Bryce Mackasey, Canadian businessman and politician, 20th Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 1999)
Bryce Stuart Mackasey, (August 25, 1921 – September 5, 1999) was a Canadian Member of Parliament, Cabinet minister, and Ambassador to Portugal.
Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he was elected as a Liberal candidate in the riding of Verdun in the 1962 federal election. He was re-elected in the 1963, 1965, 1968, 1972, and 1974 elections. He resigned in 1976 to run in the Quebec provincial election that year, and was elected to the Quebec National Assembly for the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. He resigned in 1978 to run in a federal by-election in the riding of Ottawa Centre, but was defeated. From 1978 to 1979, he served briefly as President of Air Canada. He was re-elected in the riding of Lincoln in the 1980 election.
He held numerous ministerial positions including Labour, Manpower and Immigration, Secretary of State, Postmaster General of Canada and Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
When Mackasey left office in 1984 Prime Minister John Turner appointed him Ambassador to Portugal; this led to Conservative leader Brian Mulroney's famous comment about patronage, "There's no whore like an old whore". Mulroney canceled the appointment shortly after he was elected and appointed former Speaker of the House Lloyd Francis in Mackasey's place.
In 1970, he received an honorary doctorate from Sir George Williams University, which later became Concordia University.
1921Aug, 25
Bryce Mackasey
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Events on 1921
- 15Feb
Helsinki
Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki. - 20Mar
Versailles Treaty
The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland. - 11Jul
William Howard Taft
Former President of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices. - 29Oct
Sacco and Vanzetti
United States: Second trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in Boston, Massachusetts. - 11Nov
Arlington National Cemetery
The Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by US President Warren G. Harding at Arlington National Cemetery.