Matthew McKay was a Liberal party

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. He was born in West Gwillimbury Township, Ontario

Bradford West Gwillimbury, Ontario

Bradford West Gwillimbury, a town in south-central Ontario, in the County of Simcoe in the Greater Toronto Area on the Holland River. West Gwillimbury takes its name from the family of Elizabeth Simcoe, née Gwillim....

 and became a dentist, dental surgeon and schoolteacher.

McKay attended high school at Bradford, Whitby Collegiate Institute, Normal School in Toronto and Queen's University in Kingston (Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

) and the Royal College of Dental Surgeons in Toronto.

McKay was a councillor of Pembroke, Ontario

Pembroke, Ontario

Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...

 for five years and once served as the community's mayor.

He was first elected to Parliament at the Renfrew North

Renfrew North

Renfrew North was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1979. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867...

 riding in the 1921 general election

Canadian federal election, 1921

The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6, 1921 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader...

. After serving one term, he was defeated by Ira Delbert Cotnam

Ira Delbert Cotnam

Ira Delbert Cotnam was a Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Pontiac County, Quebec and became a physician....

 of the Conservative party

Conservative Party of Canada (historical)

The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...

 in the 1925 election

Canadian federal election, 1925

The Canadian federal election of 1925 was held on October 29 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal Party formed a minority government. This precipitated the "King-Byng Affair".The Liberals under...

. After unsuccessful attempts to unseat Cotnam in 1926

Canadian federal election, 1926

The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The election was called following an event known as the King-Byng Affair...

 and 1930

Canadian federal election, 1930

The Canadian federal election of 1930 was held on July 28, 1930 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Canada...

, McKay returned to the House of Commons by defeating Cotnam in the 1935 election

Canadian federal election, 1935

The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R.B. Bennett's Conservative Party.The central...

. McKay died at an Ottawa hospital on 14 February 1937 from influenza

Influenza

Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...

 and pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 before completing his term in the 18th Canadian Parliament

18th Canadian Parliament

The 18th Canadian Parliament was in session from February 6, 1936 until January 25, 1940. The membership was set by the 1935 federal election on October 14, 1935, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1940 election.It was controlled...

. He was survived by a wife, two daughters and a son.

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