Hugh O'Neil

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For other persons named Hugh O'Neill, see Hugh O'Neill (disambiguation).

Hugh Patrick O'Neil (born July 10, 1936 in Belleville, Ontario) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.

O'Neil was educated at Peterborough Teachers' College, and worked as a teacher and real estate broker before entering political life.

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Robin Jeffrey by 659 votes in the eastern Ontario riding of Quinte. He was re-elected by a much greater margin in the 1977 provincial election, and in the elections of the 1981 and 1985.

The Liberals under David Peterson formed a minority government following the 1985 election, and O'Neil was appointed as Minister of Industry, Trade and Techology on June 26, 1985. He was re-elected again in the 1987 provincial election, in which the Liberals won a landslide majority.

After the election, O'Neil was named Minister of Tourism and Recreation. Following a cabinet shuffle, he was named as Minister of Mines on August 2, 1989. He also became Minister of Culture and Communications on June 5, 1990. In addition, O'Neil served as Peterson's regional minister for eastern Ontario.

The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the New Democratic Party in the 1990 provincial election. O'Neil was re-elected in Quinte, though by a reduced margin. He served as his party's critic for Tourism and Recreation for the entirety of the next parliament, and did not run for re-election in 1995.

O'Neil returned to his real estate business after leaving politics, and now manages developments in the residential, commercial and industrial sector. In 2004, he was appointed to the board of the directors of the Ontario Trillium Federation. O'Neil has also remained active within the Liberal Party.