Murray Elston
Encyclopedia
Murray John Elston is an executive and former Canadian
politician. He was a Liberal
member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1981 to 1994, and was a prominent cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson
. He briefly served as interim leader of the Liberal Party from July to November 1991.
Elston was educated at the University of Western Ontario
, receiving a Bachelor of Arts
degree and a law degree. Before entering political life, he practiced law with the firm of Crawford, Mill Davies & Elston.
Elston was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election
, defeating Progressive Conservative
Gary Harron
by 224 votes in the rural, southwestern constituency of Huron—Bruce
. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government under Bill Davis
in this election, and Elston sat on the opposition benches for the next four years.
The Liberals under Peterson formed a minority government
following the 1985 election
, and Elston was appointed to the high-profile position of Minister of Health. In this role, he was at the centre of the government's fight against extra-billing by doctors, an issue the government won after withstanding the province's first doctors' strike
. Elston also announced subsidies for residents of Northern Ontario
who needed to travel south for medical care.
The Liberals were re-elected with a landslide majority in the 1987 provincial election
, and Elston was returned by a significant majority in the redistributed riding of Bruce. In the cabinet shuffle
that followed on September 29, 1987, Elston was appointed Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet. He was also appointed Minister of Financial Institutions on August 16, 1988.
In the 1990 Ontario election
, the Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the New Democratic Party under Bob Rae
. Many high-profile Liberals lost their seats, though Elston was returned in Bruce by a comfortable if reduced margin. Peterson, who had lost his own seat on election night, resigned immediately as party leader.
The Liberals initially chose Robert Nixon
as their interim leader, but he resigned on July 31, 1991 to accept a federal appointment. Elston was then chosen as interim leader in Nixon's place, though his time in this position was brief. He declared himself a candidate in the race to become the party's permanent leader, and accordingly resigned as interim leader on November 19, 1991. Jim Bradley took his place until the leadership convention.
Elston quickly became the favourite to win the 1992 Liberal leadership convention
, gaining endorsements from such high-profile figures as Peterson, Ian Scott, and Sheila Copps
. He placed led early on, but lost to Lyn McLeod
on the fifth and final ballot by only nine votes. The number of spoiled ballots from supporters of third-place candidate Greg Sorbara
was greater than McLeod's margin of victory. Some political observers speculated that Elston appeared too much like a holdover from the Peterson era, as a time when the Liberal Party wanted to present a new image to voters.
Elston remained in the legislature for two more years, and served as Opposition House Leader
before resigning as an MPP on October 31, 1994 to enter the private sector. He was touted as McLeod's likely replacement when she resigned as Liberal leader following a poor performance in the 1995 provincial election
but he declined to enter the race preferring to remain out of politics. In 1996, he was the most prominent supporter of Dalton McGuinty
's ultimately successful bid to win the party's leadership.
From November 1994 until 1997, Elston was president of the Ontario Interlink Industrial Park. From January to October 1998, he worked for Engergreen Solutions Group. In November 1998, Elston was appointed president of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D).
From 2004 to 2009, Elston was president of the Canadian Nuclear Association, in order to lobby the Premier's office on behalf of the nuclear industry. As a former Liberal MPP, he had represented the riding of Huron-Bruce, which is home to the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station
. Elston's lobbying was highly successful: on June 13, 2006, the McGuinty government announcement its commitment to rebuild all of Ontario's ageing nuclear stations as well as the construction of new reactors.
He served as vice-president of corporate affairs for Bruce Power
from 2009 until 2011.
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...
politician. He was a 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...
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 1981 to 1994, and was a prominent cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
. He briefly served as interim leader of the Liberal Party from July to November 1991.
Elston was educated at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, 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 a law degree. Before entering political life, he practiced law with the firm of Crawford, Mill Davies & Elston.
Elston was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1981
The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, defeating 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...
Gary Harron
Gary Harron
Gary Arthur Harron is a politician and administrator in Ontario, Canada.He was raised in Bruce County, Ontario, and received a diploma from the Ontario Agricultural College . After graduation, he worked on his family farm and managed a general store...
by 224 votes in the rural, southwestern constituency of Huron—Bruce
Huron—Bruce
Huron—Bruce is a federalelectoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953.-History:...
. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government under Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
in this election, and Elston sat on the opposition benches for the next four years.
The Liberals under Peterson formed a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
following the 1985 election
Ontario general election, 1985
The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...
, and Elston was appointed to the high-profile position of Minister of Health. In this role, he was at the centre of the government's fight against extra-billing by doctors, an issue the government won after withstanding the province's first doctors' strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. Elston also announced subsidies for residents of Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
who needed to travel south for medical care.
The Liberals were re-elected with a landslide majority in the 1987 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1987
The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...
, and Elston was returned by a significant majority in the redistributed riding of Bruce. In the cabinet shuffle
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
that followed on September 29, 1987, Elston was appointed Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet. He was also appointed Minister of Financial Institutions on August 16, 1988.
In the 1990 Ontario 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....
, the Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the New Democratic Party under Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
. Many high-profile Liberals lost their seats, though Elston was returned in Bruce by a comfortable if reduced margin. Peterson, who had lost his own seat on election night, resigned immediately as party leader.
The Liberals initially chose Robert Nixon
Robert Nixon
Robert Fletcher Nixon is a retired politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. The son of former Premier of Ontario Harry Nixon, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a 1962 by-election following his father's death...
as their interim leader, but he resigned on July 31, 1991 to accept a federal appointment. Elston was then chosen as interim leader in Nixon's place, though his time in this position was brief. He declared himself a candidate in the race to become the party's permanent leader, and accordingly resigned as interim leader on November 19, 1991. Jim Bradley took his place until the leadership convention.
Elston quickly became the favourite to win the 1992 Liberal leadership convention
Ontario Liberal leadership conventions
Ballot-by-ballot results of leadership elections in the Ontario Liberal Party, a political party in the Province of Ontario, Canada.Note: Before 1919, the leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party were chosen by the party's elected Members of the Legislative Assembly...
, gaining endorsements from such high-profile figures as Peterson, Ian Scott, and Sheila Copps
Sheila Copps
Sheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
. He placed led early on, but lost to Lyn McLeod
Lyn McLeod
Lyn McLeod is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 2003. McLeod was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of David Peterson from 1987 to 1990, and served as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 1992 to 1996.-Background - Pre...
on the fifth and final ballot by only nine votes. The number of spoiled ballots from supporters of third-place candidate Greg Sorbara
Greg Sorbara
Gregory Sam "Greg" Sorbara, MPP a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Vaughan. Sorbara served as the Minister of Finance in the Ontario Liberal Party government of Premier Dalton McGuinty from 2003 to 2007.He resigned on October 11, 2005, following a police investigation involving...
was greater than McLeod's margin of victory. Some political observers speculated that Elston appeared too much like a holdover from the Peterson era, as a time when the Liberal Party wanted to present a new image to voters.
Elston remained in the legislature for two more years, and served as Opposition House Leader
House Leader
In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament and an expert in parliamentary procedure...
before resigning as an MPP on October 31, 1994 to enter the private sector. He was touted as McLeod's likely replacement when she resigned as Liberal leader following a poor performance 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...
but he declined to enter the race preferring to remain out of politics. In 1996, he was the most prominent supporter of Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
's ultimately successful bid to win the party's leadership.
From November 1994 until 1997, Elston was president of the Ontario Interlink Industrial Park. From January to October 1998, he worked for Engergreen Solutions Group. In November 1998, Elston was appointed president of Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D).
From 2004 to 2009, Elston was president of the Canadian Nuclear Association, in order to lobby the Premier's office on behalf of the nuclear industry. As a former Liberal MPP, he had represented the riding of Huron-Bruce, which is home to the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station
Bruce Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, in the communities of Inverhuron and Tiverton, Ontario. It occupies 932 ha of land. The facility derives its name from Bruce County in which it is located, in the former Bruce Township...
. Elston's lobbying was highly successful: on June 13, 2006, the McGuinty government announcement its commitment to rebuild all of Ontario's ageing nuclear stations as well as the construction of new reactors.
He served as vice-president of corporate affairs for Bruce Power
Bruce Power
Bruce Power Limited Partnership is a Canadian business partnership composed of several corporations. It exists as a partnership between Cameco Corporation , TransCanada Corporation , BPC Generation Infrastructure Trust , the Power Workers Union and The Society of Energy Professionals...
from 2009 until 2011.