Donald Fleming Summary

Donald Methuen Fleming, PC (May 23, 1905 – December 31, 1987) was a Canadian parliamentarian and lawyer. Fleming was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1945 general election as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Toronto riding of Eglinton. In 1948, he was a candidate in that year's Progressive Conservative leadership convention, losing to George Drew. He ran for the leadership again in 1956, and lost to John George Diefenbaker. The Speaker expelled Fleming from the House of Commons during the 1956 Pipeline Debate that helped lead to the defeat of the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent in the 1957 general election. Diefenbaker became the new Prime Minister and appointed Fleming to the cabinet as Minister of Finance. As finance minister, Fleming clashed with the governor of the Bank of Canada, James Coyne, over monetary policy and ultimately demanded and got Coyne's resignation in 1961. In 1962, Fleming became the Attorney General of Canada before retiring from politics in 1963. Fleming returned to politics to seek the PC Party leadership at the 1967 leadership convention for a third time, but came in seventh, and left political life for good. In later life, he was Chairman of the Bank of Nova Scotia.

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