C. D. Howe

The Right Honourable C. D. Howe PC
Minister of Trade and Commerce
In office 19 January 1948 – 21 June 1957
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King Louis St. Laurent
Preceded by	James Angus MacKinnon
Succeeded by	Gordon Churchill
Minister of Defence Production
In office 1 April 1951 – 20 June 1957
Prime Minister	Louis St. Laurent
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Howard Charles Green (acting)
Minister of Reconstruction and Supply
In office 1 January 1946 – 14 November 1948
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Robert Winters
Minister of Reconstruction
In office 13 October 1944 – 21 December 1945
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of Munitions and Supply
In office 9 April 1940 – 31 December 1945
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of Transport
Acting 13 May 1942 – 5 October 1942
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Arthur Cardin
Succeeded by	Joseph-Enoil Michaud
In office 2 November 1936 – 7 July 1940
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Arthur Cardin
Minister of Railways and Canals
In office 23 October 1935 – 1 November 1936
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Robert James Manion
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Minister of Marine
In office 23 October 1935 – 1 November 1936
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Lucien Henri Gendron
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Member of Parliament for Port Arthur
In office 14 October 1935 – 10 June 1957
Preceded by	Riding created
Succeeded by	Douglas M. Fisher
Personal details
Born	Clarence Decatur Howe (1886-01-15)15 January 1886 Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	31 December 1960(1960-12-31) (aged 74) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Alice Worcester ​ (m. 1916)​
Children	5
Education	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Profession	Legislator engineer business leader
Signature

Clarence Decatur Howe PC (UK), PC (Can) (15 January 1886 – 31 December 1960) was an American-born Canadian engineer, businessman and Liberal Party politician. Howe served as a cabinet minister in the governments of prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent continuously from 1935 to 1957. He is credited with transforming the Canadian economy from agriculture-based to industrial. During the Second World War, his involvement in the war effort was so extensive that he was nicknamed the "Minister of Everything".^[1]

Born in Massachusetts, Howe moved to Nova Scotia as a young adult to take up a professorship at Dalhousie University. After working for the Canadian government as an engineer, he began his own firm and became wealthy. In 1935, he was recruited as a Liberal candidate for the House of Commons of Canada by Mackenzie King. The Liberals won the election in a landslide and Howe won his seat. Mackenzie King appointed him to the Cabinet. There, he took major parts in many new enterprises, including the founding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Trans-Canada Air Lines (today Air Canada). Howe played a crucial role in Canada's war effort during WWII and recruited many corporate executives (as "dollar-a-year-men") to serve as executives in wartime enterprises.

Howe was impatient with parliamentary debates for his proposals, causing him to struggle with gaining popularity amongst parliamentarians; he was often accused of dictatorial conduct by the Opposition. As the Liberal government entered its third decade, it and Howe came to be seen as arrogant. The Government's attempt to impose closure in the 1956 Pipeline Debate led to major controversy in the House of Commons. In the 1957 election, Howe's actions and policies were made an issue by Opposition leader John Diefenbaker. Howe faced a serious challenge in his riding, but was expected to make speeches elsewhere as a major Liberal leader. Howe lost his seat in the election, and Diefenbaker became Prime Minister, ending almost 22 years of Liberal rule. Howe returned to the private sector, accepting a number of corporate directorships, and died suddenly of a heart attack in December 1960.