Reginald Stackhouse

Reginald "Reg" Francis Stackhouse (April 30, 1925 – December 14, 2016) was a Canadian educator and politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1972 to 1974 and from 1984 to 1988 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Reginald Stackhouse
Member of Parliament
for Scarborough West
In office
1984–1988
Preceded byDavid Weatherhead
Succeeded byTom Wappel
Member of Parliament
for Scarborough East
In office
1972–1974
Preceded byMartin O'Connell
Succeeded byMartin O'Connell
Personal details
Born
Reginald Francis Stackhouse

(1925-04-30)April 30, 1925
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedDecember 14, 2016(2016-12-14) (aged 91)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
ProfessionProfessor

Background

Stackhouse was born in Toronto, Ontario, and educated at the University of Toronto, Wycliffe College and Yale University. He held Ph.D. and Th.D. degrees, and practised as an Anglican priest. Stackhouse was a Trustee for the Scarborough Board of Education from 1965 to 1972, served on the Canadian Council of Regents from 1969 to 1972, and was a founding board member of Centennial College.

Politics

Stackhouse campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1967 provincial election as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in Scarborough West, and finished second against future New Democratic Party leader Stephen Lewis.[1]

He was elected to the House of Commons in the 1972 federal election, narrowly defeating Liberal incumbent Martin O'Connell in Scarborough East.[2] The Liberal Party won a narrow minority government in this election, and Stackhouse served as an opposition Member of Parliament (MP) for the next two years. He was not a candidate in the 1974 campaign, and served as principal of Wycliffe College from 1975 to 1985.[3]

Stackhouse was returned to the House of Commons in the 1984 election, defeating Liberal incumbent David Weatherhead by nearly 5,000 votes in Scarborough West.[4] The Progressive Conservatives won a landslide majority government in this election under Brian Mulroney's leadership, and Stackhouse served as a government backbencher for the next four years. In 1988, he urged a strong Canadian protest against the threatened arrest of Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa.[5]

He was narrowly defeated in the 1988 election, losing to Liberal challenger Tom Wappel by 440 votes.[6] During this campaign, members of the group Campaign Life distributed leaflets attacking Stackhouse as a "babykiller" because he supported abortion in some circumstances.[7] He described this attack as "disgusting and reproachful", adding "That kind of personal attack by design has no part in a democracy."[3] The Campaign Life campaign had endorsed Wappel, who opposed abortion under all circumstances.

Stackhouse returned to teaching theology and philosophy after leaving parliament. He also served as president of the Canadian National Exhibition Association after leaving parliament,[8] and was appointed to a term on the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 1990.[9]

He attempted a returned to parliament in the 1993 election, but finished third against Wappel with 5,664 votes (14.45%) amid a general decline in support for his party.[10] In the buildup to the 1993 campaign, he called for the abolition of the Senate of Canada.[11]

Later life

Stackhouse continued teaching at the University of Toronto. In 2005, he published a work entitled The Coming Age Revolution, challenging traditional notions of retirement.[12]

In 2011, he was made a Member of the Order of Ontario.[13] Stackhouse died in Toronto on December 14, 2016.[14]

References
  1. Canadian Press (18 October 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2.
  2. "How the 1,117 candidates fared across Canada". The Toronto Star. 31 October 1972. p. 15.
  3. Smith, Dan (27 December 1988). "Defeated MPs get on with life after politics". Toronto Star. p. A7.
  4. "How Canada voted". The Globe and Mail. 5 September 1984. pp. 14–15.
  5. "Canada must warn Pretoria against arrest of Tutu, MP says". Toronto Star. 6 September 1988. p. A13.
  6. "Decision '88: The vote". The Globe and Mail. 22 November 1988. pp. C4–C5.
  7. Manly, Lorne (4 July 1989). "Wappel runs for leadership". Toronto Star. p. E1.
  8. James, Royson (18 June 1991). "Bid to kill casino at Ex put on hold after protest". Toronto Star. p. A6.
  9. "Stackhouse appointed". The Globe and Mail. 24 July 1990. p. A7.
  10. "Results may be more complete than as published Riding-by-riding results from across Canada Ontario Algoma". Toronto Star. 26 October 1993. p. B10.
  11. York, Geoffrey (25 June 1993). "Outcry may prompt Senate to vote again on raise Switchboards, talk shows buzz with resentment over $6,000 hike in expense allowances". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
  12. Menzies, Heather (19 November 2005). "Age cannot wither us -- can it?". The Globe and Mail. p. D4.
  13. "30 Appointees Named To Ontario's Highest Honour". Government of Ontario. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  14. "Stackhouse, Reginald Francis". The Globe and Mail. 17 December 2016.
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