $8,000 to $100,000.
16.
Robert Stanfield's government introduced hospital insurance, as well as a provincial sales tax to fund half of it.
17.
In 1959, Robert Stanfield's government passed the Fair Accommodation Practices Act to protect against discrimination in public spaces.
18.
In 1962, Robert Stanfield created and led the Interdepartmental Committee on Human Rights to support the work of William Oliver and other Black Nova Scotians.
19.
The year later, Robert Stanfield's government codified and extended earlier legislation in the first Human Rights Act of 1963.
20.
In 1965, the Robert Stanfield government established the Education fund for Negros and in 1967, created the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission with Oliver.
21.
Robert Stanfield's government started to contribute funding towards universities beginning in 1960; between 1960 and 1967, the Stanfield government's contributions towards universities jumped from $250,000 to $25,000,000.
22.
Robert Stanfield's government introduced a capital assistance program in which the government would fund up to 90 percent of the cost of university buildings.
23.
Robert Stanfield did not express interest in entering federal politics during the early and mid-1960s.
24.
Robert Stanfield turned down the federal Progressive Conservative Party leader and then-prime minister John Diefenbaker's proposal that he should enter federal politics in the 1962 federal election, and did not express interest in becoming party leader following the Diefenbaker-led PCs' second defeat in the 1965 federal election.
25.
Robert Stanfield had strong delegate support in the Atlantic provinces but struggled in the Prairies and Quebec.
26.
Robert Stanfield brought the Progressive Conservatives high in the polls, prompting many to expect him to defeat the Liberal government of the aging Lester B Pearson.
27.
In February 1968, Robert Stanfield almost forced an election after defeating Pearson's government on a tax bill, leading to several days of confusion over whether or not this counted as a de facto motion of no confidence in the government.
28.
Ultimately, it was ruled by the Governor General, Roland Michener that it did not, and while Robert Stanfield immediately called an explicit motion of no confidence in Pearson's government, it failed to pass after the New Democratic Party and Ralliement creditiste declined to support it.
29.
Robert Stanfield proposed introducing guaranteed annual income, though failed to explain the number of citizens that would be covered, the minimum income level, and the cost to implement it.
30.
Marcel Faribault, the PCs' Quebec lieutenant and MP candidate, was unclear on whether he supported or opposed deux nations and Robert Stanfield did not drop him as a candidate.
31.
Robert Stanfield vigorously backed official bilingualism and the Liberals' 1969 Official Languages Act which made French an official language in Canada, arguing the act would strengthen Canadian unity.
32.
In 1969, Robert Stanfield was one of 12 out of 72 PC MPs to vote in favour of the Trudeau government's Bill C-150, which decriminalized homosexuality and allowed abortion under certain conditions.
33.
Robert Stanfield initially supported the Trudeau government's October 1970 invocation of the War Measures Act to deal with the October Crisis but later regretted doing so.
34.
The election focused mainly on the current economic recession, and Robert Stanfield proposed to immediately introduce 90-day wage and price controls to help reduce the increasing inflation of the era.
35.
Robert Stanfield served as leader of the PCs and leader of the Opposition until February 22,1976, when he was permanently succeeded as leader by Joe Clark.
36.
Robert Stanfield retired from Parliament in the May 1979 election which finally brought the Progressive Conservatives to power.
37.
Robert Stanfield said that the Meech Lake Accord was a second chance to save Canada from disaster.
38.
From 1983 to 1987, Robert Stanfield served as chairman of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
39.
Robert Stanfield served as the first Canadian chairman of the Commonwealth Foundation from December 1986 to 1991.
40.
In 1996, Robert Stanfield suffered a debilitating stroke that left him severely disabled.
41.
Robert Stanfield died on December 16,2003, at Montfort Hospital in Ottawa, from pneumonia, only nine days after the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the new Conservative Party of Canada.
42.
Robert Stanfield married Joyce Frazee in 1940, but she died in a car accident in 1954.
43.
Mary Robert Stanfield died of cancer in 1977, and the following year, Robert Stanfield married his third wife, Anne Austin.
44.
Robert Stanfield is one of nine Canadians entitled to the title without having held an office which such title is automatically conferred.
45.
Robert Stanfield was a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
46.
Robert Stanfield was awarded several honorary Degrees in recognition of His service to Canada, These Include.