Maurice Brydon Foster, the son of Duncan N. Foster and Agnes Mary (Anderson) Foster was born on September 8, 1933 at Bloomfield, Ontario in Prince Edward County. He grew up on a dairy farm and took his elementary and secondary education in Bloomfield and Picton. He attended the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario and graduated in 1957 as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
In 1957, Dr. Foster established a general farm practice as a Veterinarian at Carnduff, Saskatchewan. Later, he moved to Northern Ontario and continued to practise Veterinary Medicine at Desbarats. He was active in community affairs including service as Chairman of the District School Board.
He was first elected to Parliament on June 25, 1968, as the Liberal candidate in the Federal Riding of Algoma which had been previously held by the late Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson. He has been re-elected to represent the Algoma Constituency in every general election since then. He has served on several committees of Parliament relating to resources and agriculture. He was Vice Chairman of the External Affairs and National Defence Committees (1976) and was chairman of the Special House of Commons Committee on the Northern Gas Pipeline. He has also served as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections and as Chairman of the Ontario Liberal Caucus.
He was Deputy Chief Whip during the minority government from 1972-1974. In 1974, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Resources and guided several important pieces of energy legislation through parliamentary committee including the bill to establish Petro-Canada.
He served as Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association from 1977 to 1979 and was leader of the Canadian Delegation to conferences held in Ottawa, Jamaica and New Zealand. From 1979 to 1982, he served as Canadian Regional Representative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He also served for several years as Vice-Chairman of the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Association.
In February 1984, he became Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and piloted the Crown Corporation Act through Committee.
After the General Election of September 1984, he was appointed Agriculture Critic for the Liberal Party by the Right Honourable John Turner. In January 1986, he also assumed the responsibilities of Critic for the Canadian Wheat Board.
As Agriculture critic, he chaired the National Liberal Task Force on Agriculture, traveling extensively across Canada, meeting with farmers and farm leaders.
Dr. Foster was re-elected for a seventh successive term in November 1988 and was reappointed Opposition Critic for Agriculture.
He announced his retirement in January 1993.
In February, 1994 he was appointed Special Adviser to the Prime Minister dealing mainly with issues relating to the Parliamentary Caucus. Foster retired from his position in the Prime Minister's Office in 2001.
Dr. Foster married Janet Kerr of Picton, Ontario. They have four children (Peter, Andy, Peggy and James) as well as fourteen grandchildren.
Dr. Foster passed away Saturday, October 2, 2010, surrounded by his loving family, after a valiant 3-year struggle with pulmonary fibrosis.
