Thomas Cossitt

Who was Thomas Cossitt?

Thomas Charles Cossitt was a Canadian politician.

Born in Brockville, Ontario, the son of Edwin Comstock Cossitt and Marjorie Helen Delahaye, he graduated from St. Andrew's College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. After graduating, he was the owner and president of an insurance company. He was president of the Eastern Ontario Liberal Federation and a vice-president of the Ontario Liberal Party. However, he switched to the Progressive Conservatives before being elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1972 election in the riding of Leeds. He was re-elected in 1974, 1979, and 1980, the last two elections in the riding of Leeds—Grenville.

Cossitt, who had two previous heart attacks, died of a heart attack during a photo session at the annual directors' meeting of the Leeds-Grenville Progressive Conservative Riding Association in 1982. His second wife, Jennifer Cossitt was elected in the resulting by-election and re-elected in the 1984 election before being defeated in the 1988 election.