David Peterson

David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont ( born December 29, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario ) is a Canadian politician.

Biography

Professional and political career

After school he studied at the University of Western Ontario and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts ( BA). He then completed a post -graduate studies at the University of Toronto, which he finished with a Bachelor of Laws ( LL.B. ). After qualifying in 1969, he worked as a lawyer.

Peterson began his political career in 1975 as a candidate of the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP ) with the first election as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario ( Legislative Assembly of Ontario) and also has financial spokesman of his group. In 1982 he was elected chairman of the OLP over from Stuart Smith. Within just three months, he succeeded in political donations in the amount of 350,000 Canadian dollars raise to reduce the debts of the party.

In 1985, he led a methodically planned election campaign, which led to the OLP, the number of their mandates from 34 to increase in the elections of 2 May 1985 to 48, while the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PCP -O) 18 of their 70 seats lost and thus was only 4 seats in front of the OLP. After the election, he succeeded the commitment of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP ) to overthrow the out of Frank Miller of the PCP -O minority government.

He was given the support of the NDP itself, finally, on 26 June 1985 Prime Minister of Ontario and becoming the first Liberal Prime Minister of the province since 1943. He promised the creation of an open and easily accessible government and stressed that promise by the fact that he was the first Prime Minister Ontario took off his oath of office in a public ceremony.

The legislative elections in September 1987 brought landslide profits for the OLP, which reached 95 of the 130 seats and thus was able to double its seat share approximately the same, the PCP -O lost 36 of their mandates and got only 16 seats. During his tenure there came on June 3, 1989 opening of SkyDome, the multi-purpose sports arena in Toronto.

On July 30, 1990, however, Peterson made ​​the mistake that he cried out elections for no apparent reason. At first, everything looked to a renewed over clear election win of OLP out, however, the party began to verliegen increasingly in favor of the voters, so that there was a historic victory for the NDP under Bob Rae in the elections on 6 September 1990, on October 1, in 1990 the first and only Prime Minister of the Province of the NDP was.

One reason for the defeat of the OLP was certainly that voters rejected an early two-year election, but on the other hand, the increasing skepticism about the government and against Peterson himself, who took part in the result of unsuccessful secret talks to supplement the Constitution of Canada, the Lake Accord became known as the Meech.

Peterson himself also suffered a defeat in his constituency London Centre and thus retired from the Legislative Assembly. Successor as party chairman was former chairman Robert Nixon.

Since 2006 he has been Chancellor ( Chancellor ) of the University of Toronto.

In April 2006 he was asked to take over the role of mediator in the Caledonia land occupation, a dispute between the Iroquois on the one hand and resource companies and the Government of Ontario on the other side.

Family

David Peterson is married to the writer and actress Shelley Peterson. His son Benjamin Peterson is co-founder and Executive Director of the International Organization Journalists for Human Rights ( jhr ).

His older brother Jim Peterson was a longtime member of the Canadian House of Commons from 2003 to 2006 and Minister of International Trade in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin. His younger brother Tim Peterson was between 2003 and 2007 Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, while his sister Deb Matthews is a member of the Legislative Assembly since 2003 and since 2009 Minister of Health and Long-Term Care of Ontario.

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