Janet Ecker (born October 18, 1953) is a former
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
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. She was a 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 1995 to 2003, and was a senior
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the governments 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 ...
and
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 ...
.
Background
Ecker grew up in
Exeter, Ontario
Exeter is a community in the municipality of South Huron, in the southern portion of Huron County, Ontario, Canada, located approximately 40 kilometres north of London. The community proclaims itself the "Home of the White Squirrel", owing ...
. Her father was a family physician. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
from 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 ...
. In 1985, Ecker served as Director of Communications at the Ontario Treasury. She worked as a Government Relations Consultant with Public Affairs Management from 1987 to 1991, and was Director of Policy for the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is the regulatory college for medical doctors in Ontario, Canada.
The college issues certificates of registration for all doctors to allow them to practise medicine as well as:
monitors an ...
from 1991 to 1995.
Politics
Ecker was also involved with the
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...
during these years. A
Red Tory
A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to favour ...
, she supported
Larry Grossman at both of the party's
1985 leadership conventions, and served as Assistant Executive Director of the Ontario PC Party from 1985 to 1987.
She was elected to the Ontario legislature in the
provincial election of 1995, 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 ...
Joe Dickson
Joe Dickson (1940-April 6, 2022) was a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007 to 2018 who represented the riding of Ajax—Pickering.
Background
Dickson was born and raise ...
and incumbent
New Democrat
New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...
Jim Wiseman
James Perry Wiseman (born April 21, 1949) is a Canadian former politician in Ontario. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995.
Background
Wiseman has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Uni ...
by a significant margin in the
riding of
Durham West
Durham West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the county of Durham ...
, east of
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 ancho ...
.
After the election she was appointed
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 U ...
to the Minister of Community and Social Services. On August 16, 1996 she was promoted to
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 ...
and named
Minister of Community and Social Services.
1999 election
In the
provincial election of 1999, she was re-elected by a comfortable margin over Liberal
Dave Ryan in the redistributed riding of
Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge
Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2003. This riding was created in 1996, from parts of Durham and Ontario ridings.
It consisted of the ...
.
After the election, she was named to the senior portfolio of
Minister of Education.
Ecker also served as Government
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 ...
after February 8, 2001.
In 1998, she supported
Hugh Segal
Hugh Segal (born October 13, 1950) is a Canadian political strategist, author, commentator, academic, and former senator. He served as chief of staff to Ontario Premier Bill Davis and later to Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Segal res ...
's bid for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party.
Ecker's best-known controversy as Education Minister was not with the legislative opposition or the teaching community, but with
Jim Flaherty
James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
First elected to the Legislative Assembly ...
, another cabinet minister in the Harris government. In 2001, Flaherty announced that the government planned to introduce a tax credit for parents choosing to send their children to private and denominational schools. Flaherty's announcement broke a 1999 campaign pledge from Harris not to introduce such legislation. Flaherty reportedly did not consult with Ecker prior to making his statement. Ecker opposed this shift in policy, and according to some accounts was initially prepared to quit cabinet over the issue. She was persuaded to stay, but remained on very poor terms with Flaherty. As a result of this controversy, Ecker became a leading spokesperson for "moderate conservative" positions in her party, against the right-wing views of Flaherty and Harris.
When Harris resigned as party leader in 2002, many anticipated that Ecker would join the contest to replace him. Instead, she supported the candidacy of
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 ...
, who won by defeating Flaherty in the second round of balloting. Ecker was named
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
on April 15, 2002.
Shortly after being named as Finance Minister, Ecker announced that the Eves government would postpone the previously-announced private-school tax credit.
Ecker also introduced the Eves government's
.
In 2003, Ecker delivered her provincial budget at an auto parts factory owned by
Magna International
Magna International Inc. is a Canadian parts manufacturer for automakers. It is one of the largest companies in Canada and was recognized on the 2020 ''Forbes'' Global 2000. The company is the largest automobile parts manufacturer in North Ameri ...
, rather than in the legislature. The move was widely criticized, even by some members of the Progressive Conservative party. Despite her previous opposition, Ecker re-introduced the private-school tax credit in this budget.
The Eves government was defeated in the
provincial election of 2003, and Ecker herself was narrowly defeated by
Wayne Arthurs of the Liberal Party.
Cabinet positions
After politics
Ecker is an advisor with Tramore Group, a Toronto-based program management professional services firm. She also teaches
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
at
Queen's University in
Kingston. In 2004, she supported
Belinda Stronach
Belinda Caroline Stronach (Born May 2, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and a former Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the fl ...
's unsuccessful campaign to lead the new
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
. In 2005 she was named as president of the ''Toronto Financial Services Alliance''. She supported
Christine Elliott
Christine Janice Elliott (born April 13, 1955) is a retired Canadian politician in Ontario who served as the 11th deputy premier of Ontario and the Ontario minister of health from 2018 to 2022.
Elliott was elected to represent the riding of New ...
(spouse of
Jim Flaherty
James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
First elected to the Legislative Assembly ...
) during the
and served as her campaign chair.
In December 2016, Ecker was named a
Member of the Order of Canada for being a leader in the financial industry.
"Order of Canada's newest appointees include Paralympian, Supreme Court judge and astrophysicist"
CBC News
CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
, December 30, 2016.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecker, Janet
1953 births
Living people
Women government ministers of Canada
Finance ministers of Ontario
Members of the Order of Canada
People from Norfolk County, Ontario
Queen's University at Kingston faculty
University of Western Ontario alumni
Female finance ministers
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians