Monty Davidson
{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Monty Davidson
| image = Montgomery 'Monty' Bryden Davidson.jpg
| caption =
| office1 = Ontario MPP
| term_start1 = 1975
| term_end1 = 1981
| predecessor1 = New riding
| successor1 = Bill Barlow
| constituency1 = Cambridge
| party = New Democrat
| birth_name = Montgomery Bryden Davidson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|10|23}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|3|26|1935|10|23|df=y}}
| death_place = Cambridge, Ontario
| residence = Cambridge, Ontario
| occupation = Textile worker, Labour activist
| spouse = Margaret
| children = 6
}}
Montgomery Bryden Davidson (23 October 1935 – 26 March 2017) was a Canadian politician. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the riding of Cambridge from 1975 until 1981.
Background
Monty Davidson was a staff representative for the Textile Workers of America and a long-time union organizer. He went to work, at the age of 15, for the Stauffer and Dobbie Co. textile plant in Galt, Ontario and became shop steward at the age of 17.{{cite news |title=Labouring on; Fewer industries means fewer unions, but times are changing, organizers say |newspaper=Kitchener-Waterloo Record |first=Dave |last=Pink |date=August 30, 2003 |page=J1}}
Politics
In the 1975 provincial election, Davidson ran as the NDP candidate in the new riding of Cambridge. He defeated Liberal candidate Claudette Millar by 1,593 votes.{{cite news |title=Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=September 19, 1975 |page=C12}} He was re-elected in 1977 defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Bill Barlow by 554 votes.{{cite news |title=Ontario provincial election results riding by riding |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 1977 |page=D9}}{{cite news |title=Former Cambridge MPP hasn't lost taste for politics |last=Jalsevac |first=Philip |newspaper=Kitchener-Waterloo Record |date=February 26, 1993 |page=B3}} In the 1981 election he again faced Barlow but lost to him by 849 votes.{{cite news|author=Canadian Press |title=Winds of change, sea of security |newspaper=The Windsor Star |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0NtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QlIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1444%2C1388326 |date=March 20, 1981 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=22}}{{cite news |title=Former Cambridge MPP Barlow to be honored by Tories, friends |newspaper=Kitchener-Waterloo Record |last=Aagaard |first=Chris |date=April 12, 1991 |page=B3}} During his time as an MPP, he sat in opposition under NDP leaders Stephen Lewis and Michael Cassidy.
Later life
In 1981, he took a job with the Occupational Health and Safety Branch of the Ontario Federation of Labour. He said, "It's a full-time job and I'm very fortunate that there were people looking out for me who were willing to give me this kind of work in an area that I'm familiar with."{{cite news |title=The losers for ex-MPPs, it's limelight to limbo |last=Carriere |first=Vianney |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=August 24, 1981}} In his later career, he worked at the Workers Health and Safety Centre in Cambridge before retiring in 1999.
Davidson died on March 26, 2017. He was survived by Margaret, his wife of 62 years, and six children.{{cite web |title=Montgomery "Monty" Davidson ~ 1935-2017 |url=http://www.corbettfuneralhome.ca/obituaries/115101 |publisher=Corbett Funeral Home}} The NDP association in Cambridge established an annual award in his memory "to celebrate [his] life-long service to working people".{{cite web |title=Cambridge NDP Presents New Monty Davidson Award at Oct. 14 Fall Dinner |url=http://cambridge-ndp.ca/beta-test/index.php/2016/07/18/join-us-at-cambridge-ndp-family-bbq-on-july-17-43-mcclintock-drive-lot-79/ |date=July 18, 2016 |publisher=Cambridge NDP}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{OntarioMPPbio|id=montgomery-monty-davidson}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Monty}}
Category:Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs
Category:Trade unionists from Ontario
Category:Textile Workers Union of America people
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario