Leo Bernier

Last updated
Leo Bernier
Ontario MPP
In office
1966–1987
Preceded by Robert Gibson
Succeeded by Frank Miclash
Constituency Kenora
Personal details
Born 1928
Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Died June 28, 2010(2010-06-28) (aged 81)
Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Political party Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s) Marjorie Bernier
Children 4
Occupation Businessman

Leo Edward Bernier (1928 – June 28, 2010) was a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1966 to 1987, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Bill Davis and Frank Miller. Bernier was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Bernier presided over a time in Northern Ontario when the economy was booming. He was also a personable and well-like MPP who looked out for his constituents. He was known by his nickname as "Emperor of the North".

Ontario Province of Canada

Ontario is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province accounting for 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is also Ontario's provincial capital.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Legislative Assembly of Ontario single house of Legislature of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is one of two components of the Legislature of Ontario, the other being the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The Legislative Assembly is the second largest Canadian provincial deliberative assembly by number of members after the National Assembly of Quebec. The Assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.

Contents

Background

Bernier was born in Sioux Lookout, Ontario and educated in the area. He worked as a bush pilot and became the general manager of Bernier & Sons Contractors, and served as president of the local Chamber of Commerce. [1] He was an honorary member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Knights of Columbus.

Sioux Lookout Municipality in Ontario, Canada

Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately 350 km (220 mi) northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people and an elevation of 390 m (1,280 ft). Known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Highway 72, and the Sioux Lookout railway station. According to a 2011 study commissioned by the municipality, health care and social services ranked as the largest sources of employment, followed by the retail trade, public administration, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, accommodation and food services, and education.

Royal Canadian Legion organization

The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cadets, direct relatives of members and also affiliated members. Membership is now also open to the general public.

Knights of Columbus Catholic fraternal service organization

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded by Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882, it was named in honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus. Originally serving as a mutual benefit society to working-class and immigrant Catholics in the United States, it developed into a fraternal benefit society dedicated to providing charitable services, including war and disaster relief, actively defending Catholicism in various nations, and promoting Catholic education. The Knights also support the Catholic Church's positions on public policy issues, including various political causes, and are participants in the new evangelization. The current Supreme Knight is Carl A. Anderson.

Politics

He ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1963 provincial election, and lost to Liberal-Labour candidate Robert Gibson by 840 votes in Kenora. [2] Gibson died in 1966, and Bernier was elected in a by-election to replace him. He was returned by an increased margin in the 1967 provincial election, [3] and served as a backbench supporter of the John Robarts administration. When Bill Davis succeeded Roberts as premier on March 1, 1971, he appointed Bernier as his Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs. [4]

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and have separate, though overlapping, memberships.

Robert Wayne Gibson was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1962 to 1963 who represented the northwestern riding of Kenora. From 1963 to 1966 he sat as a Liberal-Labour member. He died in office after a short illness from an infection of the pancreas.

Bernier was easily re-elected in the 1971 provincial election. [5] He was given additional responsibilities as Minister of Lands and Forests on February 2, 1972. [6] On April 7 of the same year, his portfolios were restructured as the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Bernier was re-elected without serious opposition in the elections of 1975, [7] 1977, [8] 1981, [9] and 1985. [10] He was named Minister of Northern Affairs on February 3, 1977, and held this position for more than eight years. [11] Bernier was the most powerful minister for Northern Ontario in the Bill Davis government, and was sometimes called the "Emperor of the North". Like most Progressive Conservatives of his time, he supported government intervention in economic matters.

Bernier initially supported Dennis Timbrell in the Progressive Conservative Party's January 1985 leadership convention, but crossed to Frank Miller after Timbrell was eliminated. Miller retained him in the Northern Affairs portfolio after becoming Premier of Ontario on February 8, 1985. [12] The Progressive Conservatives under Miller were reduced to a tenuous minority government in the 1985 election, and were defeated in the house in June 1985. In opposition, Bernier served as his party's critic for Natural Resources and Northern Affairs and Mines. He did not run for re-election in 1987.

Dennis Roy Timbrell is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1987, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of William Davis and Frank Miller.

Premier of Ontario first minister of the government of Ontario

The Premier of Ontario is the first minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario and the province’s head of government. The position was formerly styled "Prime Minister of Ontario" until the ministry of Bill Davis formally changed the title to premier.

A minority government, or minority cabinet or minority parliament, is a cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament. It is sworn into office, with or without the formal support of other parties, to enable a government to be formed. Under such a government, legislation can only be passed with the support of enough other members of the legislature to provide a majority, encouraging multi-partisanship. In bicameral parliaments, the term relates to the situation in chamber whose confidence is considered most crucial to the continuance in office of the government.

In 1975, Bernier selected amethyst as Ontario's mineral emblem. [13]

Cabinet positions

Ontario Provincial Government of Bill Davis
Cabinet posts (2)
PredecessorOfficeSuccessor
René Brunelle Minister of Natural Resources
[note 1]
1972–1977		 Frank Miller
Allan Lawrence Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs
[note 2] [note 3]
1971–1985		 René Fontaine

Later life

He served as chair of the Boreal West Round Table in the 1990s, and remained active in the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party until his death. In 2004, he supported John Tory's successful bid to become party leader.

Bernier died on June 28, 2010 in Sioux Lookout hospital at the age of 81. [1] In 2012, Highway 664 was renamed in his honour. [14]

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ Bernier was also Minister of Lands and Forests from February 2, 1972 to April 7, 1972 when it was merged into Natural Resources.
  2. ↑ On February 3, 1977, responsibility was changed to Minister of Northern Affairs which remained until June 1985.
  3. ↑ Bernier was retained as Minister of Northern Affairs by Frank Miller in both of his cabinets from February to June, 1985.

Citations

  1. 1 2 "Leo Bernier was voice of Northern Ontario". Toronto Star. June 30, 2010. p. A10.
  2. ↑ Canadian Press (September 26, 1963). "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 25. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  3. ↑ Canadian Press (October 18, 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  4. ↑ Manthorpe, Jonathan; Slinger, John (March 2, 1971). "Changes in policies promised: Davis priorities to include environment and jobless". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  5. ↑ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  6. ↑ "The Cabinet for Ontario". The Globe and Mail. February 3, 1972. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  8. ↑ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  9. ↑ Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  10. ↑ "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  11. ↑ Allen, David (February 3, 1977). "Davis names Timbrell new health minister". The Toronto Star. p. 1.
  12. ↑ "The Ontario Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. February 9, 1985. p. 4.
  13. ↑ "Ontario's official stone is no 'dumb jewel'". Toronto Star. May 16, 1975. p. B2.
  14. ↑ "Highway 664 dedicated to the "King of the North"". Daily Commercial News and Construction Record. 85 (155). August 13, 2012. p. 1.
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