Mike Harris

Michael Deane Harris was a Canadian politician. He served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002. Harris was born on January 23, 1945, in Toronto and grew up in North Bay. Before he entered politics, he worked as a ski instructor and schoolteacher.

Harris became a member of Provincial Parliament in 1981, representing the riding of Nipissing. He led the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 1990 to 2002. In 1995, his party won a strong majority government, and he became premier.

Harris is best known for leading what was called the "Common Sense Revolution." This was a plan for lower taxes, cutting government spending, and selling some public services to private companies. His government reduced personal income taxes and sold the Highway 407 to a private company. Some of his decisions caused big debates.

Harris left office in 2002 and later worked in the private sector and at the Fraser Institute.

Background

Mike Harris was born in Toronto, Ontario. He grew up in North Bay, where his father ran a fishing camp. Harris went to Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier University) but left after one year.

When he was 21, Harris moved to Sainte-Adèle, Quebec for two years to work as a ski instructor. After his first marriage ended, he went back to school at Laurentian University and North Bay Teacher's College to become a teacher. He taught math to students at W. J. Fricker Public School in North Bay. He also kept working as a ski instructor on weekends and helped at his father's fishing camp in the summer. Later, he stopped teaching and managed North Bay's Pinewood Golf Club after his father sold the ski hill.

Early political career

Mike Harris was first elected as a school board trustee in 1974. He entered provincial politics in the 1981 election and won against the current Liberal representative in Nipissing. Harris served as a regular member in Bill Davis's government from 1981 to 1985. He helped Frank Miller become party leader in 1985 and was appointed as the minister of natural resources.

The Tory party lost its majority in the 1985 provincial election, but Harris was re-elected easily. He continued as minister of natural resources and also became the minister of energy. The government was later defeated, and the Tories moved to opposition. Harris was re-elected again in Nipissing in the 1987 election.

Leadership (1990)

After losing his seat, Grossman stayed as party leader until 1990, while Andy Brandt acted as "interim leader" in the legislature. Harris became a key voice for the party by 1989. He joined the 1990 leadership race and won against Dianne Cunningham, becoming the party's official leader.

Soon after, a 1990 provincial election was called. With support from past leader Larry Grossman, Harris encouraged his supporters by promising tax cuts and spending cuts. Because he was a teacher, Harris gained support from some members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. In that election, Bob Rae's NDP won, but the Conservatives increased their seats from 17 to 20 out of 130. Harris kept his own seat despite some early worries.

1995 election

On May 3, 1994, Harris shared his "Common Sense Revolution" plan. This plan asked for big cuts in spending and taxes. It also wanted to end the province’s huge debt.

By the time of the 1995 election, the party in charge, led by Bob Rae, was not very popular. This was partly because of problems with the economy in Ontario and a big debt across Canada. Lyn McLeod’s Liberal party seemed to be doing well in early polls, but they lost support because of some unpopular changes. Many think the most important moment in the election was when Harris spoke directly to the camera during a debate, sharing his Common Sense Revolution ideas.

Harris’s team won many new areas, like Cambridge and Oshawa, which usually supported another party. About half of their seats were in the suburbs around Metro Toronto. The party grew from 20 seats to 82, going from third place to having most of the government.

Premier of Ontario (1995–2002)

First term (1995–1999)

Common Sense Revolution

Main article: Common Sense Revolution

When Mike Harris became premier, his government made big changes to save money. One of the first changes was to lower the money people got for living on welfare. The government said too many people were using it instead of looking for jobs. They started a program called "Ontario Work," which made people on welfare take part in job training or find work.

They also lowered taxes for many people in Ontario and created a new tax for people who earned a lot of money to help pay for healthcare.

Harris's government made plans to close some hospitals and change how some big projects, like a subway line in Toronto, would be built. They wanted to save money by selling some government-owned companies, but many people did not agree with this.

The government also changed how cities in Ontario were organized, merging some smaller cities into bigger ones to save money. This caused a lot of debate.

Education

See also: 1997 Ontario teachers' strike

Harris's government made changes to schools too. They stopped having a fifth year of high school, which meant two classes finished high school at the same time. They started tests for students in certain grades to check how well they were learning.

They required high school students to spend time helping their communities before they could graduate. Teachers also had to take tests to keep their jobs.

1995 referendum on the separation of Quebec

Harris, along with Stephen Harper, was appointed negotiator by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to face Quebec negotiators nominated by the separatist leaders of Quebec: Lucien Bouchard and Mario Dumont.

Ipperwash crisis

Shortly after being sworn in, Harris faced a difficult situation as premier. Protesters fighting land claim issues took over a provincial park. During a confrontation, police acted and one protester was killed. Members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied Ipperwash Provincial Park outside of Grand Bend, protesting a land claims process. An inquiry would later be called.

Second term (1999–2002)

In 1999 Ontario general election, the Harris government was re-elected for a second term with a majority government.

The Harris government balanced the provincial budget in 1999.

In 1999 Harris announced a program called Ontario's Living Legacy. The initiative added 378 new parks and protected areas, bringing the total in Ontario to 650.

Controversy arose in 2000 when the town water supply of Walkerton became infected by E. coli. Seven people died and hundreds became ill.

An uprising developed at Queen's Park, the site of the Ontario Legislature, on June 15, 2000. The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and other activists protested the Harris ministry policies.

Harris's government reduced Ontario welfare rolls by 500,000 people. The government rewrote labour laws to require secret ballot votes before workplaces could unionize.

Other changes brought in by the Harris government include standardized math and literacy student tests, known as EQAO. EQAO testing is conducted in Grade 3 and 6 (for math and literacy) and 9 (for math only).

In 2001, the Harris government introduced a plan to give a tax credit for parents who send their children to private and denominational schools. Harris also broke with tradition to place backbench MPPs on Cabinet committees.

Harris resigned as premier and MPP on April 14, 2002 and was succeeded as PC leader and premier by his long-time friend and minister of finance, Ernie Eves.

After politics (2002–present)

After leaving office, Harris joined a law firm in Toronto and later became a senior fellow at a think tank. He served on the board of a large automobile company and talked about federal politics.

Harris received an honorary doctorate from a university. He started a home care business with his wife. His son was elected to public office in Ontario. Harris also chaired a company that provided retirement homes.

Distinctions

Mike Harris received an honorary doctorate from Nipissing University in 2010. In 2020, he became a member of the Order of Ontario.