Lincoln Alexander Remembered

STATEMENT FROM QUEEN’S PARK
Ted Arnott, MPP
Wellington-Halton Hills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2012

THE ONTARIO LEGISLATURE WAS PROROGUED ON OCTOBER 15, 2012.
THE FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT WELLINGTON-HALTON HILLS MPP TED
ARNOTT WOULD HAVE DELIVERED IN THE LEGISLATURE TODAY IF THE
HOUSE HAD BEEN SITTING.

Lincoln Alexander Remembered
Lincoln Alexander was the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario when I was first elected to the
Legislative Assembly in 1990.

When he came into the Chamber at Queen’s Park for a Throne Speech or other special
occasion, he had a regal bearing and manner that ironically seemed to be down-to-earth at the
same time.

But it was his sense of humour that endeared him to everyone who knew him.

He visited Wellington County on August 2, 2008, to help unveil an historical heritage plaque at
Glen Allan.

“Good afternoon, your Honour,” I said, as I greeted him.

“They said there’d be some big shots here,” he replied.

I smiled, protesting that I didn’t see myself as a “big shot.”

“All you MPPs think you’re big shots,” he retorted.

We both laughed, remembering that he too had been a Parliamentarian, and so was, by his own
definition, a “big shot” himself.

Lincoln Alexander grew up in an Ontario that was far less tolerant and inclusive than the
province we know today. But as Sandra Martin wrote in the Globe and Mail, he had the capacity
to “turn rejections and despicable slurs into a personal challenge to excel.”

Excel he did, as a student, as a young professional, as a husband and father, and as a
community leader…culminating in his election to the House of Commons as a Progressive
Conservative in 1968.

He held his Hamilton riding through five elections, becoming Canada’s Minister of Labour in
1979.
Retiring from partisan politics, he later served as the Chair of Ontario’s Workman’s
Compensation Board, and then represented Her Majesty the Queen as our Lieutenant-
Governor.

Next, he became the longest serving Chancellor of the University of Guelph, inspiring thousands
of young people with his life story and example of overcoming discrimination, pursuing
excellence, and working for a better Canada.

Today his remains lie in state here at the Ontario Legislature, but the memory of His Honour
Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln Alexander will live on at Queen’s Park forever.

– 30 –

Ted Arnott, MPP
Phone: 416-325-3880
Email: ted.arnott@pc.ola.org

QUEEN’S BUSH CELEBRATION – The plaque commemorating the Queen’s Bush Settlement, 1820-1867, is unveiled in Glen Allan
in Wellington County on August 2, 2008. Escaped slaves travelled via the Underground Railroad and settled at Queen’s Bush. From
left: Diana Braithwaite, MPP Ted Arnott, Karolyn Smardz Frost, Rella Aylestock Braithwaite, Caleb Johnson, Davis Brown,
Jahmylla Boston, Vaughan Madden, Adam Black, Michael Black and Chloe Napadek. Back row, from left: the Honourable Lincoln
Alexander, Mapleton Mayor John Green and Rob Black, President of the Wellington County Historical Society. (Photo courtesy of
the Arthur Enterprise News)