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Wikipedia / Douglas Abbott

Douglas Charles Abbott (May 29, 1899 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian Member of Parliament, federal Cabinet Minister, and justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Abbott's appointment directly from the Cabinet of Canada as Finance Minister to the Supreme Court was one of the most controversial in the Supreme Court's history.

Early life

Abbott was born in Lennoxville, Quebec (now Sherbrooke, Quebec). He attended Bishop's University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. He then attended McGill Law School, but interrupted his studies to sign up for service overseas, in 1916. Returning from the Great War, he completed his legal studies, earning his Bachelor of Civil Law. He then went to France to attend the Université de Dijon. Returning to Canada, he was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1921 and practised law in Montreal with the firm of Fleet, Phelan, Fleet & Le Mesurier. He welcomed his son, Athony Abott, into the world, on November 26, 1930.

Political career

A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Abbott successfully stood for election to the House of Commons in 1940. He remained a member of the House for fourteen years, and unlike most contemporaries did not return to military service during the Second World War. He held office as Minister of National Defence (1945–1946) and then Minister of Finance (1946–1954).

As a member of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's cabinet, Abbott suggested that one of Quebec's three seats on the Supreme Court of Canada to be reserved for an anglophone to provide representation to the minority in Quebec. St. Laurent rejected that view, as he understood the appointment convention as requiring at least three French-speaking members of the Court and considered Abbott's proposal a drastic change.

Supreme Court justice

He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on July 1, 1954 and served as puisne justice until December 23, 1973.

Abbott was appointed to the court directly from the federal Cabinet, where he had served the previous seven years as Finance Minister. The appointment is considered one of the most controversial in the history of the Supreme Court. It was the first appointment directly from Cabinet since the 1911 appointment of Louis-Philippe Brodeur. As of , Abbott was the last justice of the Supreme Court of Canada appointed directly to the Court from the Cabinet, and the last justice to have held elected office prior to his appointment.

Abbott was criticized for refusing leave to appeal in Wilbert Coffin's case on the basis that it raised no substantial issue of law. Snell and Vaughan note that Abbott's involvement was unfortunate because, before the case, he had admitted to a journalist that he had limited experience in criminal law and would avoid writing criminal judgments until he gained more experience. The decision drew public criticism and caused some observers to question the quality of the Supreme Court justices more broadly. The Court later declined a motion to rehear the application for leave to appeal. Public outcry after Coffin's escape from prison led Minister of Justice Stuart Garson to take the extraordinary step of asking the Supreme Court to hear the case. In the resulting reference, the justices held 5–2 that the appeal would fail. Coffin was executed three weeks later.

Parliamentary seats

House of Commons

  • 16 May 1940 – 16 April 1945: St. Antoine—Westmount, Quebec

  • 6 September 1945 – 30 April 1949: St. Antoine—Westmount, Quebec

  • 15 September 1949 – 13 June 1953: St. Antoine—Westmount, Quebec

  • 12 November 1953 – 30 June 1954: Saint-Antoine—Westmount, Quebec

Parliamentary functions

Ministry

Parliamentary Secretary

Archives

There is a Douglas Charles Abbott fonds at Library and Archives Canada. Archival reference number is R4773 (former archival reference number MG32-B6).

References

Primary sources

Other sources

Further reading