Thomas Kidd (politician)
Encyclopedia
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1930-1934 and served as Conservative MLA for Kingston from 1926 to 1940 and 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....
MP for Kingston City
Kingston City
Kingston City was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario...
from 1945 to 1949.
He was born in Burritt's Rapids, Ontario, the son of Edward Kidd
Edward Kidd
Edward Kidd was an Ontario farmer and political figure. He represented Carleton in the Canadian House of Commons from 1900 to 1905 and 1909 to 1912 as a Conservative member....
, and was educated there and in Kemptville
Kemptville, Ontario
Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Southern Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville...
. Kidd was a manufacturer and wholesale merchant. He served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
with the Royal Regiment of Canada in 1915 and was wounded at Ypres
Second Battle of Ypres
The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St...
. In 1920, he married Eva Richardson, the daughter of the late senator Henry Westman Richardson
Henry Westman Richardson
Henry Westman Richardson was a Canadian businessman and Senator.He was the head of J. Richardson and Sons Limited, a commodities firm based in Kingston, Ontario that was founded by his father which handled virtually all of Canada's grain exports to the United Kingdom during World War I...
. Kidd was a member of Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
city council from 1922 to 1926 and also served on the Kingston Board of Works. He won the Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
nomination in Kingston after the incumbent Conservative, William Folger Nickle
William Folger Nickle
William Folger Nickle KC was a Canadian politician who served both as a member of the Canadian House of Commons and in the Ontario legislature where he rose to the position of Attorney-General of Ontario...
, resigned from the cabinet of Howard Ferguson
Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC was a Conservative politician and the ninth Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1923 to 1930.-Background:He was the son of Charles Frederick Ferguson who served in the Canadian House of Commons...
in order to protest the government's decision to run for re-election on the platform of repealing the Ontario Temperance Act
Ontario Temperance Act
Ontario Temperance Act was a law passed in Ontario in 1916 to prohibit the sale of alcohol, a period known as Prohibition. This meant the province remained dry in legal terms, but smugglers continued to import alcohol into the province. The cause was the demand of religious elements led by women...
and allowing government controlled liquor sales. Kidd defeated Nickle who ran as a Prohibitionist candidate in the 1926 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1926
The Ontario general election, 1926 was the 17th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on December 1, 1926, to elect the 112 Members of the 17th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
.
Kidd was re-elected in the 1929 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1929
The Ontario general election, 1929 was the 18th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 30, 1929, to elect the 112 Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ....
and served as Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1930 until 1934.
He resigned from the provincial legislature to run unsuccessfully for 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...
in the 1940 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1940
The Canadian federal election of 1940 was the 19th general election in Canadian history. It was held March 26, 1940 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 19th Parliament of Canada...
but won on his second attempt in 1945
Canadian federal election, 1945
The Canadian federal election of 1945 was the 20th general election in Canadian history. It was held June 11, 1945 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 20th Parliament of Canada...
. Kidd was defeated in bid for re-election in 1949 and again when he tried to return to politics in 1957. Kidd was also a Grand Master in the Orange Lodge.