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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1958-1988 (Creation)
- Creator
- Coates, Robert C., 1928-
Physical description area
Physical description
- 15.5 m of textual records
- 3 audio cassettes (ca. 1 hr. 20 min.)
- 2 videocassettes (ca. 2 hrs.)
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Robert C. Coates, BA, LLB, QC, LLD, was born at Amherst, N.S. on 10 March 1928, the son of Fred Carman Coates and Rita Bridget (O'Brien). He was educated at Mount Allison University and Dalhousie University Law School. On 27 December 1954 he married Mary Blanche Wade of New Brunswick, and had two children, David Wade and Amy Marijo. A barrister by occupation, he was called the Nova Scotia Bar in 1955 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1980. He was first elected as MP for Cumberland-Colchester in the general election of 10 June 1957, and was subsequently re-elected between 1958 and 1984. He was appointed minister of national defence and sworn to the Privy Council on 17 September 1984, but resigned from the office on 12 February 1985. He did not re-offer in the 1988 general election and subseqently retired from politics. Among his many affiliations were the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, NATO Parliamentary Association, the John G. Diefenbaker Memorial Foundation, and the Fundy Tidal Power Committee. The author of numerous articles and books on Candian politics, he published his best known work, The Night of the Knives, in 1969.
Custodial history
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records accumulated by Robert C. Coates while he was an MP, including constituency files, general correspondence, subject files, press clippings, speeches, audio cassettes, and videocassettes depicting the Testimonial Dinner held for Coates and the swearing-in ceremony when he was appointed minister of national defence. Fonds also contains drafts of articles written by Coates, draft manuscripts of "The Diefenbaker Dilemma" (later The Night of the Knives), and biographical material.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Donated by Mr. Coates in 1985, 1987, and 1988.
Arrangement
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Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
No access to constituency files or audio cassettes until the specified dates (2013-2017) unless written permission is obtained from Robert C. Coates.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
No reproduction of constituency files or videocassette (Vb 259) without written permission from Robert C. Coates.
Finding aids
File list available.