John Ernest McMillin was a Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 building contractor who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

.

McMillin was a building contractor working in the east end of Toronto for 20 years prior to his death and was also a partner in the Main Realty Company of Toronto and president of the Ontario Property Owners Association.

He became active in politics in 1934. In 1943, he was elected as a school trustee for Toronto's Ward 8.

McMillin was elected as the Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the Toronto riding of Greenwood

Greenwood (electoral district)

Greenwood was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1979. It was located in east end of the city of Toronto in the province of Ontario...

 in the June 1949 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1949

The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...

 defeating Liberal Perry Ryan

Sylvester Perry Ryan

Sylvester Perry Ryan was a Canadian lawyer and politician.Ryan's federal political career began in 1949 when he ran, twice, for the Toronto seat of Greenwood...

 by less than 200 votes. However, McMillin died in August before the new Parliament was able to meet.

He was also a member of 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...

 and had been on the board of stewards of Glenmount United Church.

McMillin died suddenly of a heart attack early on August 20, 1949 only 59 days into his term.

An October by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 to fill the vacancy created by McMillin's death returned Progressive Conservative James MacKerras Macdonnell to Parliament.

External links