Howard Charles Green


Howard Charles Green, was a Canadian politician and parliamentarian.

Opposition career

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1935 federal election as a Conservative from Vancouver, British Columbia in the election which saw the defeat of PM R.B. Bennett. He served as a Member of Parliament for 28 years. Between his first election in 1935 and the 1949 federal election he was MP for Vancouver South. After that time, he represented the riding of Vancouver Quadra until his defeat.
In 1942, he was a candidate at the party's leadership convention, and placed fourth. At the same convention the Conservative Party changed its name to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Green was a fierce critic of Louis St. Laurent and Lester B. Pearson's actions in the Suez Crisis. In the debate upon Pearson's return from the UN, Green intoned: "by its actions in the Suez crisis, has made this month of November 1956, the most disgraceful period for Canada in the history of this nation," and that it was "high time Canada had a government which will not knife Canada's best friends in the back."

Ministerial offices

He became Minister of Public Works in the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, and Secretary of State for External Affairs in 1959 following the death of Sidney Earle Smith.

Strong, anti-nuclear stance

He was a strong supporter of the Commonwealth of Nations, and advocated nuclear disarmament, backing Diefenbaker's position against having Canada accept nuclear tipped Bomarc missiles - a position that led to the resignation of several ministers and contributed to the fall of the Diefenbaker government. He helped promote the country's international role until he was defeated along with the Tory government in the 1963 federal election.