James Allan Taylor (May 2, 1928 – September 1, 2020) was a lawyer and 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 from 1971 to 1987 and was a cabinet minister in the government of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

. Taylor was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Politics

Taylor campaigned for the House of Commons of Canada in the 1968 federal election, as a candidate of the federal Progressive Conservative Party. He finished third in

Scarborough East Scarborough East was a Canadian electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 2003. It initially consisted the eastern part of the Borough of Scarborough, although its boundaries were adjusted several times. It ...

, against

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 Martin Patrick O'Connell. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1971 provincial election, defeating

candidate Barry Young by 3,404 votes in

Prince Edward—Lennox Prince Edward—Lennox was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from Prince Edward riding and parts of Lennox and ...

. He served as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

supporter of

's government for the next four years, and was re-elected with a reduced majority in the 1975 election. On October 7, 1975, Taylor was appointed to Davis's cabinet as Minister of Community and Social Services. Taylor was named as Davis's Minister of Energy on February 3, 1977, and was re-elected with a greatly increased majority in the 1977 election. He was dropped from cabinet on January 21, 1978, and again served as a government backbencher. He was re-elected in the elections of

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 ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. After serving in government for forty-two years, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a tenuous minority government in the 1985 election, and were subsequently defeated in the legislature on a

motion of non-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. Taylor served in opposition as his party's Energy Critic, and did not run for re-election in 1987. Taylor served as the first

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 ...

of the amalgamated Prince Edward County from 1997 to 2003. Taylor died on September 1, 2020, aged 92.

Cabinet positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, James A. 1928 births 2020 deaths Mayors of places in Ontario People from Prince Edward County, Ontario People from Timmins Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs