Douglas Grinslade Lewis, (born April 17, 1938) 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 ...
accountant, lawyer and former politician.
A
chartered accountant and
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
by training, Lewis entered the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
when he won the
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
of
Simcoe North
Simcoe North (french: Simcoe-Nord) is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867.
Demographics
:''According to the Canada 2011 Census''; 2013 representation''
Ethnic groups: 87.8% ...
,
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 Ca ...
, as a
Progressive Conservative in the
1979 federal election. In the short-lived government of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980.
Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
, he served as
Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Supply and Services Minister of Supply and Services was an office in the Cabinet of Canada from 1969 to 1996. On July 12, 1996, office of the Minister of Supply and Services and the office of the Minister of Public Works were abolished and replaced with the office of ...
.
Re-elected in the
1980 federal election that returned the
Liberals to power, Lewis moved to the
opposition benches, serving first as Deputy
House Leader
{{Politics of Canada
In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament (MP) and an expert in parliamentary procedure. The same representation is found in the pr ...
from 1981 to February 1983, and then as
Official Opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
House Leader until September 1983.
With the victory of the Progressive Conservatives under
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
in the
1984 general election, Lewis again became a parliamentary secretary. In 1987, he entered the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
as both
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...
to the Government House Leader and Minister of State (Treasury Board). At the end of 1988, he became Acting
President of the Treasury Board
The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury B ...
, and, a month later in January 1989, he was named
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
. He also served as
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 ...
from April 1989 to February 1990.
In April 1990, Lewis was moved from Justice to the position of
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
. In 1991, he was moved again, this time to the position of
Solicitor General of Canada The Solicitor General of Canada was a position in the Canadian ministry from 1892 to 2005. The position was based on the Solicitor General in the British system and was originally designated as an officer to assist the Minister of Justice. It was n ...
.
When
Kim Campbell
Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female p ...
succeeded Mulroney as Progressive Conservative leader and prime minister in June 1993, she kept Lewis in Cabinet as Solicitor General, and also named him Government House Leader. Both Lewis and the Campbell government were defeated in the
1993 general election. Following his political defeat, he returned to his law practice.
Lewis remained a supporter of the Progressive Conservatives through the 1990s. However, in 2000, he supported
Tom Long's candidacy to lead the new
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...
, which was an attempt to merge the PC Party with the
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada (french: Parti réformiste du Canada) was a right-wing populist and conservative federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada-based protes ...
. In July 2000, however, he insisted to reporters that he was a loyal supporter of Joe Clark's renewed leadership of the Progressive Conservative party.
Lewis is currently practicing law as a sole practitioner in Orillia, Ontario. He was elected as a Regional Bencher with the
Law Society of Upper Canada
The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...
in 2007.
External links
*
Law office biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Doug
1938 births
Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry
Members of the 25th Canadian Ministry
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Members of the United Church of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Canadian Ministers of Transport
Lawyers in Ontario
Canadian King's Counsel
Living people
Solicitors General of Canada