Vincent Massey was born into a family whose fortune was made by manufacturing farm machinery. Although Massey served as president of Massey Harris Company from 1921-1925, most of his life was spent serving his country. When he became Canada's first native-born Governor General on February 28, 1952, it was the crowning achievement of a career dedicated to public service.
Massey was educated at the Universities of Toronto and Oxford, and taught for a period at Victoria College, University of Toronto. During the first World War, he was an army officer in Canada and for a time worked for the War Committee of the federal cabinet. In 1925, he joined MacKenzie King's cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. Although he was not elected in the 1926 general election, King appointed him the first Canadian diplomat to represent his country in the United States, a position he held until 1930. From 1935-1946, he served, under King, as Canada's High Commissioner to Britain.
Knowing that Massey was a nationalist who believed in the development of Canadian institutions and that he was a patron of the arts, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent selected Massey to chair the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences. Massey tabled the report in 1951, and one of the recommendations led to the formation of the Canada Council in 1957. He was a popular Governor General, and both Liberal and Conservative Governments extended his term. During his term, there were two Royal Visits. Princess Elizabeth visited with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1952, and she visited Canada again in 1957, this time as Queen.
Massey stepped down as Governor General in 1959, but his interest in the arts and Canadian nationalism continued until his death in 1967.
