Leo Edward Bernier (1928 – June 28, 2010) 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 C ...
, Canada. He served in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1966 to 1987, and was a
cabinet minister in the governments 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 ...
and
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 ...
. Bernier was a member of the
Progressive Conservative Party. Bernier presided over a time in Northern Ontario when the economy was booming. He was also a personable and well-liked MPP who looked out for his constituents. He was known by his nickname as "Emperor of the North".
Background
Bernier was born in
Sioux Lookout
Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...
,
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 ...
and educated in the area. He worked as a bush pilot and became the general manager of Bernier & Sons Contractors, and served as president of the local Chamber of Commerce.
He was an honorary member of the
Royal Canadian Legion and the
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
.
Politics
He ran for the Ontario legislature in the
1963 provincial election, and lost to
Liberal-Labour candidate
Robert Gibson by 840 votes in
Kenora.
Gibson died in 1966, and Bernier was elected in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
to replace him. He was returned by an increased margin in the
1967 provincial election,
and served as a backbench supporter of the
John Robarts
John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.
Early life
Robar ...
administration. When Bill Davis succeeded Roberts as
premier on March 1, 1971, he appointed Bernier as his
Minister of Mines and Northern Affairs.
Bernier was easily re-elected in the
1971 provincial election.
He was given additional responsibilities as
Minister of Lands and Forests on February 2, 1972.
On April 7 of the same year, his portfolios were restructured as the
Ministry of Natural Resources
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
.
Bernier was re-elected without serious opposition in the elections of
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
,
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
,
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 ...
.
He was named
Minister of Northern Affairs on February 3, 1977, and held this position for more than eight years.
Bernier was the most powerful minister for Northern Ontario in the Bill Davis government, and was sometimes called the "Emperor of the North". Like most Progressive Conservatives of his time, he supported government intervention in economic matters.
Bernier initially supported
Dennis Timbrell
Dennis Roy Timbrell (born November 13, 1946) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1971 to 1987, and was a Cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Bill Davis and Frank M ...
in the Progressive Conservative Party's January 1985 leadership convention, but crossed to Frank Miller after Timbrell was eliminated. Miller retained him in the Northern Affairs portfolio after becoming
Premier of Ontario on February 8, 1985.
The Progressive Conservatives under Miller were reduced to a tenuous
minority government in the 1985 election, and were defeated in the house in June 1985. In opposition, Bernier served as his party's critic for Natural Resources and Northern Affairs and Mines. He did not run for re-election in 1987.
In 1975, Bernier selected
amethyst as Ontario's mineral emblem.
Cabinet positions
Later life
He served as chair of the Boreal West Round Table in the 1990s, and remained active in the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party until his death. In 2004, he supported
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 200 ...
's successful bid to become party leader.
Bernier died on June 28, 2010 in Sioux Lookout hospital at the age of 81.
In 2012,
Highway 664 was renamed in his honour.
References
Notes
Citations
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernier, Leo
1929 births
2010 deaths
Franco-Ontarian people
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
People from Sioux Lookout
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs