Jim Wilson (Ontario politician)

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Jim Wilson
Wilson in 2020
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
In office
June 29, 2018 – November 2, 2018
PremierDoug Ford
Preceded bySteven Del Duca
Succeeded byTodd Smith
Leader of the Opposition in Ontario
In office
July 2, 2014 – September 14, 2015
Preceded byTim Hudak
Succeeded byPatrick Brown
Interim Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
In office
July 2, 2014 – May 9, 2015
Preceded byTim Hudak
Succeeded byPatrick Brown
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Simcoe—Grey
Simcoe West (1990–1999)
In office
September 6, 1990 – May 3, 2022[1]
Preceded byGeorge McCague
Succeeded byBrian Saunderson
Dean of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
In office
June 7, 2018 – June 2, 2022
Serving with Ted Arnott and Gilles Bisson
Preceded byJim Bradley
Personal details
Born (1963-04-04) April 4, 1963 (age 61)
Alliston, Ontario, Canada
Political partyIndependent (since 2018)
Other political
affiliations		Progressive Conservative 1990-2018
Residence(s)Wasaga Beach, Ontario
OccupationPolitician

Jim Wilson (born April 4, 1963) is a retired Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the riding of Simcoe—Grey, and its predecessor riding of Simcoe West, from 1990 to 2022. He sat as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario caucus from his first election until November 2, 2018, when he resigned from caucus due to allegations of sexual misconduct.[2] While part of the PC caucus, Wilson was chosen by his fellow caucus members on July 2, 2014, to serve as interim leader of the party and Leader of the Opposition following the resignation of Tim Hudak. He continued to serve as Leader of the Opposition until September 2015 when new party leader, Patrick Brown, entered the legislature through a by-election.[3][4] He was reelected in June 2018, but resigned from cabinet and the Progressive Conservative caucus on November 2, 2018. He sat as an independent member for the remainder of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario and did not seek re-election in the 2022 Ontario general election.

Background[edit]

Wilson was educated at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto where he served as student council president and as a member of the university's governing council. During and after his graduation, he worked as an assistant to Ontario Management Board chair George McCague, and subsequently worked for federal cabinet minister Perrin Beatty.

Politics[edit]

In opposition[edit]

In the 1990 provincial election, he was elected in Simcoe West by 1940 votes over New Democrat Leo Loserit.[5] The NDP won a majority government in this election, while the Tories won only 20 seats of 130 for third-party status. In September 1991, Wilson was appointed as party Critic for health policy.

Harris government[edit]

There was a significant swing to the Progressive Conservatives in the 1995 provincial election, and Wilson was re-elected by almost 20,000 votes over his nearest opponent.[6] On June 26, 1995, he was appointed Minister of Health in the government of Mike Harris.[7]

As health minister, Wilson resigned in the wake of allegations that a member of his staff improperly obtained and leaked confidential information about a cardiologist's income as part of a bid to discredit a vocal opponent in the continuing dispute over government cutbacks in doctors' incomes. The personal information leaked was deemed to be without the knowledge of, or at the request of the minister or ministry staff.[8]

In October 1997, Wilson was named as Minister of Energy, Science and Technology.[9]

After redistribution, Wilson ran for re-election in the 1999 provincial election in the new seat of Simcoe—Grey. He defeated his nearest opponent, Liberal Norman Sandberg, by over 19,000 votes.[10]

Ontario provincial government of Mike Harris
Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Norm Sterling Minister of Energy, Science & Technology
1997–2002 		Chris Stockwell (Energy only)
Ruth Grier Minister of Health
1995–1996, 1997[a] 		Elizabeth Witmer

Eves Government[edit]

He was retained in the Energy, Science and Technology portfolio until April 2002, when Ernie Eves replaced Mike Harris as Premier.[11] Eves named Wilson as Minister of Northern Development and Mines, and Chair of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.[12] On June 17, 2003, he was also named Minister of Environment.

Ontario provincial government of Ernie Eves
Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Chris Stockwell Minister of Environment
2003 (June–October) 		Leona Dombrowsky
Dan Newman Minister of Northern Development and Mines
2002–2003 		Rick Bartolucci

Opposition (2nd time)[edit]

The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 2003 election, although Wilson retained Simcoe—Grey by a reduced margin.[13] In 2004, he supported John Tory's successful bid to replace Eves as party leader. In 2009, he supported Tim Hudak's successful bid to replace Tory as party leader.

He was re-elected to the Ontario Legislature on October 10, 2007, defeating his nearest opponent by 11,711 votes.[14] He was re-elected again in the 2011 election for his sixth term defeating his nearest opponent by 14,935 votes.[15] He was re-elected by a slimmer margin in the 2014 provincial election.[16]

Under Hudak, from 2011 to 2014, Wilson served as Opposition House Leader.

Interim leadership[edit]

Following Hudak's resignation, Wilson was chosen interim leader by caucus on July 2, 2014, defeating John Yakabuski and Randy Hillier and served until a leadership election was held in May 2015 which chose Patrick Brown as Hudak's permanent successor. In the fall of 2015, Wilson then returned to his role as Opposition House Leader.[17]

Ford government and resignation from PC caucus[edit]

Wilson was sworn in as Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade when the ministry was formed. Wilson resigned from cabinet and the Progressive Conservative caucus on November 2, 2018. A statement from the Office of the Premier stated that his resignation was to "seek treatment for substance addiction".[18] Media later reported that Wilson's resignation was related to allegations of sexual misconduct against him.[19][20] The Premier's Office initially refused to confirm or deny the reports.[19] However, Premier Doug Ford confirmed on November 7, 2018, that Wilson was asked to resign from caucus in response to allegations of sexual misconduct; Ford further added that his office had initially claimed publicly that Wilson's resignation was for substance abuse treatment to protect the complainant.[2][21]

Ontario provincial government of Doug Ford
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Steven Del Duca Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
June 29, 2018 – November 2, 2018 		Todd Smith

In September 2020, after having served 30 years in the legislature, Wilson announced that he will not seek re-election.

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Resigned December 9, 1996, re-instated February 21, 1997

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ "Jim Wilson". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Goodfield, Kayla (November 7, 2018). "Ford confirms PC MPP Jim Wilson resigned over sexual misconduct allegation". CP24. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. ^ "PC Leader Patrick Brown projected to win in Simcoe North byelection". CBC News. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "Patrick Brown elected leader of Ontario Progressive Conservatives". Toronto Sun. May 9, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 1990. p. A12.
  6. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  7. ^ "Mike Harris' cabinet". The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont. June 27, 1995. p. A7.
  8. ^ "I96-119P". Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. February 20, 1997. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  11. ^ "Ontario Cabinet". The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont. June 18, 1999. p. C8.
  12. ^ "Ont-Cabinet". Toronto, Ont: Canadian Press NewsWire. April 15, 2002.
  13. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 14 (xxiii). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  15. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  16. ^ "General Election by District: Simcoe-Grey". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014.
  17. ^ "Progressive Conservatives pick Jim Wilson as interim leader". Toronto Star. July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  18. ^ "Ontario PC MPP Jim Wilson resigns, plans to seek treatment for addiction". CTV News. The Canadian Press. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  19. ^ a b Crawley, Mike; Rieti, John (November 5, 2018). "Ontario minister left post after allegation of sexual misconduct". CBC News. Retrieved November 7, 2018. Ontario's former economic development minister left his post and the Progressive Conservative Party after an allegation of sexually inappropriate behaviour was levelled against him, three party sources tell CBC Toronto. The Ontario Premier's Office won't confirm or deny this
  20. ^ Dhanraj, Travis (November 5, 2018). "Sexual misconduct allegations led to Jim Wilson's resignation". Global News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  21. ^ "Doug Ford confirms sexual misconduct allegation against Jim Wilson". CTV News. The Canadian Press. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.

External links[edit]

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