William J. Saunderson is a former politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He was a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1995 to 1999, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris

Mike Harris

Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...

.

Saunderson was educated at the University of Trinity College

University of Trinity College

The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...

 in the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, receiving a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree and subsequently becoming a certified accountant

Certified General Accountant

Certified General Accountant is the designation of professionals who are jointly members of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada and a provincial or territorial CGA association, or a CGA association overseas...

. He continued his education as an adult, and received a Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 from the University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...

 in 1994. After graduation, he worked as an accountant with Clarkson and Gordon. He co-founded Spectre Investment Counsel Ltd. in 1971, and worked with the Ontario Pension Commission from 1972 to 1983. Saunderson also had financial ties to the cigarette

Cigarette

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...

 industry, which became controversial after he entered political life.

Saunderson was active in political organization before running for office himself. He took part in fundraising activities for several municipal, provincial and federal campaigns for such figures as Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney

Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...

, Joe Clark

Joe Clark

Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...

, David Crombie and Art Eggleton

Art Eggleton

Arthur "Art" C. Eggleton, PC is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and Mayor of Toronto, and is currently a Senator representing Ontario.-City council:...

, and was the financial comptroller for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

's national election campaigns in 1984 and 1988.

He ran in the riding of Eglinton

Eglinton (provincial electoral district)

Eglinton was a provincial electoral district located in Toronto, Ontario. From 1926 until 1999 it elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. At its abolishment in 1999 it consisted of the neighbourhoods of Davisville and Lawrence Park in the north end of the old city of Toronto. It was...

 in the 1995 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1995

The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...

, and defeated Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 incumbent Dianne Poole

Dianne Poole

Dianne Poole is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1995....

 by about 4,500 votes. From June 26, 1995 to October 10, 1997, he served in the Harris government as Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (Ontario)

The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in the Canadian province of Ontario is responsible for programs to attract and retain business and economic development in the province...

. In 1997, Saunderson announced that the government would be cutting its spending on Ontario's seven "centres of excellence" by 13%. After leaving cabinet, he was named to chair the Ontario International Trade Corporation.