Harris, Mike

Harris, Mike
▪ 1996

      On June 26, 1995, Mike Harris was sworn in as the 22nd premier of Ontario. His Progressive Conservative Party (PCP) had won a legislative majority in the provincial election of June 8. Harris' administration represented a sharp change from the socialism of the previous New Democratic Party government to conservatism. Perceived as a small-town man with the common touch, he had gained a reputation as a crusader for tax relief and for a smaller, less interventionist government. Thus, he began immediately to implement what he called his "Common Sense Revolution," and his policy changes in the first months of his administration were significant. The government reduced welfare benefits payments by more than 20% and repealed the anti-scab labour legislation passed by the previous government. Harris centralized the administration of the government, and his 20-member Cabinet was the smallest in modern Ontario history.

      Harris was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the general election of 1981 to represent the riding of Nipissing. He served as parliamentary assistant to the minister of the environment and was chairman of public accounts. He sat on the General Government and the Resources Development committees. In 1985 Harris was appointed minister of natural resources and minister of energy. From 1985 to 1990 he was the leader of the PCP in the legislature. After the defeat of the Progressive Conservative government in 1987, Harris served as critic for the Revenue, Labour, Housing, Finance, and Northern Development ministries. It was as finance critic that he developed his party's fiscal policy. In May 1994 he released his Common Sense Revolution, a plan to cut taxes and reduce the size and the cost of government. On May 12, 1990, Harris was elected leader of the Ontario PCP.

      Born on Jan. 23, 1945, in Toronto, Michael Deane Harris grew up in North Bay, Ont. He attended classes at Waterloo (Ont.) Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University), Laurentian University at Sudbury, Ont., and Nipissing University College, North Bay, and received a teaching certificate from North Bay Teachers' College. For several years he taught seventh- and eighth-grade mathematics in North Bay before joining his father in business. He owned and operated tourism and recreation businesses in the Nipissing and Parry Sound areas of Ontario.

      In 1975 Harris was elected to the Nipissing Board of Education; he served as chairman of the board from 1977 to 1981. For one term he was president of the Northern Ontario Trustees Association (1980-81), after which he entered provincial politics. (DIANE LOIS WAY)

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mike Harris (basketball) — Mike Harris Shanghai Sharks Small forward Personal information Date of birth June 15, 1983 (1983 06 15) (age 28) Place of birth …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Harris (comics) — Mike Harris Born Michael Jay Harris 1962 Nationality American Area(s) Penciller, Inker, Colorist Michael Jay Mike Harris (born 1962) is an American comic book artist who was a …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Harris (entrepreneur) — Mike Harris was founding CEO of Firstdirect, CEO Mercury Communications 1991–94 and founding CEO of Egg Banking plc. Mike is the co founder of semantic web company Garlik [1] in 2005 with ex egg CIO Tom Ilube. Garlik is the only company in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Harris (racing driver) — Mike Harris Born 25 May 1939 (1939 05 25) (age 72) Formula One World Championship career Nationality …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Widger — Date of birth: August 21, 1948 (1948 08 21) (age 63) Place of birth: Pennsville, New Jersey Career information Status: Retired …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Richmond (musician) — Mike Richmond (b. Feb. 26, 1948, Philadelphia) is an American jazz bassist. Richmond played guitar as a youth but picked up bass during high school. He attended Temple University and taught and played locally in the late 1960s. In the 1970s he… …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Harris — For other people of the same name, see Michael Harris (disambiguation). Mike Harris 22nd Premier of Ontario In office June 26, 1995 – April 15, 2002 Preceded by Bob Rae Succeeded by Ernie Eves …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Harris (curler) — Olympic medalist Medal record Men s Curling Silver 1998 Nagano Team Mike Harris (born June 9, 1967 in Georgetown, Ontario) is a Canadian curler. Mike Harris is the golf professional at The Donalda Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Ontario.… …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Harris (basket-ball) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Mike Harris. Mike Harris (basket ball) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Mike D. Harris — Michael Deane Harris 22º primer ministro de Ontario 26 de junio de 1990 – 15 de abril de 2002 Predecesor …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”