Christopher Campbell Ward (born June 21, 1949) is a former politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

from 1985 to 1990 and was a cabinet minister in the government of

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgr ...

Background

The son of Albert Charles Ward and Daniella Joy Griffiths, Ward was raised in Ontario and educated in Dundas. In 1971, he married Carol Suzanne Hunter.

Politics

He was elected a ward councillor in

Flamborough Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head. The most prominent man-made feature o ...

in 1978, a regional councillor in 1980 and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in 1982. In 1984, Ward ran for the Ontario legislature in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the constituency of Wentworth North. He lost to Progressive Conservative

Ann Sloat Frances Sloat (née O'Rourke; July 28, 1928 – November 21, 2017) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was the mayor of Ancaster from 1973 to 1984, and the Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1984 to ...

by 169 votes, but a few months later defeated Sloat by 5,168 votes in the 1985 provincial election amid a general surge in support for the Liberal Party. He was re-elected handily in the 1987 election. Ward served as

parliamentary assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

to the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from June 26, 1985 to January 9, 1987, and as the assistant to Attorney General Ian Scott from January to September 1987. He was promoted to cabinet as Minister of Education on September 29, 1987. Following a cabinet shuffle on August 2, 1989, he was named Minister of Government Services and

Government House Leader The leader of the government in the House of Commons (), more commonly known as the government house leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of Canada. De ...

. In the 1990 provincial election, Ward lost his seat to NDP candidate Don Abel by a mere 88 votes. During the campaign, Ward was targeted by a group of local lawyers who opposed the Peterson government's no-fault auto insurance program. He attempted to return to the legislature in the 1995 election, but lost to Progressive Conservative candidate

Toni Skarica Antonio Peter "Toni" Skarica is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2000 who represented the Hamilton area ridings of Wentworth North and Wentwo ...

by over 10,000 votes. He supported

Gerard Kennedy Gerard Michael Kennedy (born July 24, 1960) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Ca ...

for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996.

Cabinet positions

Later life

After leaving politics, Ward became Vice-President of Strategic Planning and Communications for Canada's Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies. He now runs Ward Health Strategies, a consulting firm based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He has provided briefings to legislators in several American states on behalf of the

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA, pronounced ), formerly known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, is a trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. Founded in 195 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Chris 1949 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario