Margaret Marland

Margaret Marland (born February 15, 1934) is a Canadian former politician in Ontario. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris.

Margaret Marland
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Mississauga South
In office
1985–2003
Preceded byDouglas Kennedy
Succeeded byTim Peterson
Mississauga City Councillor
In office
1978–1985
Succeeded byPatricia Mullin
ConstituencyWard 2 (Clarkson, Lorne Park)
Personal details
Born (1934-02-15) February 15, 1934
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
OccupationAccountant, dental assistant
PortfolioMinister without Portfolio (Children issues, 1997-2001)

Background

Marland worked as a bank accountant and dental assistant in private life. She began her political career as a school trustee, serving on the Peel Board of Education from 1974 to 1978. From 1978 to 1985, she served as Mississauga City Councillor for Ward 2.[1] She was also a member of the board of governors for the Oakville-Trafalgar Hospital, and served as governor of Sheridan College.

Politics

Marland was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating her Liberal opponent by about 1,500 votes in the traditionally Conservative riding of Mississauga South.[2] The Tories won a minority government in this election, but were defeated in the house shortly thereafter; Marland held a number of critic's positions in opposition. Marland supported Larry Grossman for the party leadership in late 1985 (Toronto Star, 6 November 1985).

In the provincial election of 1987, she defeated Liberal candidate Claudette MacKay-Lassonde by only 599 votes to retain her seat.[3] The Tories were reduced to only 17 seats out of 130 in this election. In early 1990, Marland was named deputy house leader of her party.

Marland was re-elected by a significant majority in the election of 1990, in which the Tories increased their standing to 20 seats.[4] She again held a number of critic's roles in opposition.

The Tories won a majority government in the provincial election of 1995, and Marland was re-elected by a landslide in Mississauga South.[5] She was not immediately appointed to cabinet by Mike Harris, and was defeated by Al McLean in her bid to become Speaker of the legislature. She was subsequently named chair of the Progressive Conservative caucus in recognition of her parliamentary experience.

When McLean was forced to resign in disgrace in 1996, Marland was Harris's choice to be his replacement; the legislature, however, elected Chris Stockwell to the position. On October 10, 1997, Marland was named a Minister without Portfolio in Harris's government with responsibility for Children.[6] She was easily re-elected in the 1999 provincial election,[7] and was dropped from cabinet on February 7, 2001.

Although known as a strong regional representative, Marland was not a major player in the Harris government, and was not brought back into cabinet by Ernie Eves when he replaced Harris as leader in 2002.

Marland was favoured to be re-elected in the provincial election of 2003, but lost to Liberal Tim Peterson by only 234 votes in a Liberal sweep of the Mississauga area.[8]

After politics

Since her defeat, she has kept largely a low profile, but made a statement critical of Tim Peterson's automatic installation as PC candidate after he crossed the floor, saying that it was "despicable the way this has been dealt with."[9]

gollark: (it is not very interesting)
gollark: Just this afternoon, I developed a highly advanced physics simulator to simulate square-law (as opposed to inverse-square-law) gravity.
gollark: I've made at least 3 competence.
gollark: I'm very competent.
gollark: Just work with me.

References
  1. Stewart, John (November 6, 2013). "Marg Marland is in the room: Hazel lauds longtime MPP at dedication ceremony". The Mississauga News. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  3. "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. September 11, 1987. p. F2.
  4. "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 1990. p. A12.
  5. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  6. Rusk, James; Mackie, Richard (October 10, 1997). "Premier to shuffle cabinet Ministers to move out of hot portfolios: Snobelen from Education, Wilson from Health". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
  7. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  8. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  9. "New Tory Peterson not allowed to speak at riding meeting". The Mississauga News. June 15, 2007.
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