Chris Stockwell
Encyclopedia
Chris Stockwell is a former politician
in Ontario, Canada
. He was a Progressive Conservative
member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1990 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris
and Ernie Eves
. Before entering provincial politics, he had been a member of Toronto
city council. Stockwell's father, Bill Stockwell, was also a Progressive Conservative politician.
Stockwell was elected as a city of Etobicoke
controller in 1982, and held the position until his election to the Metropolitan Toronto
council in November 1988. He represented Lakeshore-Queensway, in the Etobicoke region, and also served as chair of the Metro O’Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts during this period.
Stockwell was elected to the Ontario provincial legislature in the 1990 provincial election
, defeating incumbent Liberal
Linda LeBourdais
by about 4,000 votes in Etobicoke West. Almost immediately after the election, he accepted a generous payout from city council in lieu of time served. The New Democratic Party
won the election, and Stockwell sat on the opposition benches for the next five years.
The Tories won a significant majority in the provincial election of 1995
, and Stockwell was easily elected in his own riding. Despite his experience, he was not appointed to cabinet
by the new Premier
, Mike Harris
. He soon developed a reputation as a maverick, representing centrist conservative views in a party dominated by right-wingers.
Stockwell was elected Speaker
of the Assembly on October 3, 1996, after Al McLean
was forced to resign from the position. He was not Mike Harris's preferred choice for the position (the Premier supported Margaret Marland
) but won with support from members in all three parties. Stockwell won a reputation for independence in the Speaker's chair, and was not afraid to criticize members of his own party.
Stockwell played a key role in the anti-megacity filibuster of 1997, where the Opposition parties proposed thousands of amendments identical except for a few words. He ruled against the government when they moved that the legislature did not need to vote on each amendment, but in their favor when they suggested that the identical text did not need to be read aloud each time.
In the provincial election of 1999
, Stockwell's personal popularity was such that he was able to win an easy re-election in the redistributed riding of Etobicoke Centre
, despite his party's losses in other Toronto ridings. On June 17, 1999, he was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Labour.
Despite Stockwell's reputation as a Red Tory
, he implemented a number of right-wing policy directives as Labour Minister. He was largely credited with shepherding through the legislature a bill to increase the maximum work-week to 60 hours, and also promoted the Harris government's "Workplace Democracy Act", which made union organization more difficult. In addition to the Labour portfolio, Stockwell also served as Commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy for a few months in 2001.
Stockwell was a candidate to succeed Mike Harris in the 2002 PC leadership campaign
. During this campaign, he claimed that the right-wing initiatives of Harris's "Common Sense Revolution
" were necessary in 1995, but no longer made sense in 2003. He won little support from party insiders, and placed last with 4% of the vote. He supported Ernie Eves
, the winning candidate, on the second ballot.
On April 15, 2002, Eves appointed Stockwell as Government House Leader and Minister of Environment and Energy. The Energy and Environment portfolios were broken up on August 22, 2002, with Stockwell keeping Environment.
On June 17, 2003, he resigned from cabinet in the wake of a controversy concerning the misuse of expenses. An inquiry under Justice Osborne found that Stockwell had breached the Members Integrity Act with expenses claimed on a trip to Europe. His riding association had paid for his family to accompany him, using tax-deductible political donations; it was also alleged that Stockwell charged $10,000 to Ontario Power Generation
as part of the trip. Previously, he had claimed $3000 in bar bills for himself and his staff as government expenses.
On July 25, 2003, Stockwell announced that he would not run in the 2003 election
.
Stockwell was known for his oratorical skills and was arguably the best speaker on the government benches. Along with Liberal George Smitherman
, he was perhaps the most energetic speaker in the legislature from 1999 to 2003. He is currently employed as a political consultant.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
in Ontario, 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 1990 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments 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...
and Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
. Before entering provincial politics, he had been a member of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
city council. Stockwell's father, Bill Stockwell, was also a Progressive Conservative politician.
Stockwell was elected as a city of Etobicoke
Etobicoke, Ontario
Etobicoke is a dissolved municipality located within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the western section of the current city, it had an official population of 338,117 as measured by the 2001 Census and 334,491 people as of the 2006 Census. While it only contains 13% of...
controller in 1982, and held the position until his election to the Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
council in November 1988. He represented Lakeshore-Queensway, in the Etobicoke region, and also served as chair of the Metro O’Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts during this period.
Stockwell was elected to the Ontario provincial legislature in the 1990 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
, defeating incumbent 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...
Linda LeBourdais
Linda LeBourdais
Linda Lillian LeBourdais is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990....
by about 4,000 votes in Etobicoke West. Almost immediately after the election, he accepted a generous payout from city council in lieu of time served. The New Democratic Party
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
won the election, and Stockwell sat on the opposition benches for the next five years.
The Tories won a significant majority in the provincial election of 1995
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 Stockwell was easily elected in his own riding. Despite his experience, he was not appointed to cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
by the new Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
, 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...
. He soon developed a reputation as a maverick, representing centrist conservative views in a party dominated by right-wingers.
Stockwell was elected Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Assembly on October 3, 1996, after Al McLean
Al McLean
Allan Kenneth McLean is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and was briefly speaker of the assembly before being forced out of office due to a scandal.He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the...
was forced to resign from the position. He was not Mike Harris's preferred choice for the position (the Premier supported Margaret Marland
Margaret Marland
Margaret Marland is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris.Marland worked as a bank accountant and dental assistant in private life...
) but won with support from members in all three parties. Stockwell won a reputation for independence in the Speaker's chair, and was not afraid to criticize members of his own party.
Stockwell played a key role in the anti-megacity filibuster of 1997, where the Opposition parties proposed thousands of amendments identical except for a few words. He ruled against the government when they moved that the legislature did not need to vote on each amendment, but in their favor when they suggested that the identical text did not need to be read aloud each time.
In the provincial election of 1999
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, Stockwell's personal popularity was such that he was able to win an easy re-election in the redistributed riding of Etobicoke Centre
Etobicoke Centre (provincial electoral district)
Etobicoke Centre is a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.It was created in 1999 from parts of Etobicoke West and Etobicoke—Humber....
, despite his party's losses in other Toronto ridings. On June 17, 1999, he was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Labour.
Despite Stockwell's reputation as a Red Tory
Red Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
, he implemented a number of right-wing policy directives as Labour Minister. He was largely credited with shepherding through the legislature a bill to increase the maximum work-week to 60 hours, and also promoted the Harris government's "Workplace Democracy Act", which made union organization more difficult. In addition to the Labour portfolio, Stockwell also served as Commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy for a few months in 2001.
Stockwell was a candidate to succeed Mike Harris in the 2002 PC leadership campaign
Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2002
The 2002 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election was a leadership election called in the fall of 2001 when Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Premier Mike Harris announced his intention to resign....
. During this campaign, he claimed that the right-wing initiatives of Harris's "Common Sense Revolution
Common Sense Revolution
The phrase Common Sense Revolution has been used as a political slogan to describe common sense conservative platforms in Australia and the U.S. state of New Jersey in the 1990s. Based on the Singapore Model of economics, its main goal is to reduce taxes while balancing the budget by reducing the...
" were necessary in 1995, but no longer made sense in 2003. He won little support from party insiders, and placed last with 4% of the vote. He supported Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
, the winning candidate, on the second ballot.
On April 15, 2002, Eves appointed Stockwell as Government House Leader and Minister of Environment and Energy. The Energy and Environment portfolios were broken up on August 22, 2002, with Stockwell keeping Environment.
On June 17, 2003, he resigned from cabinet in the wake of a controversy concerning the misuse of expenses. An inquiry under Justice Osborne found that Stockwell had breached the Members Integrity Act with expenses claimed on a trip to Europe. His riding association had paid for his family to accompany him, using tax-deductible political donations; it was also alleged that Stockwell charged $10,000 to Ontario Power Generation
Ontario Power Generation
Ontario Power Generation is a public company wholly owned by the Government of Ontario. OPG is responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity generation in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Sources of electricity include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and fossil fuel...
as part of the trip. Previously, he had claimed $3000 in bar bills for himself and his staff as government expenses.
On July 25, 2003, Stockwell announced that he would not run in the 2003 election
Ontario general election, 2003
The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
.
Stockwell was known for his oratorical skills and was arguably the best speaker on the government benches. Along with Liberal George Smitherman
George Smitherman
George Smitherman is a Canadian politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding of Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayoralty of Toronto in the 2010 municipal election...
, he was perhaps the most energetic speaker in the legislature from 1999 to 2003. He is currently employed as a political consultant.