Gordon Walker
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This is about the businessman and former Ontario politician, for the Supernatural character see Gordon Walker (Supernatural)
Gordon Wayne Walker (born September 10, 1941) is a businessman and former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1975, and again from 1977 to 1985. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of William Davis and Frank Miller.
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[edit] Background
Walker was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, and educated at the University of Western Ontario. He worked as a lawyer, and served as an alderman in the City of London from 1967 to 1971. He has two daughters, Melanie Jennifer and Wynsome Harriett.
[edit] Political Career
[edit] Ontario Legislature
He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1971 provincial election, defeating New Democratic Party candidate Charles Bigelow by 5,426 votes in London North. He served as a backbencher supporter of Davis's government for the next four years, and lost to Liberal candidate Marvin Shore by 2,282 votes in the 1975 election. Ironically, Shore crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservative Party the following year.
Walker was returned to the legislature in the 1977 election for London South, defeating Liberal candidate John Ferris by 2,211 votes. He was appointed to Davis's cabinet on October 18, 1978 as Minister of Correctional Services, and was also named Provincial Secretary for Justice on August 30, 1979. He was re-elected without difficulty in the 1981 election.
[edit] Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations
He left the Correctional Services portfolio on April 10, 1981, and was instead named as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations. After a cabinet shuffle on February 13, 1982, he left both of his former portfolios and was named Minister of Industry and Trade Development. He left cabinet entirely on June 6, 1983. In the same year, he published a book entitled A Conservative Canada.
[edit] Progressive Conservative Party
Walker was a prominent figure on the right-wing of the Progressive Conservative Party, and developed an organization for a future leadership bid in the early 1980s. These plans fell through, and many of his supporters later turned to Frank Miller. Many believe that Davis distrusted Walker's ambitions, and demoted him to prevent his leadership campaign from developing. Walker supported Miller for the party leadership in January 1985, and when Miller succeeded Davis as Premier of Ontario on February 8, he re-appointed Walker to cabinet as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations.
The Progressive Conservatives lost twenty seats in the 1985 provincial election, and Walker personally lost to Liberal Joan Smith by 6,683 votes. The party was subsequently defeated in the legislature, and Miller resigned as party leader. Walker became Alan Pope's campaign manager for the November 1985 Progressive Conservative leadership convention. After Pope's elimination on the first ballot, he unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate an alliance between his candidate and Dennis Timbrell.
[edit] The Aftermath
Walker returned to his legal practice in London after his defeat. Many of his policy views were adopted by the Progressive Conservative Party under Mike Harris in the 1990s. Some believe that Walker was a significant fundraiser for Tom Long's bid to lead the Canadian Alliance in 2000.
[edit] Hollinger Inc.
Walker joined the board of directors of Conrad Black's troubled Hollinger Inc. firm in January 2004. He subsequently demanded that Black resign to protect the interests of shareholders, and replaced Black as chair in November 2004. In early 2005, he was among the Holliger directors who opposed Black's efforts to privatize the firm. He left the firm in July 2005, shortly after describing Black's ongoing legal difficulties as a "soap opera".
