The 1980s saw political change in Canada and Ontario seldom witnessed before or since. Legislation and lessons learned then are applicable now.
In Ottawa, Liberal leader Pierre Trudeau retired as Prime Minister in early 1984 and Conservative Brian Mulroney defeated Trudeau’s successor, John Turner, in September that year to take over leadership of the country.
Mulroney set as a priority negotiations to achieve free trade with the United States, and the ongoing debate over national unity on the heels of Trudeau’s National Energy program in 1980 and repatriating the constitution in 1982 without Quebec’s involvement would clutter the political agenda through the ‘80s.
Change also impacted the calendar at Queen’s Park, where Stuart Smith, a Montreal-trained psychiatrist turned McMaster University professor, struggled to lift his Ontario Liberals out of third party status. His efforts to “liberalize” the party and shift it off its rural base helped him regain the long-held Liberal position of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in the 1981 general election, ahead of the New Democrats. But the party stalled at 33 seats.
That allowed William Grenville Davis, after winning two brief terms in minority at the head of the Progressive Conservative party (1975, 1977), to reclaim a majority government under a Tory banner and extend the party’s grip on power to almost 40 years. But change was coming.
This site picks up that story with the May 2,1985 general election and its aftermath that less than two months later led to the June 26 swearing-in of the Peterson Liberal government to be supported for two years by the New Democratic Party. The 42-year reign of the Progressive Conservatives had come to an end.
It is the story of everything that happened between that vote and the election five years later that defeated the Peterson government, told by many of those who were there.
This site is a work in progress that we anticipate will expand in content in the coming months. To that end, if you have memories, reflections, photos or documents you think we should include, please forward them with a note of explanation to contributions@thepetersonyears.ca .
This site is produced with the support of Cassels Brock and Blackwell LLP..
The Peterson Liberals entered office with an ambitious agenda to prepare the province and its people for the 21st Century. At the heart of that agenda was setting up young people for success in a rapidly changing world through strong public education. Education Ministers Sean Conway and Chris Ward would transform early learning, primary and…
The needs of families changed significantly by the 1980s. Rising divorce rates, more women entering the workforce, and many families relying on two incomes all put pressure on existing child care options. The Peterson Government viewed child care and early-childhood education as one of the most pressing social and economic issues facing Ontario families and…
The Ford government’s announcement on the Friday afternoon before the March Break that it intends to introduce legislation which will exclude the records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices from disclosure under freedom of information legislation has provoked widespread condemnation. Rightly so. On introducing Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in 1985,…
With no clear majority, the results of the 1985 provincial election created a rare and dramatic opportunity for a realignment in the province’s politics that would shape the next four decades in Ontario. While the Progressive Conservatives (PCs), under Premier Frank Miller, won the most seats, they lost considerable ground in critical urban ridings,…
The symbolic swearing-in of Peterson’s cabinet took place on June 26 on the lawn at Queen’s Park in front of 5,000 people. The ceremony emphasized inclusivity and change, with a cabinet reflecting Toronto’s diversity and gender balance. Peterson walked on foot through the crowd, signaling a people-first government. Though the Liberals formed a minority government…
The needs of families changed significantly by the 1980s. Rising divorce rates, more women entering the workforce, and many families relying on two incomes all put pressure on existing child care options. The Peterson Government viewed child care and early-childhood education as one of the most pressing social and economic issues facing Ontario families and…
The Ford government’s announcement on the Friday afternoon before the March Break that it intends to introduce legislation which will exclude the records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices from disclosure under freedom of information legislation has provoked widespread condemnation. Rightly so. On introducing Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in 1985,…
The needs of families changed significantly by the 1980s. Rising divorce rates, more women entering the workforce, and many families relying on two incomes all put pressure on existing child care options. The Peterson Government viewed child care and early-childhood education as one of the most pressing social and economic issues facing Ontario families and…
The Ford government’s announcement on the Friday afternoon before the March Break that it intends to introduce legislation which will exclude the records of the premier, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants and their offices from disclosure under freedom of information legislation has provoked widespread condemnation. Rightly so. On introducing Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in 1985,…
