Description

MCQUAID, Q.C., HONOURABLE MELVIN JAMES, barrister and judge; b. 6 September 1911 in Souris, son of John McQuaid and Annie Mullally; m. 15 September 1947 Catherine Handrahan, and they had three children, John, Mary-Jo and Peter; Roman Catholic; d. 16 January2001 in Charlottetown. McQuaid, a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1959 for 1st Kings. McQuaid was re-elected in 1st Kings in a by-election held 4 December 1972, and in the general election of 1974. He was defeated in the general elections of 1951, 1955, and 1962. He held the positions of Attorney-General and Advocate General, as well as Provincial Treasurer, from16 September 1959 until 1962. McQuaid was Leader of the Conservatives in 1973, and served as Leader of the Opposition from 1973 until July 1976, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court. McQuaid was first elected to the House of Commons for King’s in the 1965 federal election. He was re-elected in 1968 and 1970 for Cardigan but did not seek reelection in the fall of 1972, choosing instead to run provincially again. McQuaid received his early education at Souris Elementary and Souris High School. He began his post-secondary education at St. Dunstan’s College, and later received his Bachelor of Arts at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, in 1936. McQuaid studied at Dalhousie University in Halifax and earned an LL.B. in 1937. In 1940 he was admitted to the Bar of Prince Edward Island. He established a law practice in Souris and continued working as a lawyer in the community when not serving in politics or the judiciary. He retired from his law practice in 1992, In 1939 he accepted the position of Town Clerk of Souris and continued in this capacity until 1957. McQuaid served as a Crown Prosecutor for two years and was appointed to the Supreme Court by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1976. He retired from the Supreme Court in 1981. McQuaid was president of the Law Society of Prince Edward Island, a member of the Eastern Kings Board of Trade, a member of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, and a member of the National Parole Board. He was a charter member and secretary-treasurer of the board of directors in the construction of the original Souris hospital in 1945, and in the late 1980s co-chaired the financial campaign for the present Souris Hospital. McQuaid was a member of the local Retarded Children’s Association and the Home and School Association. He served his home parish of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church as a trustee, lector, and lay minister. He was a 4 degree member of the Knights of Columbus. Melvin McQuaid died 16 January 2001 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Catherine McQuaid, the daughter of Austin Handrahan of Tignish, predeceased her husband., CDP p. 438; CPG 1976; WWPEI p. 105; Guardian 18 January 2001, 16 January 2002; Kings County Weekly 16 January 1982; Questionnaire to Former MLAs.