George McIlraith

The Honourable George McIlraith PC QC
Solicitor General of Canada
In office 6 July 1968 – 21 December 1970
Prime Minister	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	John Turner
Succeeded by	Jean-Pierre Goyer
Minister of Public Works
In office 7 July 1965 – 5 July 1968
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Lucien Cardin
Succeeded by	Arthur Laing
Minister of Justice Attorney General of Canada
Acting 30 June 1965 – 6 July 1965
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by	Guy Favreau
Succeeded by	Lucien Cardin
President of the Privy Council
In office 3 February 1964 – 6 July 1965
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by	Maurice Lamontagne
Succeeded by	Guy Favreau
Minister of National Revenue
Acting 19 March 1964 – 28 June 1964
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by	Jack Garland
Succeeded by	Edgar Benson
Minister of Transport
In office 22 April 1963 – 2 February 1964
Prime Minister	Lester B. Pearson
Preceded by	Léon Balcer
Succeeded by	Jack Pickersgill
Senator for Ottawa Valley, Ontario
In office 27 April 1972 – 29 July 1981
Appointed by	Pierre Trudeau
Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre
In office 25 June 1968 – 26 April 1972
Preceded by	Riding created
Succeeded by	Hugh Poulin
Member of Parliament for Ottawa West
In office 26 March 1940 – 24 June 1968
Preceded by	T. Franklin Ahearn
Succeeded by	Cyril Lloyd Francis
Personal details
Born	George James McIlraith (1908-07-29)29 July 1908 Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Died	19 August 1992(1992-08-19) (aged 84)
Political party	Liberal
Relations	Margaret Akin Summers ​ ​ (m. 1935; died 1989)​
Children	4
Profession	Barrister Lawyer

George James McIlraith PC QC (29 July 1908 – 19 August 1992) was a lawyer and Canadian Parliamentarian.

The son of James McIlraith and Kate McLeod, he was educated at Osgoode Hall and practised law in Ottawa. In 1935, he married Margaret Summers.

McIlraith was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1940 federal election as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa West. He was subsequently re-elected on nine successive occasions.

McIlraith joined the Cabinet of Lester Pearson when the Liberals formed government following the 1963 federal election as Minister of Transport. From 1964 until 1967, he was Government House Leader in charge of the Pearson minority government's parliamentary strategy for much of its tenure, including during the Great Flag Debate and parliamentary debates on the introduction of Medicare.

He also served as Pearson's Minister of Public Works from 1965 on, and was also Pierre Trudeau's first public works minister. He served as Solicitor-General of Canada from 1968 until 1970 under Trudeau, who appointed him to the Senate of Canada in 1972.

The George McIlraith Bridge over the Rideau River is named for him.