Melvin Leroy Swart (June 25, 1919 – February 27, 2007) was 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 ...

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 ...

. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a New Democratic MPP from 1975 to 1988.

Background

Swart was born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

. he went to school at Smithville Secondary School, and worked as a foreman. He served as an alderman in

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first s ...

from 1948 to 1950, and was deputy reeve from 1951 to 1954 and reeve from 1955 to 1965. He became a warden for

Welland County Welland County (area, excluding cities was 226,970 acres) is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county was formed in 1845 from Lincoln County. The county was named from the Welland River. The river got its name from J ...

in 1961, and was president of the Association of Ontario Mayors and Reeves in 1961-62. He later served temporarily as its part-time executive director around 1970.

Politics

Swart campaigned for the House of Commons of Canada five times, but was never successful. He was defeated in

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

as a candidate of the

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...

in a 1950 by-election, and in the general elections of

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. He ran again for the federal New Democratic Party in the 1962 election, and was again defeated. On all five occasions, he finished third against his Progressive Conservative and

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 ...

opponents. His provincial career was initially no more successful. He challenged Progressive Conservative incumbent Ellis Morningstar for the Welland provincial constituency in the 1967 election, but lost by 260 votes. He ran again in the 1971 election, and lost by a greater margin. He had left the municipal council to concentrate on provincial politics, and stayed out of council until 1972, when he ran for Regional Councillor of Niagara Region and was elected, elected again in 1974. He served a two-year term as president of the New Democratic Party of Ontario beginning in 1974. Morningstar retired at the 1975 election, and Swart was able to defeat his successor, Allan Pietz, by 1,115 votes. He defeated Pietz again for the newly created riding of Welland—Thorold in the 1977 election, and won by much greater margins 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 ...

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 ...

and

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. He retired in 1988, and was replaced in the legislature by

Peter Kormos Peter Kormos (October 7, 1952 – March 30, 2013) was a politician in Welland, Ontario, Canada. A lawyer by profession, he was first elected as an Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) to the Legislative Ass ...

, also of the NDP. Two years after his retirement, the NDP won a majority government under Bob Rae. Despite having nominated Rae at the 1982 Ontario NDP

leadership convention {{Politics of Canada In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader. Overview In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...

, Swart became highly critical of Rae's leadership in government, and blamed the Premier for falling NDP membership and financial contributions in the early 1990s. Swart had been the leading advocate of

public auto insurance Public auto insurance is a government-owned and -operated system of compulsory automobile insurance used in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. It is based on the idea that if motorists are compelled to ...

in Ontario in the 1980s and was especially critical of the Rae government's decision to go back on its promise to introduce the program. In 1994, Swart publicly called on Rae to resign as NDP leader.

Legacy

The Mel Swart Lake Gibson Conservation Area is in

Thorold, Ontario Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first su ...

. Swart was considered a political mentor to

who inherited both his predecessor's seat in the legislature and his strong advocacy of public auto insurance.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swart, Mel 1919 births 2007 deaths Mayors of places in Ontario New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Ontario municipal councillors Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from Thorold Politicians from London, Ontario Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons