Jay Monteith

Who was Jay Monteith?

Jay Waldo Monteith, PC was a Canadian politician.

Born in Stratford, Ontario, the son of Joseph Dunsmore Monteith, an Ontario MPP and cabinet minister, and Allice Chowen, he graduated from the University of Toronto and became a chartered accountant in 1932. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1953 as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Perth, Ontario. He was re-elected in 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1968.

From 1957 to 1963, he was the Minister of National Health and Welfare. From 1961 to 1963, he was also the Minister of Amateur Sport. He famously remarked to Lester Pearson that 'you must be nuts!' after Pearson presumed to ask Tories to give up their fight to keep Canada's Red Ensign.