The Rideau Club is a private social club in Ottawa, Ontario. The club was founded in 1865 by Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier as a gentlemen's club, but since 1979 has been mixed-sex. For much of its history the club was populated primarily by parliamentarians. In 1876 the Rideau built its clubhouse at 84 Wellington Street, where it remained until the building burned down in 1979. Since the fire, the club has been located in the top floor of the Metropolitan Life Building at 99 Bank Street.

History

The club building, located for years across the street from the Parliament Buildings, burned down in October 1979. The club is now located on the top floor of a downtown office tower on Bank Street. At the time of the fire, the Government of Canada was attempting to expropriate the club's property to serve as part of a future U.S. embassy.

It was reported to be the first club in Canada (and one of the first in North America) to disallow the use of the blackball tradition which allowed clubs to subtly discriminate against Jewish potential members, after succumbing to pressure from Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, among others, to admit Louis Rasminsky, Governor of the Bank of Canada.https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/stain+Canada+tolerant+history/7710997/story.html

Similarly, in the 1970s, after seeing controversy over its all-male policy, the club allowed female members and at the same time removed restrictions on female guests. The lounge, located on the north side of the club, is named after its first female member, Jean Pigott. She was accepted to the Rideau Club in 1979, the same year as the fire.

Each room on the south side of the club is dedicated to a significant person in Canadian history. Most are named after former prime ministers of Canada, but one is named after Yousuf Karsh. It is filled with famous portraits taken by him and left to the Rideau Club after his death.

Presidents

1865-66 – Sir John A. Macdonald 1867-68 – Lt Col Hewitt Bernard 1869 – George William Allan 1870-71 – Sir Richard John Cartwright 1872 – Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt 1873-78 – Joseph Merrill Currier 1879 – Alonzo Wright 1880 – James Cockburn 1881 – Thomas Coltrin Keefer 1882-83 – William Alexander Henry 1884-85 – John Sweetland 1886 – Francis Clemow 1887 – John Alexander Gemmill 1888-90 – John Sweetland 1891-92 – Helier Vavasour Noel 1893 – Col Walker Powell 1894-95 – Charles Magee 1896-97 – Sir George Halsey Perley 1898-99 – John Christie 1900-01 – Col De la Cherois T. Irwin 1902-03 – C. Berkeley Powell 1904-05 – Dr Frederick Montizambert 1906-07 – F. W. Avery 1908-10 – Travers John Lewis 1911-13 – David M. Finnie 1914-22 – Robert Gill 1923-24 – Sir Robert Borden 1925-29 – J. A. Jackson 1930-31 – Col Cameron MacPherson Edwards 1932-34 – Hamnett Pinhey Hill 1935-36 – Charles G. Cowan 1937-38 – Col Henry Campbell Osborne 1939-41 – Oliver Mowat Biggar 1942-45 – Frederic Erskine Bronson 1946 – Kenneth A. Greene 1947-48 – Duncan Kenneth MacTavish 1949-50 – John A. Aylen 1951-52 – Barry German 1953-54 – James Duncan Hyndman 1955-56 – Chalmers Jack Mackenzie 1957-59 – Ascanio-J. Major 1960-62 – Vice Adm Harold Taylor Wood Grant 1962-63 – Douglas Abbott 1964-65 – Rear Adm Wallace Bourchier Creery 1965-67 – Charles C. Gale 1967 – Adam Hartley Zimmerman 1968-69 – Douglas Abbott 1969-70 – A. Davidson Dunton 1970-72 – Lester B. Pearson 1972-73 – Cuthbert Scott 1974-75 – Ernest D. Lafferty 1976-77 – Stewart F. M. Wotherspoon 1978-89 – James Ross 1980-81 – Guy Roberge 1982-83 – Denis Coolican 1984-85 – Angus C. Morrison 1986 – Air Marshal Hugh Lester Campbell 1987-88 – William Hector McMillan 1989-90 – Hon John J. Urie 1991-92 – Michael L. Phelan 1993-94 – Anthony M. P. Tattersfield 1995-96 – M. Patrick Gillin 1997-98 – John M. Scott 1999-2000 – Maj Gen Ernest B. Creber 2001-02 – Michael Baylin 2003-04 – Robert J. Buchan 2005-07 – Meriel V. M. Beament Bradford 2007-09 – Paul Labbé 2009-11 – Peter B. M. Hyde 2011-13 – Nik Nanos 2013-15 – Norman Sabourin 2015-17 – Josephine A. L. Palumbo 2017-19 – J. Paul Hession 2019-21 – Suzanne Corbeil 2021-22 – Janet Thorsteinson 2022 – Jane Brydges

Club histories

Little, Charles. The Rideau Club, a Short History: The First Hundred Years, 1895–1965. Rideau Club, 1965. Lynch, Charles. Up from the Ashes: The Rideau Club Story. University of Ottawa Press, 1990. McCreery, Christopher. Savoir Faire, Savoir Vivre: Rideau Club 1865–2015. Dundurn Press, 2015.

See also

List of gentlemen's clubs in Canada

References