Wappel is a staunch social conservative. He is a prominent opponent of abortion and gay rights,and has made controversial comments on immigration and the role of religion in government. He opposes the death penalty and describes himself as holding liberal views on economic issues.[1] In 1998,he was awarded the Joseph P. Borowski Award.[2] He is separated,with five children.
Wappel won the Scarborough West Liberal nomination in 1988 in a surprising upset over Patrick Johnston,a star candidate who had been personally recruited by party leader John Turner.[4] His campaign was supported by members of the anti-abortion group Campaign Life,and his election platform included a pledge of "respect for human life,from conception to the natural end of life".[5] He also opposed the Canada-United Statesfree trade agreement,and criticized the media for portraying him as a single-issue candidate.[6] He won a narrow victory in the general election,defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Reginald Stackhouse by 440 votes.
During the election,Campaign Life activists circulated a pamphlet that accused Stackhouse of supporting "baby-killing" in some circumstances.[7] There is no evidence that Wappel personally endorsed the pamphlet.
The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in 1988,and Wappel entered Parliament as a member of the opposition. John Turner resigned as party leader in 1989,and a new leadership contest was called to select his replacement.
Leadership candidate
Wappel was the first declared candidate in the Liberal Party's 1990 leadership convention,announcing his candidacy on June 29,1989. He described himself as the only candidate willing to make abortion a leadership issue.[8] Wappel spoke against abortion in all circumstances,saying that while rape and incest are terrible tragedies,"they cannot possibly be compounded by the further tragedy of destroying human life."[9] He also called for increased immigration to Canada and harsher penalties against drug traffickers,while opposing the Meech Lake Accord and "distinct society" status for Quebec.[10]
Wappel spoke against federal daycare programs during one all-candidates meeting,arguing that the Canadian government should promote stay-at-home parenting instead.[11] Late in the campaign,he said that he did not consider single-parent households or same-sex couples to be families.[12]
His candidacy was not supported by any other MPs although he won the endorsement of Liberals for Life,an anti-abortion pressure group working inside the Liberal Party,in March 1990.[13] During his nomination speech at the convention,Wappel called for abortion to be made a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.[14] He finished in fourth place,as Jean Chrétien won the leadership on the first ballot.[15]
Opposition Critic
Wappel was appointed as the Liberal Party's immigration critic in January 1991. Late in the year,he prepared an internal party document calling for the creation of detainment camps (to be called Welcome Centres) for refugees arriving in Canada. Claimants would be provided with food,lodging and clothing,but would not be permitted to work outside the centre while their cases were under review. The proposal also called for any claimant with HIV to be automatically denied status. His suggestions were leaked to the media and were immediately rejected by the Liberal Party leadership.[16] He was removed as the Liberal Party's immigration Critic in January 1992 and reassigned as critic for the Solicitor-General.[17] In his new position,he called for increased safeguards in Canada's parole system.[18]
Wappel was not appointed to Jean Chrétien's cabinet and was a frequent critic of his own party's social legislation. He opposed the Chrétien government's decision to extend anti-discrimination protection to homosexuals in 1994,describing homosexuality as "statistically abnormal,[...] physically abnormal and [...] morally immoral".[20] Some politicians and journalists called for Chrétien to expel Wappel from caucus after this remark,but no disciplinary action was taken.[21] Later in the year,Wappel described homosexuality as "not genetic,but a choice",while arguing that religion is "virtually genetic,since it is passed from generation to generation".[22] He remained active on law enforcement issues,introducing a private member's bill to create a national witness protection program and calling for tougher provisions under Canada's Young Offenders Act.[23]
He was re-elected to a third term in the 1997 election,again running on a "law and order" platform. When parliament resumed,he introduced a private member's bill designed to prevent persons convicted of serious crimes (and their relatives and collaborators) from receiving any financial benefit resulting from artistic depictions of their acts. The bill was supported by some members of the law enforcement community,but was criticized by artists and was often described as poorly drafted. Toronto journalist Michael Valpy dismissed it as "legal gibberish" and "a piece of junk".[24] The bill passed the House of Commons but was rejected by the Senate of Canada in 1998,despite last-minute adjustments.[25]
He faced media scrutiny in May 2001,when he refused to help a blind,elderly veteran in his riding whom he suspected of having voted for a rival candidate in the previous election. Wappel wrote a letter to the constituent,asking "How is it that you are writing me for my help if you did not think enough of my abilities to justify voting for me?"[27] The letter was released to the media,and Wappel's remarks were widely condemned by journalists[28] and MPs from all parties. Chrétien reprimanded Wappel and required him to issue an apology.[29] Wappel later described the letter as a "stupid mistake",and called for voters to forgive him.[30]
In July 2002,Wappel joined with fifteen other Liberal MPs in calling for Paul Martin to succeed Jean Chrétien as Liberal leader.[31] Later in the year,he was unexpectedly elected chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in a free vote of other committee members.[32] He issued a report in June 2003 arguing that federal bureaucrats had "badly managed" the sockeye salmon fishery in British Columbia's Fraser River two years earlier.[33]
Martin government
Paul Martin succeeded Chrétien as party leader and prime minister in December 2003. Wappel remained a government backbencher,and was returned to a fifth parliamentary term in the 2004 election as the Liberals were reduced to a minority government.
Wappel remained one of the most vocal social conservatives in the Liberal caucus and was a prominent opponent of the Martin government's 2005 same-sex marriage legislation,which he described as "discriminatory,a sham,and a hoax".[34] According to one report,Wappel told Martin that he was "profoundly disappointed" with his handling of the issue during a private caucus meeting.[35] There was some speculation that Wappel would join fellow MP Pat O'Brien in leaving the Liberal caucus over the marriage bill,but he decided to remain in the party.[36]
Opposition MP
Wappel was re-elected to the House of Commons in the 2006 federal election,as the Conservative Party won a national minority government. Wappel was one of twenty-four Liberal MPs to vote for an extension of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan in May 2006.[37] He also renewed his call for abortion legislation,describing Canada as "the only western democracy that has absolutely no law whatsoever when it comes to protecting the unborn child".[38] In February 2007,he was the only Liberal MP to vote for the extension of two controversial anti-terrorism measures that had first been passed by the Chrétien government in the aftermath of the September 11,2001 attacks. The measures,which critics described as a threat to civil liberties,were defeated when the Bloc Québécois,New Democratic Party and most Liberals voted not to support their extension.[39] Wappel expressed surprise that more Liberal MPs did not support the extension.[40]
Wappel did not endorse any candidate in the 2006 Liberal leadership election,as none of the candidates were declared social conservatives.[41] He indicated that he would personally vote for Joe Volpe at the convention.[42]
Food labels
Wappel promoted several private member's bills calling for better nutritional labels on food products. In 1998,he introduced a bill that would have required nutritional labels on all foods sold in grocery stores. It was supported by the Alliance for Food Label Reform,and Wappel argued that it would help reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer among consumers.[43] The bill was not passed.
In 2004,he introduced a separate bill requiring fast food restaurants to list salt and fat content on their menus.[44] It was defeated by a vote of 198 to 64 in November 2006.[45]
Retirement
On March 23,2007,Wappel announced that he would not stand in the next federal election.[46] His tenure as a member of Parliament ended with the 2008 federal election.
Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000.
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada.
All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. Italicized expenditures from elections after 1997 refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available. Expenditures from 1997 refer to submitted totals. The +/- figures from 1997 and 2004 are adjusted for redistribution.
↑ Stevie Cameron, "An avalanche of bad news leaves pre-election Liberals gloomy", Globe and Mail, 15 September 1988, A2.
↑ "Scarborough West Swing riding could be 3-way fight", Toronto Star, 16 November 1988, A14. Wappel thanked the Campaign Life Coalition and "all [his] fellow Knights of Columbus" in his nomination acceptance speech. See Dan Smith, "Turner's prize recruit loses nomination bid", Toronto Star, 10 September 1988, A3.
↑ Deborah Wilson, "Liberal is trying to shake anti-abortion label", Globe and Mail, 19 November 1988, A16.
↑ "Metro's 15 new faces in Parliament", Toronto Star, 27 November 1988, A8. The original newspaper notice indicated that Stackhouse was described as a "babykiller", but this was later corrected (see Lorne Manly, "Pledging a return", listed below).
↑ Susan Delacourt, "Anti-abortion MP is first to seek Liberal leadership", Globe and Mail, 30 June 1989, A5. Rival candidate John Nunziata later endorsed an anti-abortion position as well.
↑ Lorne Manly, "Wappel runs for leadership", Toronto Star, 4 July 1989, E1.
↑ Lorne Manly, "Pledging a return to family values, Scarborough West MP Tom Wappel has entered the race for the federal Liberal leadership", Toronto Star, 30 June 1989, A12.
↑ Carol Goar, "Copps steals show from Chrétien", Toronto Star, 29 January 1990, A11.
↑ "Candidates differ on family issues", Toronto Star, 22 April 1990, A18.
↑ "Pro-life group supports Wappel", Toronto Star, 10 March 1990, A8.
↑ William Walker, "The Liberal tradition in politics should include protecting unborn children from abortion, leadership candidate Tom Wappel said in his major convention speech", Toronto Star, 23 June 1990, A14. Walker's original report incorrectly asserted that Wappel supported the death penalty for women who have abortions and doctors who perform them. This was corrected the next day. Wappel opposes capital punishment.
↑ Paul Watson, "Liberal MP proposes special camps for refugees". Toronto Star, 15 November 1991, A2; Toronto Star Editorial, 13 January 1992, A12.
↑ "Marchi, Tobin take on Liberal campaign role", Toronto Star, 16 January 1992, A12.
↑ Kellie Hudson, "Mom outraged sex offender to be released from prison", Toronto Star, 1 November 1992, A4.
↑ Deborah Kyvrikosaios, "Police to back campaigns of 'law and order' politicians", Globe and Mail, 19 July 1993, A2; "Scarborough West", Toronto Star, 22 October 1993, A9.
↑ Tu Thanh Ha, "Dissident Liberals fight bills on gays", Globe and Mail, 28 September 1994, A1.
↑ See for instance, William Neville, "A poor response from Chrétien", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 October 1994, Editorial Page.
↑ "A God gene? Gosh", Globe and Mail, 18 November 1994, A24.
↑ Rudy Platiel, "Witness protection", Globe and Mail, 21 April 1994, A6; David Vienneau, "New bill to double teen killers' terms", Toronto Star, 2 June 1994, A16.
↑ Michael Valpy, "Dump the Son of Sam bill", Globe and Mail, 28 November 1997, A21.
↑ "Canadian PM raps own MP for snubbing war veteran", Reuters News, 9 May 2001, 15:43 report.
↑ Catherine Dunphy, "Liberals' Wappel hoping voters have forgiven him", Toronto Star, 14 June 2004, B02.
↑ Anne Dawson, "16 Liberal MPs willing to declare PM should resign", National Post, 25 July 2002, A01; James Travers, "Dummies fall silent as political season changes", Toronto Star, 5 September 2002, A23.
↑ Kelly Toughill, "Unusual committee casting --- Plum job for backbencher", Toronto Star, 16 November 2002, H05
↑ "Commons committee says Ottawa mismanaged Fraser River salmon fishery", Associated Press Newswires, 12 June 2003, 11:48 report.
↑ Tonda MacCharles, "Liberal MP slams bill on marriage", Toronto Star, 19 February 2005, A06.
↑ Jane Taber, "Liberal MPs clash over gay marriage", Globe and Mail, 3 February 2005, A1.
↑ John Ivison, "Martin lives to die another day", National Post, 7 June 2005, A6.
↑ John Ivison, "Vote on Afghanistan reveals the Grit divide", National Post, 19 May 2006, A4.
↑ Juliet O'Neill and Andrew Mayeda, "Anti-terrorism measures defeated, 159 to 124: One Liberal MP backs government on issue", Montreal Gazette, 28 February 2007, A12.
↑ Joan Bryden, "Liberal MP unrepentant for defying Dion on anti-terror vote", Canadian Press, 28 February 2007, 18:23.
↑ "A Canadian member of parliament, backed by 13 medical, consumer and food organizations", Food Chemical News, 30 November 1998, Volume 40 Number 41.
↑ Andre Picard, "Want fries, calories, fats with that burger?", Globe and Mail, 9 December 2003, A3; Dana Flavelle, "MP wants tougher labelling", Toronto Star, 18 September 2006, D1.
William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons of Canada for the federal New Democratic Party. Following his retirement from federal politics, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2009 until 2011, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and served as Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader.
Reginald B. Alcock, was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Winnipeg South in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister Paul Martin. Alcock was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
James Scott Peterson is a retired Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1988 to 2007 who represented the northern Toronto riding of Willowdale. He served in the cabinet of Jean Chrétien as Secretary of State and the cabinet of Paul Martin as Minister of International Trade.
Giuseppe "Joe" Volpe is a Canadian politician. He represented the Ontario riding of Eglinton-Lawrence as a member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 until 2011, when he lost his seat to Conservative candidate Joe Oliver. Volpe held two senior positions in Prime Minister Paul Martin's Cabinet from 2003 to 2006, and served as transportation critic when his party became the Official Opposition. In 2006, he ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party leadership.
James Karygiannis is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada as a Liberal MP from 1988 to 2014, and as member of the Toronto City Council from 2014 until 2020, when his seat was vacated due to campaign spending violations.
Rick Borotsik is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as Mayor of Brandon from 1989 to 1997, was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 2007. Borotsik is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba.
Andrew James Scheer is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Regina—Qu'Appelle since 2004. Scheer served as the 35th speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015, and was the leader of the Conservative Party and leader of the Official Opposition from 2017 to 2020.
Pierre Marcel Poilievre is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022. He has been a member of Parliament (MP) since 2004.
Walter Thomas Lastewka is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006, representing the Ontario riding of St. Catharines as a member of the Liberal Party.
Bradley Ryan Trost is a former Canadian politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the ridings of Saskatoon—Humboldt from 2004 to 2015 and Saskatoon—University from 2015 to 2019. He was a candidate in the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, finishing fourth. Trost was known for his support of socially conservative positions.
Louis Plamondon is a Canadian politician who served as the interim speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from September 27 to October 3, 2023. A member of the Bloc Québécois, he has represented Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel since 1984. As the longest-serving current member of the House of Commons, Plamondon is Dean of the House, and holds the record as Canada's longest-serving dean.
Reginald "Reg" Francis Stackhouse was a Canadian educator and politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1972 to 1974 and from 1984 to 1988 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Liberals for Life was an anti-abortion advocacy group that worked within the Liberal Party of Canada during the 1980s and early 1990s. Some of its members were also affiliated with the Campaign Life Coalition and, as such, the group was often accused of entryism.
The 1990 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was held on 23 June 1990 in Calgary, Alberta. The party chose former Deputy Prime Minister Jean Chrétien as its new leader, replacing the outgoing leader, former Prime Minister John Turner.
Candice Marie Bergen is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Portage—Lisgar in Manitoba from 2008 to 2023. She served as the interim leader of the Conservative Party and the leader of the Opposition from February 2, 2022 to September 10, 2022.
The 2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was triggered by Michael Ignatieff's announcement on May 3, 2011, of his intention to resign as leader following the party's defeat in the 2011 federal election. On May 25, 2011, Bob Rae was appointed by Liberal caucus as interim leader. The party announced Justin Trudeau as its new leader on April 14, 2013, in Ottawa, Ontario.
Stella Ambler is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the federal electoral district of Mississauga South from 2011 to 2015. She is a member of the Conservative Party.
Wladyslaw Lizon is a former Polish Canadian politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015 who represented the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville. He was the second Polish-born member of Parliament (MP), after Alexandre-Édouard Kierzkowski.
Rachael Thomas is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Lethbridge in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. A member of the Conservative Party, she was reelected in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections, and has been the Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage since October 2022. Previously, Thomas has also served as the Official Opposition critic for Youth and Persons with Disabilities, the Status of Women, and Digital Government.
Leslyn Lewis is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Haldimand—Norfolk since 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, Lewis contested the party leadership in the 2020 leadership election, placing third. She was the first visible minority woman to run for the federal Conservative Party leadership. She is known for her socially conservative views.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
