Joseph W. Noseworthy

Joseph William Noseworthy (November 25 1888 - March 30 1956) was a Canadian politician.

Noseworthy was born in Newfoundland but moved to the outskirts of Toronto where he became a teacher. He joined the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and was its candidate in the riding of York South in the 1940 federal election where he was defeated.

He stood again for the CCF when a by-election was called after the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) resigned in order to allow the new Conservative leader, former Prime Minister Arthur Meighen, to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons. It was tradition for the Liberals and Conservatives not to run against the other party's leader in by-elections, but the CCF did not accept this convention. William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Liberals were determined to block Meighen's return to politics: King didn't want the vocally pro-Conscription Meighen back in Parliament (see Conscription Crisis of 1944). The two men also had an intense rivalry dating from the 1920s when Meighen had previously been Tory leader. The Liberals donated money to Noseworthy's campaign, and encouraged their members to support his candidacy. Conversely, the Ontario Liberal Party and Premier of Ontario, Mitchell Hepburn, was opposed to King's conscription stance, and decided to put their support behind Meighen in the by-election.

The result on February 9, 1942, was a major upset and breakthrough for the CCF, with Noseworthy being elected by a margin of 5,000 votes. The defeat forced Meighen out of public life. Noseworthy was defeated in the subsequent 1945 general election, but returned as York South's MP in the 1949 election and remained in Parliament until his death.

Noseworthy was an active parliamentarian and defended the rights of immigrants and minorities. At one point, he embarrassed the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Walter Harris, by tabling a letter Harris had written that made it clear that the government intended to use provisions of the new 1952 "Immigration Act" to exclude non-whites.