Cameron "Cam" Jackson (born February 27, 1951) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician. A
Progressive Conservative, he was first elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
in 1985, and held the office of
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Burlington until his resignation on September 28, 2006 to run for mayor of
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
in the
2006 election. He served as mayor from 2006 to 2010 when he was defeated by
Rick Goldring
Patrick "Rick" Goldring (born August 23, 1957) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th mayor of Burlington, Ontario from 2010 to 2018. He graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.
Politics
Goldrin ...
.
Background
Jackson was born in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
. His mother was
Ukrainian Canadian
Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Ukrainians, Ukrainian desce ...
. He was educated at
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
, although he left before graduating to take a job with the Ontario Conservative Party. Before entering politics, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the
Metropolitan Hamilton Real Estate Board, and also worked for the Halton Housing Authority from 1975 to 1980. In 1996, he was named "Officer Brother of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem" by Canada's
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
. He also served as a trustee on the Halton Public School Board for ten years.
Provincial politics
Jackson was elected for the riding of
Burlington South in the
provincial election of 1985, defeating
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 ...
candidate Doug Redfearn by about 4,500 votes.
He was a backbench supporter of the government of
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...
, which was defeated in the legislature shortly after the election. In late 1985, Jackson supported
Alan Pope
Alan William Pope (August 2, 1945 – July 8, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1990, and served as a cabinet ...
's unsuccessful bid to replace Miller as party leader.
Jackson was nearly defeated in the
provincial election of 1987, defeating Liberal Bill Priestner by 605 votes.
He won by a much greater margin in the
1990 election.
The Tories finished in third place in both instances, behind the Liberals and the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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.
The Progressive Conservatives returned to power in the
1995 provincial election, and Jackson was re-elected in Burlington South with over 70% of the popular vote.
He was made a
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
in the government of
Mike Harris
Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...
on June 26, 1995, with responsibility for the
Workers Compensation Board.
After a shuffle on August 16, 1996, he was given ministerial responsibility for
Seniors.
He was finally given a full portfolio on July 27, 1998, being made
Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care and Seniors. Jackson was easily re-elected in the
1999 provincial election for the redistributed riding of
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
.
On June 17, 1999, he was named
Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture.
The position exists in many different countries under several names:
*Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania)
* Minist ...
.
He was named
Minister of Citizenship with responsibility for Seniors on February 8, 2001, but returned to the Tourism portfolio (now retitled Tourism and Recreation) when
Ernie Eves
Ernest Larry Eves (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership upon Mike Harris's resignation as party leade ...
succeeded Mike Harris as Premier on April 15, 2002.
He was forced to resign on October 2, 2002 due to a controversy over his practice of billing the government for steak dinners and hotel stays. Jackson did not appear in public for weeks and there was speculation that he would not run for re-election. Jackson was fully exonerated of all allegations before the next election, and did retain his riding in the
2003 election (albeit with a greatly reduced majority) while dozens of other Tory MPPs lost their seats.
There had been speculation that Jackson would run to succeed Eves in the
2004 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election but in July, Jackson endorsed
John Tory
John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014.
After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 2003 ...
's candidacy for the position of party leader.
Cabinet positions
Mayor of Burlington
On September 28, 2006, Jackson announced both his retirement from provincial politics and his candidacy for
Mayor of Burlington. He was elected in the
2006 municipal election, succeeding
Rob MacIsaac. After just one term in office, he was defeated in the
2010 municipal election by
Rick Goldring
Patrick "Rick" Goldring (born August 23, 1957) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th mayor of Burlington, Ontario from 2010 to 2018. He graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.
Politics
Goldrin ...
.
Electoral record
References
Notes
Citations
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Cam
1951 births
Living people
Mayors of Burlington, Ontario
McMaster University alumni
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Nelson High School (Ontario) alumni
Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
21st-century Canadian politicians
Ontario school board trustees