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The Honourable Wishart McLea Robertson, 1953-1957

The Senate commissions a portrait of every Speaker in recognition of the procedural and protocol importance of that role — a tradition that predates Confederation.

The subject of this portrait, the Honourable Wishart McLea Robertson, served Canada and his home province of Nova Scotia as a soldier in the First World War and as a provincial politician.

Mr. Robertson was appointed to the Senate in 1943 and named Speaker a decade later. He became deeply involved in international affairs — including Canada’s participation in the United Nations — and helped establish national and international parliamentary groups to further the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Speaker can choose the artist for whom they would like to sit; Mr. Robertson selected Kenneth Forbes, a notable Canadian landscape and portrait painter. Mr. Forbes served as an official war artist during the First World War and received the Order of Canada in 1967 for his artistic contributions.

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