Kenneth Bryden
Ken Bryden | |
---|---|
Ontario MPP | |
In office 1959–1967 | |
Preceded by | Harold Fishleigh |
Succeeded by | Riding abolished |
Constituency | Woodbine |
Personal details | |
Born | April 9, 1916 |
Died | December 17, 2001 CCF (1959–1963) New Democrat (1963–1967) | (aged 85)
Spouse | Marion Bryden |
Profession | Economist |
Walter Kenneth (Ken) Bryden (April 9, 1916 – December 17, 2001) was a
Background
Bryden was one of two sons born to Walter Bryden, a
He grew up in Ontario and Saskatchewan and earned a BA (1937), MA (1940) and PhD (1969) from the University of Toronto as well as a BA from Oxford University in 1939.[1]
An economist by training, Bryden worked for the federal
Politics
He was an early supporter and strategist for the CCF federally, in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Following the election of the first CCF government in North America, in Saskatchewan, in 1944,
In 1949, he moved to Ontario to become first director of research for the party's caucus in the Ontario legislature[2] and became the party's provincial secretary in 1951.[3]
He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the
His wife, Marion Bryden, went on to serve as an MPP in the successor riding of Beaches—Woodbine from 1975 to 1990.[1]
Bryden was one of the forces behind the creation of the
As a political strategist, Bryden introduced the concept of door-to-door canvassing to Canada, which soon became a standard technique for all parties. Historian Desmond Morton once characterized him as "the shrewdest political mind in the party."[1]
Later life
After leaving the legislature, Bryden earned his PhD at the University of Toronto and then joined the faculty and taught political economy at the University of Toronto until his retirement in 1984.[4] He remained active in community life, serving as president of the Confederation of Resident and Ratepayers Associations and lobbying against the bulldozing of neighbourhoods to create high-rises and expressways[1] and, in the mid-1990s, lobbied against the amalgamation of the city of Toronto.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Walter Kenneth Bryden: pragmatist, progressive, social democrat and disciple of Christ"[permanent dead link] by Robert Syme, Presbyterian Record, (September 2002)
- ^ a b c d Keeping the dream alive: the survival of the Ontario CCF/NDP, 1950–1963 By Dan Azoulay (pages 18–21)
- ISBN 978-1-55002-307-7.
- ^ a b c "A champion of the NDP The inspiring professor and politician had only two goals: changing the world and creating a better society" by Gay Abbate, Globe and Mail, January 29, 2002