{{short description|Canadian politician}} {{about||the Australian footballer|Russell Rowe (footballer)|the English cricketer|Russell Rowe (cricketer)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder | name = Russell Rowe | image = | caption = | office = Ontario MPP | term_start = 1963 | term_end = 1981 | predecessor = William Goodfellow | successor = Howard Sheppard | constituency = Northumberland | party = Progressive Conservative | birth_date = December 1, 1914 | birth_place = Campbellford, Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|1994|09|21|1914|12|01}} | death_place = Cobourg, Ontario, Canada | occupation = Teacher | spouse = Marjorie Emma | children = 6 }} '''Russell Daniel Rowe''' (December 1, 1914<ref name=bio/> – September 21, 1994<ref name=death/>) was a Canadian politician who served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1974 to 1977.

==Background== Born in Campbellford, Ontario, the son of Harold Rowe and Elizabeth Jane Roe,<ref name=normandin>{{cite book |title=Canadian Parliamentary Guide |year=1971 |last=Normandin |first=Pierre G}}</ref> he was educated at Campbellford High School and Queen's University. Rowe served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. After leaving the military he worked as a teacher and stockbroker.<ref name=bio>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/whoseservantiams00ontauoft |title=Whose servant I am" : speakers of the assemblies of the province of Upper Canada, Canada and Ontario, 1792-1992 |pages=282–87 |last=Dale |first=Clare A |publisher=Ontario Legislative Library |location=Toronto |year=1992|isbn=978-0-7729-9343-4 }}</ref> He married Marjorie Emma McKeown in 1942 and they had six children.<ref name=normandin/> Rowe died at home in Cobourg, Ontario.<ref name=death>{{cite news |newspaper=Globe and Mail |date=September 23, 1994 |title=Deaths |page=A15}}</ref>

==Politics== Rowe was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1963 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Northumberland riding.

He was appointed Deputy Speaker in 1971 by Bill Davis and also chaired the select committee on economic and cultural nationalism in Canada. In 1974, he was appointed Speaker after Allan Reuter was forced to resign due to poor health.<ref name=bio/> It was during Rowe's term that the Speaker was given the added responsibility of administering the staff and operations of the legislative buildings and grounds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Sess=3&Parl=35&Date=1994-11-01#P99_27930 |title=Tribute by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario |date=November 1, 1994}}</ref>

The 1975 provincial election produced Ontario's first minority government in thirty years presenting Rowe with a challenging and rowdy session. He was a popular speaker, however, considered "sweet-tempered" by MPPs on both sides of the House.

Rowe was appointed to a third term as Speaker following the 1977 election (which produced a second minority) but resigned shortly into the session to resume his seat on the backbench. He retired from politics before the 1981 general election. In 1983, he was named to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.<ref name=bio/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{Ontario MPP biography|id=russell-daniel-rowe}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Sess=3&Parl=35&Date=1994-11-01#P99_27930 |title=Tribute by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario |date=November 1, 1994}}

{{Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Russell}} Category:1914 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Category:Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario