William Peter Adams, (17 April 1936 – 28 September 2018), commonly known as Peter Adams, was a Canadian politician from

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 ...

. He was a

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 ...

member of Canada's House of Commons from 1993 to 2006 representing the riding of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

. Previously, Adams represented the provincial riding of

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 1987 to 1990, sitting as a member 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 ...

Background

Adams was born in Ellesmere Port,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and educated at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

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 ...

. He served as director of the subarctic research laboratory in

Schefferville Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Naskapi and Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km (1¼ miles) from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. It i ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and was a member of the Geography department and coordinator of Northern Studies at

Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.

, where he was later Emeritus Professor. Adams also served as Vice President – Academic while at Trent. Adams has authored many books and articles, and co-edited the regional history ''Peterborough and the Kawarthas''. In 1981, he was named as Peterborough's Citizen of the Year.

Provincial politics

In 1977, Adams ran as the

candidate in the 1977 provincial election, but finished third against Progressive Conservative John Turner 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 ...

Gill Sandeman. He ran again in the 1981 provincial election, and finished second against Turner. Adams ran for the seat again in the 1987 provincial election, and won by a comfortable majority amid a landslide provincial victory for the Liberal Party. He served as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

supporter of David Peterson and was appointed as parliamentary assistant to Minister of the Environment Jim Bradley from 1989 to 1990. The Liberals were defeated by the

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 1990 provincial election, and Adams lost his seat to NDP candidate

Jenny Carter Jenny Carter (born December 26, 1931) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae. Backg ...

by 185 votes.

Federal politics

Adams was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the federal election of 1993, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent

Bill Domm William Henry Domm (July 24, 1930 – January 8, 2000) was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1993. He was best known for his crusades against the metric system and in favour of capital punishment. Domm repr ...

by almost 16,000 votes. He was re-elected in the elections of

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, each time by a comfortable margin. He was for many years a prominent supporter of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

, opposing Paul Martin's bid to succeed Chrétien as party leader. Adams was appointed by Martin as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development The minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Employment and Social Development Canada, the Government of Canada department that oversees p ...

and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal on 20 July 2004. He did not stand for re-election in the 2006 federal election. In 2012 he was made a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

Electoral record (partial)

References

External links

How'd They Vote?: Peter Adams' voting history and quotes
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Peter 1936 births 2018 deaths Alumni of the University of Sheffield British emigrants to Canada Canadian geographers Liberal Party of Canada MPs McGill University alumni Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the Order of Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Ellesmere Port People from Peterborough, Ontario 21st-century Canadian politicians