The Peterson policy agenda

Implementing an activist and far-reaching agenda between 1985 to 1990 transformed Ontario politics and policies preparing the province for the 21st century

In June 1985, the Liberal Party under David Peterson unexpectedly came to power in Ontario. What followed was one of the most activist governments in the late 20^th century, a period in Ontario of far-reaching legislative and administrative reform, ending in an equally surprising defeat in 1990. There were significant changes which occurred during those five years which had a continuing impact on politics and policy in Ontario and which offer lessons for policy and politics today.

The achievements of the Peterson years included:

• The end of 42 years of one-party rule in Ontario (eleven successive Progressive Conservative governments between 1943 to 1985), ushering in a period where government alternated between three parties (six Liberal, four Progressive Conservative and one NDP during the next 32 years between 1990 and 2022)
• An innovative collaboration that ensured stability in a minority government (the 1985 Liberal-NDP Accord) and established a precedent for similar accommodations across Canada’s parliamentary system
• An activist policy agenda which tackled several prominent and contentious issues, promoted open government, championed diversity and inclusion and gave considerably greater priority to such issues as the environment and housing
• Adoption of new approaches in major provincial fields such as economic policy, health care and social assistance
• Encouragement of innovative policy development across the provincial civil service and through engagement with interest groups and public consultative processes
• Broadening representation and equity in government, through equal pay for work of equal value and the promotion of women to senior public service roles, by advancing employment equity in the civil service and through a Cabinet and caucus more representative of the diversity of Ontario
• Responding to the changing social and demographic evolution of contemporary Ontario, through such measures as proceeding with the extension of separate school funding, giving municipalities the authority to authorize Sunday shopping, modernizing the distribution of liquor, wine and beer, and abolishing the anachronistic designation of Queen’s Counsel
• A strong national presence, both in terms of robust support for a constitutional accommodation with Quebec, as well as a resolute opposition to the proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the United States, to safeguard Ontario’s manufacturing sector
• The promotion of a progressive-centrist agenda while maintaining fiscal responsibility, balancing the provincial budget in 1989 (the first time in 20 years) and paying down the provincial debt in 1990 (the first time in 43 years)

It is noteworthy that such an activist role was undertaken during a decade when the major global political trend was to reduce the reach of public policy (Thatcher in the UK, Reagan in the US, Kohl in Germany, and Mulroney in Canada). That activist orientation was emphatically endorsed by the Ontario electorate when they returned a landslide Liberal majority government in 1987.

These accomplishments were the consequence of substance, style and luck. These components had a great bearing on the 1985 election result.

Substance, style and luck

In substance:

• Peterson, while he may not have been a firebrand Leader of the Opposition, relied on his strengths as a manager, building the policy and communications capabilities of the Opposition offices, as well as the financial and organizational capacity of the Liberal Party and its campaign team
• With the selection of Frank Miller as the Progressive Conservative leader and Premier in January 1985, these foundations laid during the Opposition years provided an opening for the Liberals to occupy the political centre, which they did through the adoption of a progressive policy agenda. As the Tories lurched rightward, the Liberals ditched their rural tendencies and adopted a more urban orientation, a shift which also helped recruit a new wave of urban candidates

In style:

• The development in Opposition of strong communications capabilities and an effective campaign organization, together with Peterson’s personal attributes, were on full display during an energetic and message-driven campaign, in stark contrast to the PC strategy which cocooned their candidate and limited itself to an old-fashioned emphasis on small business and small-town values
• Peterson was young, athletic, very personable in intimate settings and a successful businessperson, all of which conveyed a sense of openness, drive, competence and empathy

In luck:

• The PC choice of Frank Miller to succeed Bill Davis signaled a move from progressive conservative values to ones that reflected the emerging free enterprise approach of Thatcher and Reagan
• It also helped that a Progressive Conservative government led by Brian Mulroney had been elected in September 1984 in a landslide, which fed the tendency of the Ontario electorate to seek different parties in power in Ottawa and Queen’s Park.

These circumstances carried over into the minority government period.

Substance

In a two-year span, the Peterson government:

• Instituted a wide range of legislative and administrative reforms, many of which were itemized in the Liberal-NDP Accord that led to the Lieutenant-Governor asking the Liberals to form a government after the Miller government was defeated on its Speech from the Throne in June 1985. While the Accord represented the NDP policy wish list, the majority of items in the Accord were also items championed in the Liberal 1985 election platform. The Accord secured a minority government for two years, but it was neither a partnership nor a coalition government. Rather it was a Peterson-led Liberal government which had an agreement with the NDP to ensure a minimum term of two years before another election could be called. The policy agenda represented by the Accord meant that the Liberal minority government had license to push forward quickly on many fronts, without having to engage in the usual politicking for legislative votes to secure each item as they came forward
• Immediately moved on several issues which had consistently been kicked down the road for years if not decades: legislation to extend separate school funding; banning extra-billing by medical doctors; putting into law the environmental spills bill and its regulations
• Laid the groundwork for new paradigms across major policy fields (a Premier’s Council which encouraged innovation, technology and skills development to accommodate the emerging knowledge economy; pivoting Ontario trade offices towards the Pacific Rim; a Premier’s Council on Health Care which emphasized health promotion, community-based care and innovations in the health care sector; and a foundational review of social assistance)

Style

In terms of style, the Peterson government tended to be open and accessible (Peterson’s speech at the government swearing in promised “a government without walls, without barriers”) and to consult broadly, as a way to both develop sound policy as well as to build consensus for policy initiatives.  The experience of being out of power for so long inculcated a sensibility and affinity towards concerns of those not in power, resulting in:

• Measures to make government more open and transparent, through freedom of information legislation, electronic Hansard, releasing government information such as polling data and government reports, greatly reducing patronage appointments, opening up government contracting for advertising and introducing integrity guidelines for Ministers and Legislature members
• Promoting the concerns of constituencies which had felt outside of power, such as women and visible minorities, through equal pay for work of equal value and employment equity initiatives across the public service and appointing under-represented groups into senior civil service positions
• Advancing the reform agenda of interest groups such as environmentalists and advocates of women’s rights, of visible minorities and other marginalized populations, including passing legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation

It also bears emphasizing that Peterson, as a former businessperson and as a two-time candidate for the Liberal Party leadership, had cultivated a considerable social network of contacts and supporters, resulting in personal access to decision-makers and key influencers when it came to advancing his government’s policy agenda.

Luck

In terms of luck, it has to be acknowledged that Ontario was coming out of a recession with healthy economic growth, which increased government revenues and allowed the Liberal government to increase funding across a very large swarth of policy areas, yet also contain the budget deficit and the provincial debt.

More detailed examination of specific policy initiatives from the 1985-1990 period  can be found under individual subject headings in this section of the website.