Robert Coates (politician)

Canadian politician

The Honourable

Robert Coates

PC QC

Minister of National Defence
In office
September 17, 1984 – February 12, 1985
Prime Minister| Brian Mulroney
Preceded by| Jean-Jacques Blais
Succeeded by| Erik Nielsen (acting)
Member of Parliament
for Cumberland
Cumberland—Colchester North; (1968-1979)
Cumberland—Colchester; (1979–1988)
In office
June 10, 1957 – November 20, 1988
Preceded by| Azel Randolph Lusby
Succeeded by| Bill Casey
Personal details
Born|

Robert Carman Coates

(1928-03-10)March 10, 1928
Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died| January 12, 2016(2016-01-12) (aged 87)
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party| Progressive Conservative
Spouse|

Mary Blanche Wade

(m. 1954)​

Children| 2
Alma mater|

* Mount Allison University (BA)
* Dalhousie Law School (LLB, LLD)

Profession|

* Author
* Barrister
* Lawyer

Robert Carman Coates PC QC (March 10, 1928 – January 12, 2016) was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Coates was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, the son of a cattle buyer.

In 1951 Coates received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mount Allison University in nearby Sackville, New Brunswick. In 1954, Coates graduated from Dalhousie Law School in Halifax. Prior to his election, Coates was a lawyer and member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.[1]

## Political career

[edit]

Coates was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Coates was a backbencher during the John Diefenbaker and Joe Clark governments. He was appointed to the Cabinet of Brian Mulroney as Defence Minister following the Tory victory in the 1984 election.[2]

Coates's main initiative was the re-introduction of separate uniforms for the naval, land and air branches of the military.[3] Liberal Paul Hellyer had unified the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force into an integrated Canadian Forces with a single uniform in 1967. Hellyer had scrapped the traditional British style uniforms and ranks of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force. The new uniforms resembled those of the US air force.[4]

Coates resigned from the Cabinet on February 12, 1985, after it emerged that he visited several strip clubs during a trip to West Germany in November 1984.[5][6][7][8] Coates did not run in the 1988 election.[9][10]

## Death

[edit]

Coates died in Halifax on January 12, 2016, after a short illness, at the age of 87.[11][12]

## Personal life

[edit]

In 1954, Coates married Mary Blanche Wade of Perth Junction, New Brunswick. The couple had two children, David Wade and Jodi.

## Archives

[edit]

There is Robert C. Coates fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[13]

## Electoral record

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

1957 Canadian federal election: Cumberland

Party  | Candidate  | Votes
| Progressive Conservative | Robert Carman Coates | 10,065
| Liberal | Randolph Lusby | 8,398

* v
* t
* e

1958 Canadian federal election: Cumberland

Party  | Candidate  | Votes
| Progressive Conservative | Robert Carman Coates | 11,379
| Liberal | Azel Randolph Lusby | 7,525

* v
* t
* e

1962 Canadian federal election: Cumberland

Party  | Candidate  | Votes
| Progressive Conservative | Robert Carman Coates | 9,524
| Liberal | H. Keith Russell | 7,817
| New Democratic | Carson Carlyle Spicer | 1,265
| Social Credit | John Vincent Forbes | 165

* v
* t
* e

1963 Canadian federal election: Cumberland

Party  | Candidate  | Votes
| Progressive Conservative | Robert Carman Coates | 9,034
| Liberal | H. Keith Russell | 8,082
| New Democratic | Carson Carlyle Spicer | 874

* v
* t
* e

1965 Canadian federal election: Cumberland

Party  | Candidate  | Votes
| Progressive Conservative | Robert Carman Coates | 9,560
| Liberal | C. Elmer Bragg | 7,088
| New Democratic | Carson C. Spicer | 1,327

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Janigan, Mary (February 25, 1985). "The man who would not fit". macleans.ca. MacLeans. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
2. ^ "40-member Cabinet includes 23 first-time ministers". The Globe and Mail. September 18, 1984.
3. ^ "Coates makes first moves to change forces' uniforms". The Globe and Mail. September 21, 1984.
4. ^ Morton, Desmond A Military History of Canada, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999 page 252
5. ^ Miller, Robert (February 25, 1985). "The downfall of a minister". macleans.ca. MacLeans. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
6. ^ Morton, Desmond A Military History of Canada, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999 page 265
7. ^ "Coates resigns over nightclub visit". The Globe and Mail. February 13, 1985.
8. ^ Wren, Christopher S. (February 13, 1985). "Canadian Defense Minister resigns in a scandal". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
9. ^ "Coates touted for Senate seat after deciding to resign as MP". The Globe and Mail. September 20, 1988.
10. ^ "Conservative Coates feted by colleagues". Amherst Daily News. March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
11. ^ Cole, Darrell (January 13, 2016). "Mourning a people's politician". Amherst News Citizen-Record. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
12. ^ "Former MP Robert Coates dies at 87". The Chronicle Herald. January 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
13. ^ "Robert C. Coates fonds, Library and Archives Canada". 25 November 2016. Retrieved 2020-09-02.

## External links

[edit]

*   * Robert Coates (politician) – Parliament of Canada biography

24th Ministry – Cabinet of Brian Mulroney

Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor  | Office  | Successor
Jean-Jacques Blais | Minister of Defence
1984-1985  | Erik Nielsen

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1984–93)

Brian Mulroney

* Harvie Andre
* Perrin Beatty
* André Bissonnette
* Pierre Blais
* Suzanne Blais-Grenier
* Benoît Bouchard
* Lucien Bouchard
* Pauline Browes
* Pierre Cadieux
* Kim Campbell
* Pat Carney
* Andrée Champagne
* Jean Charest
* Joe Clark
* Robert Coates
* Mary Collins
* Jean Corbeil
* Michel Côté
* David Crombie
* John Crosbie
* Marcel Danis
* Robert de Cotret
* Paul Dick
* Jake Epp
* John Fraser
* George Hees
* Ray Hnatyshyn
* Tom Hockin
* Otto Jelinek
* James Kelleher
* Roch La Salle
* Monique Landry
* Robert Layton
* Doug Lewis
* Gilles Loiselle
* Flora MacDonald
* Elmer MacKay
* Shirley Martin
* Marcel Masse
* Charles Mayer
* Don Mazankowski
* John McDermid
* Barbara McDougall
* Stewart McInnes
* Bill McKnight
* Walter McLean
* Thomas McMillan
* Gerald Merrithew
* Lowell Murray
* Jack Murta
* Erik Nielsen
* Frank Oberle
* Alan Redway
* Dufferin Roblin
* Tom Siddon
* Gerry St. Germain
* Sinclair Stevens
* Bernard Valcourt
* Monique Vézina
* Pierre H. Vincent
* Gerry Weiner
* Michael Wilson
* William Winegard
* John Wise

* v
* t
* e

Ministers of defence

Ministers of militia and defence (1867–1923)|

* Cartier
* Langevin (acting)
* McDonald
* Ross
* Vail
* Jones
* Masson
* Campbell
* Caron
* Bowell
* Patterson
* Dickey
* Bowell
* Desjardins
* Tisdale
* Borden
* Hughes
* Kemp
* Mewburn
* Calder (acting)
* Guthrie
* G. Graham

Ministers of national defence (1923–)|

* G. Graham
* E. Macdonald
* Guthrie
* Robb (acting)
* Ralston
* Sutherland
* Stirling
* Mackenzie
* Rogers
* Power (acting)
* Ralston
* McNaughton
* Abbott
* Claxton
* Campney
* Pearkes
* Harkness
* Churchill
* Hellyer
* Cadieux
* Drury (acting)
* D. Macdonald
* Benson
* Dubé (acting)
* Drury (acting)
* Richardson
* Danson
* McKinnon
* Lamontagne
* Blais
* Coates
* Clark (acting)
* Nielsen
* Beatty
* McKnight
* Masse
* Campbell
* Siddon
* Collenette
* Young
* Eggleton
* McCallum
* Pratt
* B. Graham
* O'Connor
* MacKay
* Nicholson
* Kenney
* Sajjan
* Anand
* Blair

Associate ministers of national defence (1953–2013, 2015–)|

* Power
* Campney
* Hellyer
* Sévigny
* Cardin
* Cadieux
* Andre
* Dick
* Collins
* Guarnieri
* Bélanger
* Fantino
* Valcourt
* Findlay
* Fantino
* Hehr
* O'Regan
* Wilson-Raybould
* Sajjan (acting)
* MacAulay
* Petitpas Taylor

Ministers of the naval service (1910–22)|

* Brodeur
* Lemieux
* Hazen
* Ballantyne
* G. Graham

World War I|

Ministers of the overseas military forces (1916–20)
Perley
Kemp

World War II|

Ministers of national defence for air (1940–46)
Power
Macdonald (acting)
Gibson

Ministers of national defence for naval services (1940–46)
Macdonald
Abbott

Ministers of national war services (1940–48)
Gardiner
Thorson
Laflèche
McCann

* v
* t
* e

Dean of the House

* John Costigan
* John Haggart
* Wilfrid Laurier
* John Reid
* William MacLean
* Rodolphe Lemieux
* Charles Marcil
* Ernest Lapointe
* Arthur Cardin
* Charles Power
* William Rowe
* Azellus Denis
* Paul Martin Sr.
* John Diefenbaker
* Walter Dinsdale
* Robert Coates
* Herb Gray
* Charles Caccia
* Bill Blaikie
* Louis Plamondon

*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template