Ed Philip

Ed Philip
Ontario MPP
In office 1987–1995
Preceded by	New riding
Succeeded by	John Hastings
Constituency	Etobicoke—Rexdale
In office 1975–1987
Preceded by	Leonard Braithwaite
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Constituency	Etobicoke
Personal details
Born	March 11, 1940 Montreal, Quebec
Political party	New Democrat
Spouse(s)	Audrey Philip. He was previously married to Suzanne.
Children	2
Residence	Rexdale, Ontario
Occupation	Adult educator, management consultant

Edward Thomas Philip (born March 11, 1940) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1995 who represented the west Toronto riding of Etobicoke. From 1990 to 1995 he was a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.

Background

Philip was educated at St. Joseph's Teachers' College, the University of Ottawa, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, earning a Master's Degree in Education.^[1] He worked as an adult educator and management consultant before entering politics, and was a coordinator of leadership training with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.^[2]

Philip was married to Audrey with whom he has two children (twins) Andrew Fergus and Sarah Meghan Philip. Previously, he was married to Suzanne.^[3]

Politics

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1975, defeating incumbent Liberal Leonard Braithwaite by 1,256 votes in the Toronto riding of Etobicoke.^[4] He was re-elected by a greater margin in the election of 1977,^[5] and fended off a stronger challenge from Progressive Conservative Aileen Anderson in the 1981 election.^[6] In the elections of 1985, 1987 and 1990, he was elected without difficulty.^[7]

Philip supported Bob Rae for the provincial NDP leadership in 1982. During his time in opposition he held various critic portfolios including transportation, housing, rent review and government services. He was also chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.^[3] During this session he presented a discussion paper entitled "Guidelines for Public Accounts Committees in Canada" which discussed the evolving role of this type of legislative committee.^[8]

Government

In the 1990 provincial election the NDP won and formed a majority government under the leadership of Bob Rae. Philip had been his party's Transport Critic for the previous three years, and was appointed as Ontario's Minister of Transport on October 1, 1990.^[1] He became Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology on July 31, 1991,^[9] and Minister of Municipal Affairs on February 3, 1993.^[10] He was also the interim Minister of Tourism and Recreation from November 13, 1992 to February 3, 1993.^[11]

Philip was on the right wing of the NDP. He recommended greater privileges for multinational pharmaceutical companies while in government, and rejected a "global warming" strategy while in the Transportation portfolio. Notwithstanding this, he was generally supportive of progressive legislation and was regularly endorsed by left-leaning groups in Toronto.

The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Philip lost the riding of Etobicoke-Rexdale to Progressive Conservative John Hastings by fewer than 900 votes.^[12] This was considered a major upset, and Philip was regarded as a favoured candidate for re-election when he ran in the redistributed seat of Etobicoke North in the 1999 provincial election.

The character of the riding had changed since the 1980s, however, and many in the riding's large community of recent immigrants had no history of supporting the NDP. Philip finished third, and Hastings was re-elected by what most considered to be a vote-split among the Liberals and NDP.^[13]

Cabinet positions

References

Notes

1. The ministry was folded into a super-ministry called Culture, Tourism and Recreation led by Anne Swarbrick.
2. The ministry was folded into a super-ministry called Economic Development and Trade led by Frances Lankin.

Citations

1. "Ontario's first NDP cabinet". Toronto Star. 2 October 1990. p. A17.
2. "123 candidates seeking Metros 29 seats". Toronto Star. September 12, 1975. p. A8.
3. 1992: Who's Who in Canada (83 ed.). Toronto: Global Press. 1992. pp. 644–645.
4. "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
5. "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
6. Canadian Press (March 20, 1981). "Election results for Metro Toronto ridings". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
7. "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 1990. p. A12.
8. James, Craig (1990). "Public Accounts Committee Activity". Canadian Parliamentary Review. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
9. Steel, Suzanne (August 1, 1991). "Rae shuffles Ontario cabinet, dropping 3 junior ministers". The Gazette. Montreal, Que. p. A12.
10. "Rae shuffles deck Lankin gets major ministry, new posts for Charlton, Christopherson". The Hamilton Spectator. February 3, 1993. p. A1.
11. "North quits amid police probe Minister accused of 'impropriety'". The Hamilton Spectator. November 14, 1992. p. A1.
12. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
13. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Retrieved 2014-03-02.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History