Michael Arthur Brown (April 18, 1950 – September 20, 2024) was a Canadian politician in Ontario who was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from October 2005 until October 2007. He sat in the Ontario legislature representing the northern riding of Algoma—Manitoulin for the Ontario Liberal Party from 1987 to 2011.
Mike Brown | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1987–2011 | |
| Preceded by | John Gordon Lane |
| Succeeded by | Michael Mantha |
| Constituency | Algoma—Manitoulin |
| 39th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario | |
| In office October 11, 2005 – November 28, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Alvin Curling |
| Succeeded by | Steve Peters |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 18, 1950 Sarnia, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | September 20, 2024 (aged 74) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Kagawong, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Funeral director |
Background
editBrown was born in Sarnia, Ontario on April 18, 1950.[1] He was educated at the University of Western Ontario and Humber College, and worked as a funeral director before entering public life. He was a member of the Manitoulin Planning Board, and was president of the Manitoulin Island Country Club.
Brown died on September 20, 2024, at the age of 74.[1]
Politics
editBrown was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1987, defeating New Democrat Ron Boucher and Progressive Conservative Ben Wilson.[2] The Algoma—Manitoulin riding had been held by the Progressive Conservatives for several years, and Brown's victory was part of a larger trend towards the Liberal Party in northern Ontario.
The Liberals were defeated by the NDP in the provincial election of 1990. Most ridings in northern Ontario were won by the NDP, and Brown was only able to defeat NDP candidate Lois Miller by 207 votes.[3] He was re-elected by a larger margin in the provincial election of 1995, which was won by the Progressive Conservatives.[4] In 1996, he endorsed Dwight Duncan's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party.[5]
In 1996, the Tory government of Mike Harris introduced a measure to reduce the number of ridings in the province from 130 to 103. Brown's constituency of Algoma—Manitoulin was joined with the neighbouring constituency of Algoma to create a much larger riding bearing the Algoma—Manitoulin name. He faced New Democrat Lynn Watson and Progressive Conservative Keith Currie in the election of 1999. Although Currie actually received a plurality of votes in the old Algoma riding, Brown's dominance over the eastern corner of the constituency was such that he was able to win re-election without difficulty.[6] The Tories again won the election; Brown served as Deputy Speaker from 2000 to 2001.
The Liberals won a majority government in the provincial election of 2003, although Brown was actually re-elected with a reduced majority over New Democrat Peter Denley.[7] On October 23, 2003, he was named parliamentary assistant to David Ramsay, the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources. He was elected speaker of the 38th Legislative Assembly of Ontario on October 11, 2005, defeating Tory Ted Arnott in a two-way contest. The vacancy in the position was caused when Alvin Curling was named ambassador to the Dominican Republic.[8]
Brown stood for re-election as Speaker when the 39th Legislative Assembly first convened following the 2007 provincial election but he was defeated by fellow Liberal Steve Peters on the fourth ballot. Brown's loss was attributed to the perception that he favoured the ruling party when meting discipline to unruly politicians.[9]
In the 2011 provincial election he lost to NDP candidate Michael Mantha by nearly 4,000 votes.[10]
Electoral record
edit| 2011 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Michael Mantha | 11,560 | 44.45 | +7.50 | ||||
| Liberal | Michael A. Brown | 7,405 | 28.47 | -14.09 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Joe Chapman | 6,147 | 23.64 | +9.62 | ||||
| Green | Jason Tilson | 677 | 2.60 | -2.55 | ||||
| Family Coalition | David Hoffman | 218 | 0.84 | -0.49 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 26,007 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Mike Brown | 11,455 | 42.8 | -6.8 | |
| New Democratic | Peter Denley | 9,853 | 36.8 | 5.1 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Ron Swain | 3,740 | 14.0 | -3.3 | |
| Green | Ron Yurick | 1,369 | 5.1 | 2.8 | |
| Family Coalition | Ray Scott | 361 | 1.4 | ||
| 2003 Ontario general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | |
| Liberal | Michael A. Brown | 14,520 | 49.6 | +5.1 | |
| New Democratic | Peter Denley | 9,459 | 31.7 | +4.4 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Terry McCutcheon | 5,168 | 17.3 | -9.5 | |
| Green | Ron Yurick | 680 | 2.3 | - | |
| 1999 Ontario general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | |
| Liberal | Michael A. Brown | 14,299 | 44.5 | +1.4 | |
| New Democratic | Lynn Watson | 8,780 | 27.3 | +6.5 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Keith Currie | 8,617 | 26.8 | -9.3 | |
| Libertarian | Graham Hearn | 425 | 1.3 | - | |
| 1995 Ontario general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | |
| Liberal | Michael A. Brown | 6,190 | 43.1 | +4.2 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Joyce Foster | 5,184 | 36.1 | +22.0 | |
| New Democratic | Lois Miller | 2,991 | 20.8 | -16.7 | |
| 1990 Ontario general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | |
| Liberal | Michael A. Brown | 5,961 | 38.9 | -7.2 | |
| New Democratic | Lois Miller | 5,754 | 37.5 | +9.3 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Ken Ferguson | 2,163 | 14.1 | -11.6 | |
| Confederation of Regions | Richard Hammond | 1,114 | 7.3 | - | |
| Independents | Gene Solomon | 347 | 2.3 | - | |
| 1987 Ontario general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | |
| Liberal | Michael A. Brown | 7,157 | 46.1 | +15.1 | |
| New Democratic | Ron Boucher | 4,385 | 28.2 | +6.4 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Ben Wilson | 3,999 | 25.7 | -21.5 | |
References
edit- ^ a b "Brown, Michael Arthur". Barrie Today. 21 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. 11 September 1987. p. F2.
- ^ "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. 7 September 1990. p. A12.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 8 June 1995. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ Brennan, Richard (25 June 1996). "Windsor MPP enters race for Ontario Liberal leadership: Duncan first politician to run for top post". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A4.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 3 June 1999. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 2 October 2003. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Manitoulin MPP elected Speaker of Ontario legislature". Sudbury Star. 12 October 2005. p. A1.
- ^ Ferguson, Rob (29 November 2007). "MPPs pick ex-cabinet minister as Speaker; Peters promises to be tough but fair in new job". Toronto Star. p. A19.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 6 October 2011. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.