Michael Liam Farnan (born January 29, 1941) 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. He was a
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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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 1987 to 1995, and was a
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 government of
Bob Rae.
Background
Farnan was educated at
University College
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
in Dublin, the National University of Dublin, the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, Quebec, Canada. He has a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in Education, and a bachelor's degree of arts. He has worked as a primary and secondary school teacher in London, Montreal,
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand River (Ontario), Grand and Speed River, Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 Canadian census, 202 ...
and Brampton Ontario for twenty-seven years. A devout
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
working within Ontario's
separate school
In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories ( Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadi ...
system, he served as provincial director of the Ontario English Catholic Teacher's Association for a time, as well as participating in a variety of community outreach projects in Cambridge. After he retired from teaching in 2002, he studied to become a real estate agent and broker of his own company Mike Farnan Realty in Cambridge. He also served as associate broker for Crown Realty Royal Le Page and for Peak Realty, both located in Cambridge.
Politics
Farnan ran for the federal
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
during the
1980 federal election. He came second, 3,080 votes behind
Progressive Conservative Chris Speyer. He also served on the Cambridge city council for the period in the 1980s.
Farnan was elected to the Ontario legislature in the
1987 provincial election, 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 ...
candidate
Claudette Millar
Claudette Millar (February 3, 1935 - February 10, 2016) was a Canadian politician, most noted as the first mayor of Cambridge, Ontario.
Biography
Millar was born February 3, 1935, in Belleville. She grew up primarily in Kitchener after reloca ...
in the provincial riding of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
(incumbent
Progressive Conservative Bill Barlow finished third).
The NDP were the official opposition in this period, and Farnan served as his party's critic for Correctional Services and Tourism and Recreation.
The NDP won a majority government in the
1990 provincial election, and Farnan was re-elected by a landslide in Cambridge.
On October 1, 1990, he was appointed as the Rae government's first
Solicitor General and
Minister of Correctional Services.
As Solicitor-General, Farnan introduced employment equity provisions for Ontario's police force. He also established a "common pause day" which continued the province's previous restrictions on
Sunday shopping
Sunday shopping or Sunday trading refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognises as a day of rest. Rules governing shopping hours, such as Sunday shopping, vary around the worl ...
. In the spring of 1991, he became involved in a minor controversy concerning two letters which had been sent from his staff to Justices of the Peace in Ontario, one of which requested the review of a case. This was seen by some as inappropriate interference from his office, and while Farnan did not write the letters himself, he was nonetheless dropped from cabinet on July 31, 1991. In September 1991 he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the house and he served in that role for the next two years.
On June 17, 1993, Farnan was re-appointed as a
Minister without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
responsible for
Education and Training. In this capacity, he served as an assistant to
Minister of Education Dave Cooke
Dave Cooke (born August 1, 1952) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was an NDP member of the provincial legislature from 1977 to 1997, and was a senior cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.
Background
Cooke was born in Wind ...
.
Farnan returned to a full cabinet position on October 21, 1994, having been appointed
Minister of Transportation
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...
.
In 1994, Farnan was one of twelve NDP members to vote against
Bill 167, a bill extending financial benefits to same-sex partners. Premier
Bob Rae allowed a free vote on the bill which allowed members of his party to vote with their conscience.
The NDP were defeated in the
1995 provincial election, and Farnan lost the Cambridge seat to
Progressive Conservative Gerry Martiniuk by about 5,500 votes.
He ran a second time 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
1997 federal election, but finished third 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 ...
Janko Peric.
Cabinet positions
After politics
In the late 1990s, Farnan became a school teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
, Ontario. He specialized in social science courses (mainly Religion). He retired in December 1996.
In 2021 mike renounced his membership to the NDP and joined the Green Party.
As of December 2021 Mike is currently the campaign manager for Green Party of Ontario candidate Carla Johnson in the riding of Cambridge Ontario.
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Electoral record
Provincial
Federal
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnan, Mike
1941 births
Alumni of the University of London
Alumni of University College Dublin
Canadian Roman Catholics
Living people
McGill University alumni
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs