Robert Coates (politician)

Robert Carman Coates PC QC (March 10, 1928 – January 12, 2016) was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.

The Honourable Robert Coates PC QC
Official 1984 portrait
Minister of National Defence
In office September 17, 1984 – February 12, 1985
Prime Minister	Brian Mulroney
Preceded by	Jean-Jacques Blais
Succeeded by	Erik Nielsen (acting)
Member of Parliament for Cumberland Cumberland—Colchester North; (1968–1979) Cumberland—Colchester; (1979–1988)
In office June 10, 1957 – November 20, 1988
Preceded by	Azel Randolph Lusby
Succeeded by	Bill Casey
Personal details
Born	Robert Carman Coates (1928-03-10)March 10, 1928 Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada
Died	January 12, 2016(2016-01-12) (aged 87) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Mary Blanche Wade ​ (m. 1954)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Mount Allison University (BA) Dalhousie Law School (LLB, LLD)
Profession	Author Barrister Lawyer

Early life and education

Coates was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, the son of a cattle buyer.

In 1951 Coates received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mount Allison University in nearby Sackville, New Brunswick. In 1954, Coates graduated from Dalhousie Law School in Halifax. Prior to his election, Coates was a lawyer and member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.^[1]

Political career

Coates was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Coates was a backbencher during the John Diefenbaker and Joe Clark governments. He was appointed to the Cabinet of Brian Mulroney as Defence Minister following the Tory victory in the 1984 election.^[2]

Coates's main initiative was the re-introduction of separate uniforms for the naval, land and air branches of the military.^[3] Liberal Paul Hellyer had unified the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force into an integrated Canadian Forces with a single uniform in 1967. Hellyer had scrapped the traditional British style uniforms and ranks of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force. The new uniforms resembled those of the US air force.^[4]

Coates resigned from the Cabinet on February 12, 1985, after it emerged that he visited several strip clubs during a trip to West Germany in November 1984.^[5][6][7][8] Coates did not run in the 1988 election.^[9][10]

Death

Coates died in Halifax on January 12, 2016, after a short illness, at the age of 87.^[11][12]

Personal life

In 1954, Coates married Mary Blanche Wade of Perth Junction, New Brunswick. The couple had two children, David Wade and Jodi.

Archives

There is Robert C. Coates fonds at Library and Archives Canada.^[13]

Electoral record

v t e 1957 Canadian federal election: Cumberland
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Carman Coates	10,065
	Liberal	Randolph Lusby	8,398

v t e 1958 Canadian federal election: Cumberland
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Carman Coates	11,379
	Liberal	Azel Randolph Lusby	7,525

v t e 1962 Canadian federal election: Cumberland
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Carman Coates	9,524
	Liberal	H. Keith Russell	7,817
	New Democratic	Carson Carlyle Spicer	1,265
	Social Credit	John Vincent Forbes	165

v t e 1963 Canadian federal election: Cumberland
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Carman Coates	9,034
	Liberal	H. Keith Russell	8,082
	New Democratic	Carson Carlyle Spicer	874

v t e 1965 Canadian federal election: Cumberland
Party	Candidate	Votes
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Carman Coates	9,560
	Liberal	C. Elmer Bragg	7,088
	New Democratic	Carson C. Spicer	1,327