Terry O'Connor (Canadian politician)

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Terrance P. O'Connor (born March 24, 1940) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1972 to 1974, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1987. O'Connor was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

O'Connor was born in Toronto. He was educated at the University of Western Ontario, receiving a Bachelor of Laws degree. He worked as a barrister and solicitor, and was a member of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce.

He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1972 federal election, defeating Liberal incumbent Rud Whiting by 2,221 votes in Halton. The election was won by the Liberals under Pierre Trudeau, and O'Connor served as an opposition member for two years. He lost to Liberal Frank Philbrook by 1,911 votes in the 1974 election.

Eleven years later, O'Connor was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Doug Carrothers by 687 votes in Oakville South. The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario won a narrow minority government in this election under Frank Miller's leadership, and was soon defeated in the legislature. In opposition, O'Connor served as his party's critic for Justice and the Attorney General. He was defeated in the 1987 election, losing to Doug Carrothers by 1,291 votes.

O'Connor was later appointed a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In 2002, he became involved in a strange courtroom scene in Milton, Ontario when a member of the "Father's Rights" group attempted to arrest him for "crimes against humanity".[1] The protestor claimed that O'Connor had made rulings which unjustly favoured the rights of mothers over fathers. Nothing further appears to have come of the incident.