Davie Fulton

The Honourable
Davie Fulton
PC OC QC
Minister of Public Works
In office
August 9, 1962 – April 21, 1963
Prime MinisterJohn Diefenbaker
Preceded byHoward Charles Green (acting)
Succeeded byJean-Paul Deschatelets
Minister of Justice
Attorney General of Canada
In office
June 21, 1957 – August 8, 1962
Prime MinisterJohn Diefenbaker
Preceded byStuart Garson
Succeeded byDonald Fleming
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Acting
June 21, 1957 – May 11, 1958
Prime MinisterJohn Diefenbaker
Preceded byJack Pickersgill
Succeeded byEllen Fairclough
Member of Parliament
for Kamloops
In office
November 8, 1965 – June 24, 1968
Preceded byCharles Willoughby
Succeeded byRiding dissolved
In office
June 11, 1945 – April 7, 1963
Preceded byThomas O'Neill
Succeeded byCharles Willoughby
Personal details
BornEdmund Davie Fulton
(1916-03-10)March 10, 1916
Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
DiedMay 22, 2000(2000-05-22) (aged 84)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
PartyProgressive Conservative
Spouse
Patricia Mary MacRae
​
​
(m. 1946)​
Children3
Parent(s)Frederick John Fulton
Winnifred Mary Davie
RelativesA. E. B. Davie (maternal grandfather)
Theodore Davie (granduncle)
Profession

Edmund Davie Fulton PC OC QC (March 10, 1916 – May 22, 2000) was a Canadian Rhodes Scholar, politician and judge. He was born in Kamloops, British Columbia,[1] the son of politician/lawyer Frederick John Fulton and Winnifred M. Davie, daughter of A. E. B. Davie. He was the youngest of 4 children.[2]

Military career

Davie Fulton served in the Second World War with the Canadian Army overseas as Platoon and Company Commander with Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, and as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division in the Italian and Northwestern Europe campaigns. His brother John "Moose" Fulton distinguished himself in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He went missing in action in late 1942, and in 1943 Kamloops adopted the Moose Squadron in honour of its commander. In 1944 the Kamloops airport was dedicated as Fulton Field.[3]

Political career

He was brought home from the war by the Conservative Party and won a seat by 100 votes in the House of Commons of Canada in the 1945 general election.

In 1949, he introduced legislation to criminalize the publication, distribution, and sale of crime comics, as the result of a murder by two Yukon teens that was blamed on the influence of the crime comics which the perpetrators had read.[4] Crime comics remained prohibited in Canada until 2018, when Bill C-51 became law.[5]

He ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada at the 1956 leadership convention, placing third behind John Diefenbaker.

When Diefenbaker led the party to victory in the 1957 election, he appointed Fulton to Cabinet as Minister of Justice. As Minister, Fulton was involved in negotiations to patriate the Canadian Constitution, and developed the "Fulton–Favreau formula". In 1962, he became Minister of Public Works. His cousin, Albert McPhillips, was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries around this time.

He resigned from Cabinet in 1963, when he decided to leave federal politics and take the leadership of the British Columbia Progressive Conservative Party. His efforts to revive the provincial Tories in BC were a failure, and he returned to the House of Commons in the 1965 election.

Fulton stood as a candidate at the 1967 federal PC leadership convention, and placed third behind Robert Stanfield and Dufferin Roblin.

After losing his seat in the 1968 election, he retired from politics and returned to the law. In 1973, he became a justice on the British Columbia Supreme Court, and served until 1981, resigning as a result of impaired driving conviction.

Resigning from the B.C. Supreme Court

Fulton tenure ended in 1982 with his resignation to then Justice Minister, Jean Chretien. Issue relating to charges of drunk driving, as well as stress resulting from false allegation of his engaging in prostitution, known as the Wendy King Case caused him to resign.[6] The ghost writer and publisher of The Wendy King Story, apologized in court, "saying it was a case of mistaken identity."[6] King also admitted the same in court,

This libel action has its origin in the fact that I sincerely believed that the plaintiff, Justice E. Davie Fulton, was on one occasion a client of mine in my professional capacity as a prostitute,' King's statement read. As a result of evidence recently disclosed to me, I now realize that I was in error in believing that I had ever met Justice Fulton or that I had associated with him in any way.[7]

Fulton stated that stress from these false allegation had caused his drinking,

Because of the strain and emotional turmoil of this libel action, my problem with alcohol has come back in concentrated form.[8]

In February 1979, as a result drinking and driving incident and an automobile accident, Fulton had his license suspended.[9] During the stop, Fulton "admitted he had used 'intemperate language',"[10] telling the police to "Go to hell."[11] He was involved in a hit-and-run incident, also in February 1979, where the "owner of the vehicle involved told police he had followed the hit-and-run car...to the judge's house."[9] In March 1979, Fulton pled guilty to drinking and driving charges.[12]

The 1981 drinking-and-driving incident was a second offence; he received a $700 fine and a mandatory 14 days in jail.[13][14] He was also disbarred from the B.C. Law Society.[15]

Later life

From 1986 to 1992, Fulton served as a commissioner on the International Joint Commission. In 1992, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

He died in Vancouver on May 22, 2000.[16]

Election results

1945 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton4,40133.09+1.19
LiberalThomas O'Neill4,22931.80–10.00
Co-operative CommonwealthFrancis James McKenzie4,00330.10+3.79
Labor–ProgressiveJohn Henry Codd6665.01–
Total valid votes 13,29998.66
Total rejected ballots 1811.34+0.29
Turnout 13,48084.82+0.82
Eligible voters 15,892
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +5.60
Source: Library of Parliament[17][18]
1949 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton7,68240.07+6.98
LiberalThomas O'Neill6,39933.38+1.58
Co-operative CommonwealthGeorge Victor Larson5,09126.55–3.55
Total valid votes 19,17299.36
Total rejected ballots 1230.64–0.71
Turnout 19,29574.11–10.71
Eligible voters 26,035
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +2.70
Source: Library of Parliament[19][20]
1953 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton7,57846.69+6.63
Social CreditClarence Aubrey Wright3,78023.29–
LiberalKenneth Durward Houghton2,73116.83–16.55
Co-operative CommonwealthAustin Kenneth Greenway2,14013.19–13.37
Total valid votes 16,22998.65
Total rejected ballots 2221.35+0.71
Turnout 16,45165.35–8.77
Eligible voters 25,175
Progressive Conservative hold Swing –8.68
Source: Library of Parliament[21][22]
1957 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton10,02947.24+0.55
Social CreditWalter James Smith5,85827.59+4.30
LiberalArnold McIntyre Affleck3,38315.94–0.89
Co-operative CommonwealthAustin Kenneth Greenway1,9599.23–3.96
Total valid votes 21,22999.29
Total rejected ballots 1520.71–0.64
Turnout 21,38173.16+7.81
Eligible voters 29,225
Progressive Conservative hold Swing –1.88
Source: Library of Parliament[23][24]
1958 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton13,85863.30+16.06
LiberalArnold McIntyre Affleck2,86813.10–2.84
Co-operative CommonwealthAustin Kenneth Greenway2,77712.68+3.46
Social CreditEarl Victor Roy Merrick2,39010.92–16.68
Total valid votes 21,89399.35
Total rejected ballots 1430.65–0.06
Turnout 22,03670.62–2.54
Eligible voters 31,202
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +9.76
Source: Library of Parliament[25][26]
1962 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton11,31243.13–20.17
LiberalJarl Whist5,78922.07+8.97
New DemocraticWalter D. Inglis4,73318.05+5.36
Social CreditClarence Aubrey Wright4,39316.75+5.83
Total valid votes 26,22799.18
Total rejected ballots 2160.82+0.17
Turnout 26,44372.79+2.16
Eligible voters 36,329
Progressive Conservative hold Swing –14.57
Change for the New Democrats is based on the Co-operative Commonwealth.
Source: Library of Parliament[27][28]
1963 British Columbia general election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%
Social CreditPhilip Arthur Gaglardi5,66947.17%
Progressive ConservativeEdmund Davie Fulton4,47337.22%
New DemocraticLance Randle1,29710.79%
LiberalHenry Maxwell Smith5804.83%
Total valid votes 12,019 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 71
1965 Canadian federal election: Kamloops
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeDavie Fulton11,73137.39+7.94
New DemocraticVernor Wilfred Jones7,13222.73–0.75
LiberalAlbert John Edward Chilton6,75721.54–7.07
Social CreditThomas Daly Sills5,75618.35–0.12
Total valid votes 31,37699.42
Total rejected ballots 1830.58–0.15
Turnout 31,55974.71–2.77
Eligible voters 42,240
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +4.34
Source: Library of Parliament[29][30]
1968 Canadian federal election: Kamloops—Cariboo
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalLeonard Marchand13,00040.48–
Progressive ConservativeEdmund Davie Fulton9,70430.22–
New DemocraticVernor Wilfred Jones7,56623.56–
Social CreditPeter Robert Gook1,8425.74–
Total valid votes 32,11299.41
Total rejected ballots 1910.59
Turnout 32,30377.12
Eligible voters 41,888
Liberal notional gain Swing –
This riding was created from Cariboo and Kamloops, which elected a Social Credit and a Progressive Conservative, respectively, in the last election. Davie Fulton was the incumbent from Kamloops.
Source: Library of Parliament[31][32]

Archives

There is a Davie Fulton fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[33]

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Patricia (13 February 2008). "Davie Fulton". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. ↑ "Names - B3". Archived from the original on 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  3. ↑ "Names - B4". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  4. ↑ Hajdu, David (2008). The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 152–153. ISBN 9780312428235.
  5. ↑ "Legislative Summary for Bill C-51". lop.parl.ca. Library of Parliament (Canada). Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Justice Davie Fulton quite Supreme Court". Nanaimo Daily News. July 31, 1982. p. 2.
  7. ↑ "Former prostitute Wendy King admitted in B.C. Supreme Court... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  8. ↑ Still, Larry (May 12, 1981). "King was on legal aid in defending libel case". Vancouver Sun. p. 11.
  9. 1 2 "Fulton not asked to quit". Times Colonist. Feb 15, 1979. p. 1.
  10. ↑ "Fulton makes public apology". Alberni Valley Times. February 15, 1979. p. 1.
  11. ↑ Parton, Lorne (February 21, 1986). "A scoop, by George". The Province. p. 48.
  12. ↑ "$500 fine for Fulton". Times Colonist. March 8, 1979. p. 1.
  13. ↑ Henderickson, Bob (November 5, 1981). "Prison for drivers cases to continue". The Province. p. 4.
  14. ↑ Bacchus, Lee (March 16, 1982). "Hooked on the Courts: Brisk march". Vancouver Sun. p. 2.
  15. ↑ Still, Larry (February 5, 1982). "Dictionary played role in Fulton ruling". The Vancouver Sun. p. 10.
  16. ↑ Downey, Donn (24 May 2000). "Former federal cabinet minister dead at 84". The Globe and Mail.
  17. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1945)". lop.parl.ca.
  18. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1945). Twentieth General Election, 1945: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer. hdl:2027/mdp.39015024873476.
  19. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1949)". lop.parl.ca.
  20. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1949). Twenty-First General Election, 1949: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer. hdl:2027/mdp.39015024873526.
  21. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1953)". lop.parl.ca.
  22. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1953). Twenty-Second General Election, 1953: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  23. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1957)". lop.parl.ca.
  24. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1957). Twenty-Third General Election, 1957: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer. hdl:2027/mdp.39015061584382.
  25. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1958)". lop.parl.ca.
  26. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1958). Twenty-Fourth General Election, 1958: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer.
  27. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1962)". lop.parl.ca.
  28. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1962). Twenty-Fifth General Election, 1962: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer. hdl:2027/uc1.a0004484481.
  29. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops, British Columbia (1965)". lop.parl.ca.
  30. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1965). Twenty-Seventh General Election, 1965: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer. hdl:2027/umn.31951d013775845.
  31. ↑ Canada, Library of Parliament (2026). "Elections and Ridings: Kamloops--Cariboo, British Columbia (1968)". lop.parl.ca.
  32. ↑ Canada, Chief Electoral Officer (1968). Twenty-Eighth General Election, 1968: Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (Report). Ottawa: Queen's Printer. hdl:2027/umn.31951d013775853.
  33. ↑ "E. Davie Fulton fonds, Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved 2020-09-03.
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