Chesley A. Crosbie | |
|---|---|
 Crosbie in 1952 | |
| Member of the Newfoundland National Convention forSt. John's City West | |
| In office September 11, 1946 (1946-09-11) – January 30, 1948 (1948-01-30) Serving with Peter Cashin andMichael Harrington | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chesley Arthur Crosbie (1905-11-04)November 4, 1905 |
| Died | December 26, 1962(1962-12-26) (aged 57) St. John's,Newfoundland, Canada |
| Party | Economic Union Party |
| Spouse | Jessie Carnell |
| Children | 3, includingJohn |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Vera Perlin (sister) Ches Crosbie (grandson) |
| Education | St. Andrew's College |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Chesley Arthur "Ches" Crosbie (November 4, 1905 – December 26, 1962)[1] was aNewfoundland businessman and politician.
Crosbie belonged to a prominentSt. John's family involved in hotels, fish exporting, insurance, shipping and manufacturing. He was the son of Mitchie Anne (Manuel)[2] and SirJohn Chalker Crosbie, the founder of Crosbie and Company Limited. His father also served in the country's government as Minister of Shipping in 1917; as Acting Prime Minister in 1918; and was Minister of Finance and Customs from 1924 until his retirement in 1928.
After his father's death in 1932, Crosbie took over the family business and attempted to expand it further by investing in whaling.
Crosbie was a delegate to theNewfoundland National Convention and favouredresponsible government. On March 20, 1948, he split with theResponsible Government League, the main opposition party toJoey Smallwood, and formed theParty for Economic Union with the United States that promotedfree trade with the US instead ofConfederation with Canada. He and many younger convention delegates feared that the RGL was disorganized and bound to lose the referendum campaign unless a new party was formed.[3][4]
The divided anti-Confederation forces were defeated by Smallwood'sConfederate Association in the1948 Newfoundland referendums. Crosbie subsequently served as a member of the seven-person delegation sent to Ottawa to negotiate the final Terms of Union with Canada. Dissatisfied with the negotiations, he refused to sign the final agreement citing objections to its financial terms and retired from public life.
His son,John Crosbie, became a prominent politician serving as cabinet minister at both provincial and federal level, the latter in the government ofBrian Mulroney, where he fulfilled his father's dream as an architect of theCanada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.[5] He wasLieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2008 to 2013. His grandson, also named Chesley but better known asChes Crosbie, was leader of theProgressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador andLeader of the Opposition in theNewfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 2018 until 2021.[6][7][8]