Stewart also owned and operated the Bates and Dodds Funeral Home on Queen Street West in Toronto.

[citation needed] He was elected in a by-election on October 5, 1938, as Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Parkdale in Toronto's west end.

[2] Stewart also owned and operated the Bates And Dodds Funeral Home at 931 Queen Street West at Strachan Avenue Following the 1943 election that brought George Drew's Tories to power, Stewart became Speaker of the legislature, a difficult task as the Progressive Conservatives (as they were known by then) had only a minority government.

He was reappointed Speaker following the 1945 election until he suddenly resigned in March 1947 to become a backbench Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP).

[1] He remained a member of the legislature until the 1959 election when his Parkdale seat was won by a Liberal and he left politics.