Edmund Leslie Newcombe


Edmund Leslie Newcombe, was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant, and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Early life

Born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, the son of John Cumming Newcombe and Abigail H. Calkin, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1878 and a Master of Arts degree in 1881 from Dalhousie University. He received a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1881 from the short-lived University of Halifax.

Career

In 1882, he was called to the Nova Scotia Bar and started to practise law.
In 1893, he became Deputy Minister of Justice and was called to the Ontario Bar, and was appointed Queen's Counsel shortly after. As Deputy Minister, he was responsible for all the legal work of the Canadian government. He frequently appeared in person in front of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, appearing in more than thirty cases in front of the latter. He was appointed CMG in 1909.
In 1924, he was appointed to the Supreme Court and served until his death in 1931.