Jim McGuigan

James Fitzgerald McGuigan (November 9, 1923 – March 5, 1998) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1990.

For the Scottish association football player and manager, see Jimmy McGuigan.

Jim McGuigan
Ontario MPP
In office
1987–1990
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byPat Hayes
ConstituencyEssex-Kent
In office
1977–1987
Preceded byJack Spence
Succeeded byRiding abolished
ConstituencyKent—Elgin
Personal details
Born(1923-11-09)November 9, 1923
Cedar Springs, Chatham-Kent, Ontario
DiedMarch 5, 1998(1998-03-05) (aged 74)
Chatham, Ontario
Political partyLiberal
SpouseMona
Children4
OccupationFarmer

Background

McGuigan was educated at Ontario Agricultural College, and worked as a farmer. He served as the president of several farming organizations, including the Kent County Vegetable Growers Association, the Kent County Federation of Agriculture and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association. He also served as chair of the Raleigh-Harwich Public School Board, and was an executive member of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture from 1973 to 1977. McGuigan was known as an agricultural innovator. He pioneered the use of plastic greenhouses for tobacco production. He also experimented with the production, pre-cooling and shipment of strawberries to markets in Ontario and Quebec. Together with his wife Mona, they raised four children on their farm in Cedar Springs, Chatham-Kent, Ontario.[1]

Politics

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative Don Luckham by 641 votes in the southwestern Ontario riding of Kent—Elgin.[2] In the 1981 election, he defeated PC challenger Wes Thompson by 337 votes.[3]

The Liberal Party made an electoral breakthrough in the 1985 provincial election, and McGuigan was re-elected by a significant margin.[4] Following the election, the Liberals were able to form a minority government with support from the Ontario New Democratic Party. During the next five years he was appointed as parliamentary assistant to several ministers including the Energy, Natural Resources, Transportation and Agriculture.

Ontario's electoral map was redistributed before the 1987 election, and McGuigan was forced to face NDP incumbent Pat Hayes in the new riding of Essex—Kent. McGuigan won by 1,063 votes, as the Liberal Party won a landslide majority across the province.[5]

The NDP defeated the Liberals in the 1990 provincial election, and Hayes defeated McGuigan by almost 6,000 votes. He retired from politics after his defeat.[6]

After politics

In 1992, he was inducted into the Kent Agricultural Hall of Fame. He died at Chatham Public General Hospital in 1998.[1]

References
  1. "Former MPP, farmer known as innovator". The Windsor Star. March 7, 1998. p. A7.
  2. "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  3. Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  4. "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  5. "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. September 11, 1987. p. F2.
  6. "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 1990. p. A12.
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