Reid Scott

Reid Scott (October 23, 1926 – March 2, 2016) was a lawyer and provincial judge in Canada, and a New Democratic Party of Member of Parliament for the Danforth electoral district, in Toronto, from 1962 to 1968, leaving federal politics when his riding disappeared due to redistribution. He had previously served as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Beaches constituency from 1948 to 1951. He returned to politics in 1969 as a Toronto city alderman. Scott, a law student at the time, defeated 22-year incumbent Thomas Alexander Murphy when he was elected to the Ontario legislature as the MPP for Beaches in the 1948 provincial election. At age 21, he set the record for youngest MPP ever elected which remained unbroken until the election of 19 year old Sam Oosterhoff in a 2016 by-election. Scott ran for federal office in the 1962 election and was elected as the NDP candidate for Danforth. While an MP, he played a role in the "Great Flag Debate". Serving on the all-party committee charged with recommending a new flag, Scott successfully lobbied Social Credit and Créditiste MPs to back the Maple Leaf flag as it did not have "symbols of the past". His efforts secured a majority on the committee in favour of what became the new flag of Canada. Reid was the last surviving member of the Parliamentary Committee that selected the design of the new fla