Douglas Abbott
Canadian politician and Supreme Court judge (1899-1987)
title: "Douglas Abbott" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["canadian-expeditionary-force-soldiers", "ministers-of-finance-of-canada", "ministers-of-national-defence-of-canada", "canadian-anglicans", "members-of-the-house-of-commons-of-canada-from-quebec", "liberal-party-of-canada-mps", "justices-of-the-supreme-court-of-canada", "members-of-the-king's-privy-council-for-canada", "1899-births", "1987-deaths", "politicians-from-sherbrooke", "anglophone-quebec-people", "mcgill-university-faculty-of-law-alumni", "20th-century-members-of-the-house-of-commons-of-canada", "chancellors-of-bishop's-university"] description: "Canadian politician and Supreme Court judge (1899-1987)" topic_path: "economics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Abbott" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Canadian politician and Supreme Court judge (1899-1987) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| honorific-prefix | The Honourable |
| honorific-suffix | |
| image | Douglas Abbott SCC portrait (cropped).jpg |
| office | Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada |
| predecessor | Patrick Kerwin |
| successor | Louis-Philippe de Grandpré |
| term_start | July 1, 1954 |
| term_end | December 23, 1973 |
| nominator | Louis St. Laurent |
| office1 | Minister of Finance |
| primeminister1 | W. L. Mackenzie King |
| Louis St. Laurent | |
| term_start1 | December 10, 1946 |
| term_end1 | June 30, 1954 |
| predecessor1 | James Lorimer Ilsley |
| successor1 | Walter Harris |
| office2 | Minister of National Defence |
| primeminister2 | W. L. Mackenzie King |
| term_start2 | August 21, 1945 |
| term_end2 | December 9, 1946 |
| predecessor2 | Andrew McNaughton |
| successor2 | Brooke Claxton |
| riding3 | Saint-Antoine—Westmount |
| parliament3 | Canadian |
| predecessor3 | Robert Smeaton White |
| successor3 | George Carlyle Marler |
| term_start3 | March 26, 1940 |
| term_end3 | June 30, 1954 |
| birth_name | Douglas Charles Abbott |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| party | Liberal |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | Mary Winnifred Chisholm |
| children | 3, including Tony |
| profession | Lawyer |
| branch | Non-Permanent Active Militia |
| Royal Air Force | |
| rank | Gunner (NPAM) |
| serviceyears | 1916–1918 |
| 1918 | |
| unit | 7th (McGill) Siege Battery, Canadian Garrison Artillery, Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery |
| :: |
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable | honorific-suffix = | image = Douglas Abbott SCC portrait (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | office = Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada | predecessor = Patrick Kerwin | successor = Louis-Philippe de Grandpré | term_start = July 1, 1954 | term_end = December 23, 1973 | nominator = Louis St. Laurent | appointer = |office1 = Minister of Finance | primeminister1= W. L. Mackenzie King Louis St. Laurent | term_start1= December 10, 1946 | term_end1= June 30, 1954 | predecessor1= James Lorimer Ilsley | successor1= Walter Harris |office2 = Minister of National Defence |primeminister2 = W. L. Mackenzie King |term_start2 = August 21, 1945 |term_end2 = December 9, 1946 |predecessor2 = Andrew McNaughton |successor2 = Brooke Claxton | riding3 = Saint-Antoine—Westmount | parliament3 = Canadian | predecessor3 = Robert Smeaton White | successor3 = George Carlyle Marler | term_start3 = March 26, 1940 | term_end3 = June 30, 1954 | birth_name = Douglas Charles Abbott | birth_date = | birth_place = Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada | death_date = | death_place = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | nationality = | party = Liberal | spouse = {{plainlist|
| relations = | children = 3, including Tony | residence = | alma_mater =
- Bishop's University
- McGill Law School
- Université de Dijon | occupation = | profession = Lawyer | branch = Non-Permanent Active Militia Royal Air Force | rank = Gunner (NPAM) | serviceyears = 1916–1918 1918 | unit = 7th (McGill) Siege Battery, Canadian Garrison Artillery, Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
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.
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).
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.
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
- 18 April 1945 – 11 December 1946: Minister of National Defence for Naval Services
- 21 August 1945 – 11 December 1946: Minister of National Defence
- 10 December 1946 – 30 June 1954: Minister of Finance and Receiver General
Parliamentary Secretary
- 1 April 1943 – 7 March 1945: Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance
- 8 March 1945 – 16 April 1945: Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of National Defence
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
References
- Archives, McGill University. (November 11, 2012). "McGill University Archives – McGill Remembers".
- McCormick, Peter. (2000-01-01). "Supreme at Last: The Evolution of the Supreme Court of Canada". James Lorimer & Company.
- (1972). "The International Who's Who 1972–73". Europa Publications.
- "Finding aid for Douglas Charles Abbott fonds".
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