Agar Rodney Adamson (November 8, 1901 – April 8, 1954) was a Canadian politician. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada who represented the riding of York West from 1940 to 1954. He died in a plane crash in 1954.

Rodney Adamson
Member of Parliament
for York West
In office
1940–1954
Preceded byJohn Streight
Succeeded byJohn Hamilton
Personal details
Born(1901-11-08)November 8, 1901
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedApril 8, 1954(1954-04-08) (aged 52)
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Political partyConservative
Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)Rosamund Lazier (1930-1943)
Cynthia Jacqueline Oakley (1947-1954)
RelationsAgar Adamson, father
Mabel Cawthra, mother
Anthony Adamson, brother
Children2
OccupationMining engineer
Military service
AllegianceCanadian
Branch/serviceRoyal Air Force, 1918
Canadian Army, 1940-1945
RankLieutenant
UnitLorne Scots

Biography

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Adamson was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1901.[1] He was the son of Agar Adamson, who commanded Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from 1916 to 1918 during World War I. His mother was Mabel Cawthra, a wealthy heiress, artist and decorator.[2] He attended Ridley College in St. Catharines and later Magdalene College in Cambridge, England. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot in 1918 in the last year of World War I. He was trained as a mining engineer and worked for Brazilian Traction in South America and Ontario Hydro.[3]

He was elected as a Conservative to represent York West, a riding to the west of Toronto that would eventually become Mississauga. Shortly after he was elected he took leave from parliament to serve overseas in the army with the Lorne Scots regiment. He served with the regiment for two years as an intelligence officer. In 1942 he transferred to a headquarters unit in London, England where he served for the rest of the war. In 1947 he married Cynthia Jacqueline Oakley whom he had met in Banff on a skiing trip. Previously he had been married to Rosamund Lazier but that marriage ended in divorce. He and Cynthia raised two sons.

After the war, he returned to his role as M.P. He was re-elected in 1945, 1949 and 1953. He and his wife died in a TCA plane crash near Moose Jaw SK on April 8, 1954. He was 52.[3]

Electoral record

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1953 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Agar Rodney Adamson 12,228 41.5 +3.4
Liberal Robert M. Campbell 10,262 34.8 -2.3
Co-operative Commonwealth Charles Hibbert Millard 6,569 22.3 -2.5
Labor–Progressive Harry Hunter 417 1.4
Total valid votes 29,476 100.0
1949 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Agar Rodney Adamson 19,184 38.1 -3.1
Liberal Kenneth Thompson 18,689 37.1 +0.9
Co-operative Commonwealth Murray S. Kernighan 12,498 24.8 +4.7
Total valid votes 50,371 100.0
1945 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Agar Rodney Adamson 14,703 41.2 -3.4
Liberal Chris. J. Bennett 12,947 36.2 -6.0
Co-operative Commonwealth Murray S. Kernighan 7,183 20.1 +6.9
Labor–Progressive Alexander Whyte Welch 886 2.5 -97.5
Total valid votes 35,719 100.0
1940 Canadian federal election: York West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Agar Rodney Adamson 12,788 44.6 +12.9
Liberal Chris. J. Bennett 12,117 42.2 +10.3
Co-operative Commonwealth David Lewis 3,787 13.2 -6.4
Total valid votes 28,692 100.0

Note: "National Government" vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election.

References

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  1. ^ "ADAMSON, Agar Rodney". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  2. ^ Tennyson, Brian Douglas (2013-05-01). The Canadian Experience of the Great War: A Guide to Memoirs. Scarecrow Press. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-0-8108-8680-3. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  3. ^ a b "Rodney Adamson M.P. dies with wife in North Star". Toronto Daily Star. April 9, 1954. p. 10.
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