Eric Gordon Cunningham (April 14, 1949 – January 1, 2015) was a 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 Ca ...

, Canada. He was 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 ...

member of 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 ...

from 1975 to 1984.

Background

Cunningham was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Ontario, and educated at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

and

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 ...

. He worked as an advertising executive, was a founder of the Ontario New Liberal Association, and received a provincial recognition award in 1968.

Politics

He campaigned for 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 ...

in the 1974 federal election as a candidate of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, and lost to Progressive Conservative Bill Kempling by 668 votes in Halton—Wentworth. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in a provincial election the following year, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Don Ewen by 1,977 votes in Wentworth North. He was re-elected by an increased majority in the 1977 election, and defeated Progressive Conservative challenger

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 ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He supported

Jim Breithaupt James Roos Breithaupt (September 7, 1934 – August 29, 2018) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1984 as a member of the Liberal Party. He won a total of five elections, and was the longest ...

for the Liberal Party leadership in 1982, and resigned from the legislature in 1984 to run federally a second time. Cunningham was defeated in the 1984 federal election, losing to Progressive Conservative candidate Geoff Scott by over 10,000 votes amid

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 ...

's landslide victory across the country.

Later life

Cunningham joined

United Water Suez North America, founded as the Hackensack Water Company in 1869 and later named United Water, is an American water service company headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. It owns and operates 16 water and waste water utilities, and operates 90 ...

Canada in 1999, as vice-president of business development responsible for Canada. In 2002, he told an interviewer that his company was investigating possibilities with several Canadian municipalities for private sector expansion in water treatment. Cunningham also remained active in the Liberal Party. In 2004, he supported

Tony Valeri Tony Valeri (born August 11, 1957) is a former Canadian politician. Valeri was the Government House Leader in Paul Martin's government from 2004 until 2006. He was narrowly defeated by New Democratic (NDP) candidate Wayne Marston in the 2006 ...

over

Sheila Copps Sheila Maureen Copps (born November 27, 1952) is a former Canadian politician who also served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to April 30, 1996, and June 19, 1996, to June 11, 1997. Her father, Victor Copps, ...

for the federal party's contested nomination in

Hamilton East—Stoney Creek Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (french: Hamilton-Est—Stoney Creek) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The riding was formed in 2003 from parts of the fo ...

. Cunningham died at the age of 65 on January 1, 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Eric 1949 births 2015 deaths McMaster University alumni Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario University of Western Ontario alumni