Thomas Tweedie

Thomas Mitchell March Tweedie (4 March 1871 – 4 October 1944) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and chief justice in Alberta, Canada.

Early life Tweedie was born in River John, Nova Scotia, on 4 March 1871, to James Tweedie a Methodist Minister, and his wife Rachael Susannah. He graduated from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1902 and subsequently entered Harvard University, where he earned a law degree in 1905. He was admitted to the bar in Nova Scotia in 1905, and then moved to Alberta where he would be one of the last individuals admitted to the bar in the Northwest Territories on 10 July 1907.

In the 1917 Alberta general election he ran for re-election in Calgary Centre, this time being defeated by Alex Ross who ran as a Labor candidate. Thomas would quickly make the jump to federal politics running in the federal election later that year.

Federal career After Thomas lost his seat in the 1917 provincial election, he attempted a run at federal politics. Thomas ran as a Unionist member in the new Calgary West federal riding during the 1917 federal election. He won a comfortable victory and served as the first Member of Parliament for the riding in the coalition government.

Thomas served most of his first in term parliament, until he vacated his seat on 14 October 1921, after he was appointed as a Justice to the Bench.

Judicial career Thomas was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Alberta Trial Division in Calgary on 15 September 1921 and subsequently resigned his seat in the House of Commons. He served as a justice for 23 years, where he was known for his judgements on civil actions including contracts, bankruptcies, and torts, before being appointed as a Chief justice on 16 August 1944.

He would die a short time later on 4 October 1944, after attending a dinner in his honour hosted by the Lethbridge Bar Association at the age of 73.