Alan Pope
Alan Pope | |
|---|---|
Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1977–1990 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Ferrier |
| Succeeded by | Gilles Bisson |
| Constituency | Cochrane South |
| Alderman for the City of Timmins | |
| In office 1973–1974 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 2, 1945 Osgoode Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Alan William Pope (August 2, 1945 – July 8, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He was a
Early years
Pope was raised in Northern Ontario, and was educated at Waterloo Lutheran University and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He worked as a lawyer before entering politics. Pope served as an alderman for Timmins City Council from 1973 to 1974.
Provincial politics
In the 1975 provincial election, he ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Cochrane South but lost to Bill Ferrier of the NDP by 1,292 votes.[1] He ran again in the 1977 provincial election, this time defeating Ferrier by 2,276 votes.[2]
He was appointed a
He was re-elected in the
Political views
Pope's position in the Progressive Conservative Party was unusual. He supported the interventionist policies of the Davis government and was sometimes considered to be on the progressive wing of the party. However, he was not a
Support for Frank Miller
In 1985, Pope was a prominent figure behind
It was under Miller's leadership, however, that the Progressive Conservative Party lost its 42-year grip on power. Miller was reduced to a fragile
Leadership campaign
Pope ran to succeed Miller as leader in the November
At the November leadership convention, Pope made a dramatic entrance by delivering a rousing speech surrounded by his "grassroots" delegates on the convention floor, rather than from the podium. That foreshadowed future leadership speeches by figures such as Jim Flaherty. Pope also tried to portray himself as a unifying figure in the party and noted that the animosity between frontrunners Grossman and Dennis Timbrell was threatening to tear the party asunder (one of his campaign buttons read, "Don't take sides, take Pope".) In spite of such efforts, he finished a weak third on the first ballot and was dropped from the race. Many expected that Pope would have given Timbrell a second-ballot victory by endorsing him, but Pope surprisingly remained silent and allowed Grossman to defeat Timbrell by a mere 19 votes.
Last years in legislature
Pope had a poor relationship with Grossman, was not given a critic's portfolio after the convention. He resumed his law practice in Timmins while still an MPP, and he spent two days a week away from the legislature. He nonetheless ran for re-election in the 1987 provincial election and retained his seat. The Progressive Conservatives under Grossman were resoundingly defeated in the election, which left Pope as one of only 16 Tory MPPs (out of 130 seats) remaining.
Pope was not given a critic's portfolio in this parliament and did not play a prominent role in the party's affairs. He decided not to run for the leadership again in 1990 and endorsed Dianne Cunningham for the position.[9] He did not campaign in the 1990 provincial election.
Cabinet positions
Pope and Mike Harris
Although Pope's anti-establishment rhetoric and populism foreshadowed
Later years
In 2004, Pope chaired a committee looking into Timmins's involvement in the 2006 Ontario Games. As of 2003, he acted as counsel for the law firm of Racicot, Maisonneuve, Labelle, Gosselin. He wrote a series of articles on the 2004 federal election for the Sudbury Star newspaper, arguing that no party was adequately focused on issues of concern to Northern Ontario.[10]
In 2006, Pope wrote a report on the Kashechewan Crisis, recommending that residents of the community be relocated to a new reserve site near Timmins.[11]
He was married with one daughter and one son David, wife Kirstin Danielson and two grandchildren Beatrice and Theodore Pope.
Pope died on July 8, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta following heart surgery.[12][13]
References
- ^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
- ^ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
- ^ Speirs, Rosemary (August 31, 1979). "Minor shuffle in Davis Cabinet: Welch will seek compromise on oil price". The Globe and Mail. p. 4.
- ^ "Ontario minister denies report he's considering crossing floor". The Globe and Mail. October 6, 1979.
- ^ Canadian Press (March 20, 1981). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22.
- ^ Speirs, Rosemary (April 10, 1981). "Norton gets Environment as Davis shuffles Cabinet". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
- ^ Keating, Michael (March 13, 1982). "Minister promises more Ontario parks". The Globe and Mail. p. 5.
- ^ Hannant, Larry (August 28, 1982). "Agreement reached on wild rice harvest". The Globe and Mail. p. 12.
- ^ Toronto Star, May 3, 1990.
- ^ Sudbury Star, June 18, 2004
- ^ "Kashechewan report draws praise, questions". CBC News. November 10, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Stoffman, Nicole (July 11, 2022). "Former Timmins MPP's 'heart was in the North". Timmins, Ontario: The Daily Press. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ "Décès de l'ancien ministre progressiste-conservateur ontarien Alan Pope". Radio Canada (in French). July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
