John Cleary (Canadian politician)

John Cleary (August 31, 1932 – October 7, 2012) was a politician in

Background

Cleary was born in

Cleary was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Luc Guindon in the Cornwall riding by about 1,000 votes.^[2] The Liberals won a majority government in this region, and Cleary served as a government backbencher for the next three years. The Liberals were defeated by the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1990 election, although Cleary managed to retain his own riding by an increased margin.^[3] In opposition, he served as his party's Agriculture Critic for the next five years. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in the 1995 election, though Cleary managed to increase his majority again in Cornwall.^[4] He continued serving as his party's agriculture critic until 1996, when he was shifted to rural affairs.

Cleary faced the most difficult re-election battle of his career in the

Although not a skilled public speaker or a leading figure in the Liberal Party, Cleary was generally regarded as a good community representative during his time in the legislature. He was not considered to be an especially partisan figure, and in fact criticized party leader Dalton McGuinty for his personal attacks on Mike Harris in 1999. Cleary also held socially conservative views on some issues, including abortion.

References

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history