He served as the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada, from 1932 to 1937. Born in Blackstock, Ontario near Port Perry, Bruce was educated as a surgeon at the University of Toronto and in Paris and Vienna. He owned Wellesley Hospital in Toronto which he founded in 1911, and was a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto. In 1916, during World War I, he was appointed inspector-general of the Canadian Army Medical Corps by Sir Sam Hughes, and attained the rank of colonel. Bruce investigated medical practices in the army and issued a Report on the Canadian Army Medical Service which urged a complete reorganization of the medical corps. His report was disowned by the government at the time and he was dismissed from his duties, though many of his recommendations were ultimately implemented. In 1919, he published Politics and the Canadian Army Medical Corps, criticizing the government for its actions. In 1920, Bruce purchased a farm on Bayview Avenue overlooking the Don Valley and built a Tudor-style mansion which he named Annandale. In 1932, he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario by R.B. Bennett for a term that lasted until 1937. He often verbally clashed with new Ontario Premier Mitch Hepburn who attempted to curtail the extravagance of the vice-regal office in the face of the Great Depression. The lieutenant-governor's official residence, Chorley Park, was closed by the Hepburn government at the end of Bruce's term on the pretext of cutting costs. While most lieutenant-governors are former politicians, Bruce took the unusual step of entering politics following his term as the King's representative. Following the sudden death of Conservative MP David Spence in the middle of the 1940 federal election campaign, Bruce contested and won Spence's seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1940 federal election. Sitting as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Parkdale, Bruce was an outspoken advocate of conscription. He was re-elected to a second term in the 1945 federal election, but retired from office in 1946. His autobiography, Varied Operations, was published in 1958. He passed away in 1963.
He served as the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada, from 1932 to 1937. Born in Blackstock, Ontario near Port Perry, Bruce was educated as a surgeon at the University of Toronto and in Paris and Vienna. He owned Wellesley Hospital in Toronto which he founded in 1911, and was a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto. In 1916, during World War I, he was appointed inspector-general of the Canadian Army Medical Corps by Sir Sam Hughes, and attained the rank of colonel. Bruce investigated medical practices in the army and issued a Report on the Canadian Army Medical Service which urged a complete reorganization of the medical corps. His report was disowned by the government at the time and he was dismissed from his duties, though many of his recommendations were ultimately implemented. In 1919, he published Politics and the Canadian Army Medical Corps, criticizing the government for its actions. In 1920, Bruce purchased a farm on Bayview Avenue overlooking the Don Valley and built a Tudor-style mansion which he named Annandale. In 1932, he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario by R.B. Bennett for a term that lasted until 1937. He often verbally clashed with new Ontario Premier Mitch Hepburn who attempted to curtail the extravagance of the vice-regal office in the face of the Great Depression. The lieutenant-governor's official residence, Chorley Park, was closed by the Hepburn government at the end of Bruce's term on the pretext of cutting costs. While most lieutenant-governors are former politicians, Bruce took the unusual step of entering politics following his term as the King's representative. Following the sudden death of Conservative MP David Spence in the middle of the 1940 federal election campaign, Bruce contested and won Spence's seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1940 federal election. Sitting as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Parkdale, Bruce was an outspoken advocate of conscription. He was re-elected to a second term in the 1945 federal election, but retired from office in 1946. His autobiography, Varied Operations, was published in 1958. He passed away in 1963.
Inscription
Herbert Alexander Bruce, surgeon, military officer, politician, lieutenant-governor of Ontario (b at Blackstock, Ont 28 Sept 1868; d at Toronto 23 June 1963). Founder of Toronto's Wellesley Hospital (1911), he was appointed special inspector-general of the Canadian Army Medical Corps overseas by Sir Sam HUGHES in 1916.
His "Report on the Canadian Army Medical Service" recommended a complete reorganization, including segregation of Canadian wounded in Canadian facilities. Although many of his ideas were subsequently implemented, Bruce and his report were disowned by the government. He later published his charges in Politics and the Canadian Army Medical Corps (1919).
As lieutenant-governor of Ontario 1932-37, he struggled to maintain his office against Mitch HEPBURN, the Liberal premier elected on a promise to reduce government expenditure. As a Conservative MP, 1940-46, Bruce was an outspoken proponent of wartime CONSCRIPTION. His lively memoirs, Varied Operations (1958), recount his medical, military and political careers.
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