Thomas A. Giles

{{short description|Canadian politician}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| name = Thomas A. Giles

| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|11|23}}

| birth_place = Victoria, Nova Scotia

| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|10|23|1916|11|23}}

| death_place = Antigonish, Nova Scotia

| office = MLA for Cumberland West

| term_start = 1949

| term_end = 1953

| predecessor = new riding

| successor = Allison T. Smith

| party = Progressive Conservative

| religion =

| occupation = lawyer

}}

Thomas Augustine Giles (November 23, 1916 – October 23, 1970) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Cumberland West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1949 to 1953. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.{{cite web|url=https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/constituencies/pdfs/cumberland%20south.pdf|title=Electoral History for Cumberland West|publisher=Nova Scotia Legislative Library|accessdate=2018-05-06}}

Born in 1916 at Victoria, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Giles graduated from St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie University, and was a lawyer by career.{{cite book|last1=Elliott|first1=Shirley B.|title=The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758–1983 : a biographical directory|url=https://archive.org/details/legislativeassem0000unse/page/83|accessdate=2018-05-06|year=1984|publisher=Public Archives of Nova Scotia|isbn=0-88871-050-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/legislativeassem0000unse/page/83 83]}} He married Joan Edwards of Salisbury, England in 1945, and then Sylvia Bowser of Sussex, New Brunswick. Giles entered provincial politics in the 1949 election, defeating Liberal incumbent Kenneth Judson Cochrane by 177 votes in the newly established Cumberland West riding.{{cite web|url=http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201949.pdf|title=Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1949|publisher=Elections Nova Scotia|year=1949|page=22|accessdate=2015-05-03}} He was defeated by Liberal Allison T. Smith when he ran for re-election in 1953.{{cite web|url=http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201953.pdf|title=Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1953|publisher=Elections Nova Scotia|year=1953|page=23|accessdate=2015-05-03}}{{cite news|title=Liberals win in N.S.|work=The Globe and Mail|date=May 27, 1953}} In 1967, Giles was appointed a judge of the Provincial Magistrate's Court. He died at Antigonish on October 23, 1970.