# Greg Power

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{{Short description|Canadian athlete, poet, farmer and politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
thumb|Greg Power, 1930 British Empire Games, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Champion Sprinter and Jumper
'''Gregory J. Power''' (March 22, 1909 &ndash; May 15, 1997) was a politician, office holder, farmer, poet and athlete, who was born in [Dunville](/source/Dunville%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador), [Placentia Bay](/source/Placentia_Bay), [Newfoundland](/source/Dominion_of_Newfoundland).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMQfAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Power,+gregory+j%22+AND+%22Placentia%22|title=The Power of the Pen: Writings of Gregory J. Power|last=Power|first=Gregory J.|publisher=H. Cuff Publications|year=1989|isbn=9780921191438}}</ref> Power represented [Placentia and St. Mary's](/source/Placentia%E2%80%94St._Mary's) from 1951 to 1956 and Placentia East from 1956 to 1959 in the [Newfoundland House of Assembly](/source/Newfoundland_House_of_Assembly).

The son of William and Gertrude Power, he was educated in [St. John's](/source/St._John's%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador) and at [Memorial University College](/source/Memorial_University). Power married Mary Ellen Crosbie. He was considered [Joey Smallwood](/source/Joey_Smallwood)'s right-hand man in the battle for [Confederation](/source/Confederation) of Newfoundland with Canada. He served as editor of the pro-Confederation newspaper ''The Confederate'' and wrote numerous editorial letters to local newspapers under the pseudonym "Housewife". His forte was satirical poetry.<ref name=bio>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/cns_enl/id/2330 |encyclopedia=[Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador) |pages=432–33 |title=Power, Gregory J}}</ref>

Power ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the 1949 Federal election in [St. John's West](/source/St._John's_West_(federal_electoral_district)). Failing to win a seat he was instead appointed the first chairman of the [Newfoundland Liquor Corporation](/source/Newfoundland_Liquor_Corporation). He was elected to the [House of Assembly](/source/House_of_Assembly) for Placentia East in the 1951 Provincial election and became [Minister of Finance](/source/Minister_of_Finance). He later served a Minister of Highways during the extensive expansion of Newfoundland's road system during the 1950s. Power resigned from cabinet in 1959 and became critical of Smallwood.<ref name=bio/>

Power was twice winner of the O'Leary Newfoundland Poetry Award and endowed the Gregory J. Power Poetry Award, an annual competition at [Memorial University of Newfoundland](/source/Memorial_University_of_Newfoundland) that aims to recognize and encourage young poets. He had a regular column in the newspaper ''[The Evening Telegram](/source/The_Telegram)''.<ref name=heritage/>

Power represented Newfoundland in the [1930 British Empire Games](/source/1930_British_Empire_Games)<ref name=heritage>{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/arts/gregpower.html |title=Greg Power (1909-1997) |work=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage}}</ref> placing fifth out of six competitors in the triple jump. Several of his Newfoundland records were never broken prior to the switch to metric distances and as a result, still stand. He was inducted into the [Newfoundland Sports Hall of Fame](/source/Newfoundland_Sports_Hall_of_Fame) in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nlaa.ca/hall_of_fame/index.php?id=power_gregory |title=Gregory Power |work=NLAA Hall of Fame |publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Athletic Association |access-date=2015-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105930/http://www.nlaa.ca/hall_of_fame/index.php?id=power_gregory |archive-date=2018-11-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He also owned Mary's Poultry Farms Ltd. With facilities in St. John's, Logy Bay and Dunville, Newfoundland. It was one of the largest egg producing operations in Atlantic Canada.

Power was awarded an honorary doctorate (LL.D.) at the [Memorial University of Newfoundland](/source/Memorial_University_of_Newfoundland) Spring 1995 Convocation.<ref name=heritage/>

He died May 15, 1997, in [St. John's](/source/St._John's%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador) at the age of 88.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/gregpower.shtml|title=Greg Power, Joey Smallwood's Right Hand Man|date=May 16, 1997|work=The Evening Telegram|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184037/http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/gregpower.shtml|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
*[List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador](/source/List_of_people_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador)
*[List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador](/source/List_of_communities_in_Newfoundland_and_Labrador)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* Gregory J. Power Poetry Award [https://archive.today/20130116022629/http://www.mun.ca/english/events/power.php]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Greg}}
Category:1909 births
Category:1997 deaths
Category:Canadian sportsperson-politicians
Category:Sportspeople from Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni
Category:Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
Category:Candidates in the 1949 Canadian federal election
Category:Newfoundland and Labrador candidates for Member of Parliament
Category:Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs
Category:Writers from Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:People from Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:Canadian men triple jumpers
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1930 British Empire Games
Category:Commonwealth Games competitors for Newfoundland
Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen
Category:20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
Category:Farmers from Newfoundland and Labrador

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Greg Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Power) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Power?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.