Earle Cathers Westwood

Earle Cathers Westwood (September 13, 1909 – August 14, 1980) was a funeral home operator and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Nanaimo and the Islands in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1956 to 1963 as a Social Credit member.

Westwood was born at East Wellington in the Nanaimo district, the son of Joseph Arthur Henry Westwood and Mary Smith.[1] In 1937, he married Dorothy Verna Humphrey. Westwood owned the Westwood Funeral Home. He was elected an alderman on Nanaimo City Council in 1945–1949, then elected mayor in 1950-1952 and again in 1956. He also served as chairman of the local school board.[1] Westwood ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1953.[2]

Dorothy Westwood died on April 11, 1956. Five months later Earle Westwood was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) on September 19, 1956.[2] Westwood married Sheila Blackwood Maxwell in 1957. He was a member of the provincial cabinet, holding the positions of Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Recreation and Conservation[1] and Minister of Commercial Transport.[3] He was defeated by David Stupich when he ran for reelection to the assembly in 1963.[2]

After leaving politics, Westwood served as British Columbia's agent general in London. He retired from that post in October 1968.[4] He died in Nanaimo at the age of 70 in 1980.[5]

Sheila Westwood died age 100 in 2015.[6]

  1. ^ a b c Normandin, P G (1959). Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1959.
  2. ^ a b c "Electoral History of British Columbia, 1871-1986" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  3. ^ Harvey, R G (2006). Carving the Western Path: Routes to Remember. Heritage House Publishing. p. 179. ISBN 1-894974-17-4. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  4. ^ "Westwood to Retire". Vancouver Sun. May 22, 1968. p. 21. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  5. ^ "Vital Event Death Registration". BC Archives. Retrieved 2012-01-03.
  6. ^ Nanaimo Daily News "Sheila Westwood". Nanaimo Daily News. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-15.