Michael Morris Cassidy (born May 10, 1937) is 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. He served in 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 1971 to 1984, and in 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 ...

from 1984 to 1988. Cassidy was the leader of the

New Democratic Party of Ontario The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following t ...

from 1978 to 1982.

Background

Cassidy was born in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, the son of Beatrice Pearce and

Harry Cassidy Harry Cassidy (1900–1951) was a Canadian academic, social reformer, civil servant and, briefly, a politician. Cassidy was born on January 8, 1900, to parents Herbert Cassidy and Maria Morris Cassidy, transplanted Maritimers who ran a general sto ...

, who was a founding member of the

Co-operative 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 socialism, democra ...

, a one time candidate for the leadership of the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

and dean of the School of Social Work at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. After graduating from the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by competitive ex ...

, he attended the

University of Trinity College Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...

in the

, and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. Cassidy worked as a journalist before entering political life, and was bureau chief of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

for a period.

Politics

Cassidy was elected as an Ottawa

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in January 1970. The following year, he was elected to the Ontario legislature for

Ottawa Centre Ottawa Centre (french: Ottawa-Centre) is an urban federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. While the riding's boundaries (mainly to the south and west as the north a ...

in the 1971 provincial election. Cassidy defeated Progressive Conservative candidate

Garry Guzzo Garry Guzzo (born November 18, 1941) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003. He represented the ridin ...

, who later served in the legislature from 1995 to 2003, by 182 votes. He did not immediately resign from his council seat, and held both positions until the provincial government banned concurrent tenure in 1972. Cassidy was re-elected with an increased majority in the 1975 election, in which the NDP under

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of those years as leade ...

reduced the Conservatives to a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

and became the official opposition in the legislature. The NDP fell back to third place, behind the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, in the 1977 provincial election, and Lewis resigned as leader the following year. Cassidy entered the contest to succeed him and defeated

Ian Deans Ian Deans (August 16, 1937 – May 3, 2016) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1979 and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1986. Back ...

and

Michael Breaugh Michael James Breaugh (September 13, 1942 – November 22, 2019) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1990, and in the House of Commons of Canada from 1990 to 1993. Background Breaug ...

in February 1978. He had a difficult job following Lewis, who was a charismatic and dynamic figure. Cassidy, by comparison, had a rather dry personality. He was also the most left-wing of the three leadership candidates, and was not fully trusted by the party establishment. Cassidy's policy advisor in the leadership campaign was

James Laxer James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, a former leader of

The Waffle The Waffle (also known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada) was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little elec ...

NDP faction which had separated from the party in 1974. Some members of the NDP caucus considered his election as a serious mistake, and encouraged him to resign before contesting an election. Cassidy ignored this advice, and remained as leader. The NDP fared poorly in the 1981 election, falling from 33 seats to 21. Their decline allowed the Progressive Conservatives to regain a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...

, while the Liberals neither gained nor lost seats. Cassidy faced a difficult re-election in Ottawa Centre, and defeated Progressive Conservative candidate David Small by only 599 votes. He stepped down as leader after the campaign, and was replaced in 1982 by

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

. Donald C. MacDonald, another former NDP leader, would later describe Cassidy's leadership as "an unhappy interlude for both him and the party". (MacDonald, ''The Happy Warrior'', p. 186.) Cassidy then resigned as Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in 1984 to enter national politics. He campaigned 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: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

in the 1984 election, and defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Dan Chilcott by 54 votes to win the Ottawa Centre riding. He was defeated in the 1988 election, losing to

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 ...

Mac Harb Mac Harb (born November 10, 1953) is a Canadian former politician, who served successively in local Ottawa positions, as a Member of the House of Commons, and as a Senator for Ontario.J. Patrick Boyer. ''Our Scandalous Senate'' Volume 1 of Poin ...

by 762 votes. Cassidy was appointed to the board of directors of

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...

in the early 1990s, during Bob Rae's tenure as premier. He was fired without notice on January 10, 1996 by the Progressive Conservative government 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 ...

, but was reinstated by a court order on January 19. Cassidy opposed the Harris government's plan to restructure and partially privatize the crown corporation, and remained a director until 1997.

Electoral record

Later life

In 2005, Cassidy has become involved in a battle to protect

Tay River The Tay River is a river in Lanark County in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river on a topographic map. It is in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Rideau River. The Tay River watershed, co ...

and the surrounding area from exploitation by multinational developers. He published an essay on the controversy in October 2005. Cassidy has also operated the Ottawa-based Ginger Group Consultants firm, providing lobbying, strategic planning and public relations work for labour organizations and related groups. He was elected to Council in the Township of Lanark Highlands in 2003 but was defeated in 2006.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Michael 1937 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian socialists Canadian Unitarian Universalists Leaders of the Ontario New Democratic Party Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario New Democratic Party MPs Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Ottawa city councillors Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Trinity College (Canada) alumni University of Toronto alumni Upper Canada College alumni sv:Michael Cassidy