Darcy McKeough
OC
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In office
1963–1967
Preceded byGeorge Parry
Succeeded byRiding abolished
ConstituencyKent West
In office
1967–1978
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byAndy Watson
ConstituencyChatham—Kent
Minister without portfolio
In office
1966–1967
PremierJohn Robarts
Minister of Municipal Affairs
In office
1967–1971
PremierJohn Robarts
Preceded byWilf Spooner
Succeeded byDalton Bales
Treasurer of Ontario
In office
1971–1972
PremierBill Davis
Preceded byCharles MacNaughton
Succeeded byCharles MacNaughton
In office
1975–1978
PremierBill Davis
Preceded byJohn White
Succeeded byFrank Miller
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
In office
April 1972 – September 1972
PremierBill Davis
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byCharles MacNaughton
In office
1975–1978
PremierBill Davis
Preceded byJohn White
Succeeded byFrank Miller
Minister of Municipal Affairs
In office
February 1972 – September 1972
PremierBill Davis
Preceded byDalton Bales
Succeeded byBob Welch
Minister of Energy
In office
1973–1975
PremierBill Davis
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byDennis Timbrell
Personal details
Born(1933-01-31)January 31, 1933
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
DiedNovember 29, 2023(2023-11-29) (aged 90)
Political partyProgressive Conservative
OccupationBusinessman

William Darcy McKeough OC (January 31, 1933 – November 29, 2023) was a Canadian politician in Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1978 who represented the ridings of Kent West and Chatham—Kent. He was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Robarts and Bill Davis. Due to McKeough's senior position in cabinet as Treasurer, Minister of Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Municipal Affairs, he was often referred to as the 'Duke of Kent'.

After he retired from politics in 1978, McKeough spent a further career in business administering his companies McKeough Investments and McKeough Supply. He also spent time as a member of the board of Hydro One and was CEO of Union Gas.

Background

Born in Chatham, Ontario and educated at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Canada. After which received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1954.

Politics

From 1960 to 1961 and 1962 to 1963, McKeough was a member of the Chatham City Council.

In the 1963 provincial election, McKeough ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the southwestern Ontario riding of Kent West. He defeated Liberal candidate G.R. Newkirk by 1,739 votes.[1] In 1967, he ran in the new riding of Chatham—Kent and defeated Liberal Tom Henry by 1,291 votes.[2] He was re-elected in 1971, 1975 and 1977.[3][4][5]

In 1966, McKeough was appointed to cabinet as a Minister without portfolio by Premier John Robarts.[6] In 1967 he was promoted to Minister of Municipal Affairs after the previous minister, Wilf Spooner was defeated in the 1967 election.[7] Among other things, he introduced legislation to create the city of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario by an amalgamation of existing municipalities.[8]

In 1971, McKeough entered the leadership race to replace Robarts who retired in December 1970.[9] He was viewed as a compromise candidate between front runner Bill Davis and contender Allan Lawrence.[10] He placed third in the contest which was won by Davis. After McKeough dropped out he endorsed Davis which was seen as a key move in Davis's narrow victory.[11] In return, Davis appointed McKeough to the senior cabinet post of Treasurer of Ontario and Minister of Economics.[12]

In September 1972, McKeough resigned from cabinet when it was revealed in a story by The Globe and Mail that he was involved in a conflict of interest when, as Minister of Municipal Affairs, his ministry had approved a housing development in which he was financially involved.[13] In his resignation announcement, McKeough claimed he had done nothing wrong but felt that he could no longer continue in his position when his credibility would be continually questioned.[14]

In 1973, McKeough was returned to cabinet as Minister of Energy.[15] In January 1975, he was restored to the posts of Treasurer and Minister of Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs.[16] In August 1978 he retired from politics.[17]

Later life and death

After leaving political office in 1978, McKeough returned to the private sector and has had a number of positions, particularly in the energy sector. In 1994, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his "successful business ventures and fund-raising efforts on behalf of educational, medical, research and cultural institutions".[18]

McKeough died from complications of pneumonia on November 29, 2023, at the age of 90.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Save". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario, Canada. September 26, 1963. p. 25.
  2. ↑ "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario, Canada. October 18, 1967. p. B2.
  3. ↑ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  4. ↑ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  5. ↑ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  6. ↑ "Five added to Cabinet by Robarts". The Globe and Mail. November 25, 1966. p. 1.
  7. ↑ Dafoe, John (November 24, 1967). "Just one new member is shuffled into Robarts Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. p. 8.
  8. ↑ "Two Lakehead cities will be joined Jan. 1, McKeough announces". The Globe and Mail. January 28, 1969. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "Robarts resigning as Premier; Davis considered leading contender". The Globe and Mail. December 9, 1970. p. 1.
  10. ↑ Newman, Donald (February 12, 1971). "McKeough designates himself compromise choice". The Globe and Mail. p. 8.
  11. ↑ Munro, Ross H. (February 13, 1971). "Beats Lawrence by 44 votes: Davis New Ontario PC Leader: McKeough aid a key factor". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  12. ↑ Manthorpe, Jonathan; Slinger, John (March 2, 1971). "Changes in policies promised: Davis priorities to include environment and jobless". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  13. ↑ Zaritzky, John (August 28, 1972). "McKeough approved subdivision of land he had financial interest in". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  14. ↑ Manthorpe, jonathan (September 1, 1972). "'Satisfied I have personally done nothing wrong,' McKeough resigns from Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. p. 3.
  15. ↑ Webster, Norman (July 5, 1973). "McKeough back in Cabinet as new Minister of Energy". The Globe and Mail. p. 5.
  16. ↑ "2 ministers plagued by recent illnesses to take on new Cabinet responsibilities". The Globe and Mail. January 15, 1975. p. 31.
  17. ↑ Oziewicz, Stan (August 17, 1978). "Brash Darcy McKeough seeks 'something new' with room at the top". The Globe and Mail. p. 5.
  18. ↑ "15 Torontonians among 80 named to Order of Canada". Toronto Star. January 7, 1994. p. A12.
  19. ↑ Paikin, Steve (November 30, 2023). "Remembering Darcy McKeough, Ontario's 'minister of everything'". TVO. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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