John Gordon Lane

John Gordon Lane (August 5, 1916 in Barrie Island, Ontario – August 9, 2001) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1987 as a Progressive Conservative.

Lane was educated at Ontario schools until age fourteen, and worked as a farmer and insurance executive. He was a councillor in Barrie Island from 1941 to 1960, and was a councillor in Gore Bay for four years, and served as mayor of Gore Bay from 1967 to 1972. With wife Louise, he had two children, Sharon and Ronald.

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1971 provincial election, defeating New Democrat Roger Taylor by 1,298 votes in the northern constituency of Algoma—Manitoulin. Lane defeated NDP challenger Winston Baker by 1,127 votes in the 1975 election, and won more convincingly in 1977. He did not face serious challenges in the elections of 1981 and 1985.

Lane was a government backbencher until 1985, when the Progressive Conservative ministry led by Frank Miller was defeated in the legislature. In opposition, he served as his party's critic for Agriculture and Tourism and Recreation. He did not run for re-election in the 1987 provincial election because he wished to spend more time with his family. .

Lane was known as a strong defender of his constituency interests. Premier Bill Davis once singled out Lane and Ron McNeil as the two backbenchers who most frequently wrote to him about constituency issues. Also a strong defender of northern interests, Lane supported the creation of a Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, and served as parliamentary assistant to the first minister.

Lane died in 2001, four days after his 85th birthday. Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario spoke in his honour on October 1 of the same year. (click here for transcript)

Lane was the eldest son of 6 children of George and Martha Lane who farmed on Barrie Island almost all their adult lives. George Lane was born in England and migrated to Canada around 1890 with his father, Samuel Lane, and some other family members, including a younger brother Leonard Lane, and an older half-sister (daughter of Samuel Lane and his first wife). George Lane died in October 1965 at the age of 79 years, after being taken ill while working on the farm, following an operation.

Lawrence J. Lane, who served on the council of Gore Bay for 25 years including 19 years as mayor was the youngest brother of John Lane, and was twin to Agnes (Lane) Morgan who pre-deceased him in August 1981. Lawrence Lane died in July 2005, two weeks after suffering a heart attack on the golf course, and one week after his 81st birthday.