Patrick "Pat" Michael Hayes (October 26, 1942 - May 2, 2011) 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 as a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1987, and again from 1990 to 1995.

Background

Hayes was born in

Maidstone Township, Ontario Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wit ...

. He was the 13th child in a family of 18 children. He did not complete high school, instead he got a job at

Ford Motors Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobile ...

. Hayes reflected on his early life choices. He said, "When I was a teenager it was one of those cases where if you wanted a new pair of pants, or shoes, you had to go to work for them." By the time he was 25 he was plant health and safety representative for the

Canadian Auto Workers The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW; formally the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada) was one of Canada's largest and highest profile labour unions. In 2013, it merged with the Communications, Energy and ...

. He lived in

Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Leamington, Tecumseh and the administrative seat, Essex. Administrative divisions Essex Co ...

where he and his wife Rose Claire raised five children.

Provincial politics

Hayes was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 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 Jack Morris by about 1,300 votes in Essex North. He served as the NDP critic for Transportation and Communications, Tourism and Recreation, and Agriculture in the parliament that followed. The Liberals won a landslide majority in the 1987 provincial election, and Hayes his seat lost to Liberal

MPP MPP or M.P.P. may refer to: * Marginal physical product * Master of Public Policy, an academic degree * Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa * ''Merriweather Post Pavilio ...

Jim McGuigan, by 1,113 votes in the redistributed riding of Essex—Kent. He ran against McGuigan again in the 1990 election, this time defeating him by 5,890 votes amid a provincial victory for the NDP under Bob Rae. He served as

Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

to the Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1990 to 1993, and to the Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1993 to 1995. In 1994, Hayes 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. By the 2003 campaign, he had changed his mind on this issue. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Hayes finished third, 2,293 votes behind the winning candidate, Liberal Pat Hoy. He sought a return to the legislature in the 2003 provincial election, but, although he was generally seen as a strong candidate, he lost to Liberal incumbent

Bruce Crozier Bruce Crozier (June 26, 1938 – June 3, 2011) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the ridings of Essex South and Essex for the Ontario Liberal Party. Background Crozier ...

by about 8,000 votes in the riding of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

Municipal politics

Hayes was mayor of

Lakeshore, Ontario Lakeshore is a municipality on Lake St. Clair, in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1999 by amalgamating the Town of Belle River with the townships of Maidstone, Rochester, Tilbury North, and Tilbury West. It is the largest a ...

from 1997 to 2003, and was generally regarded as a popular figure within that community. He managed the campaign of

Taras Natyshak Taras Natyshak (born October 12, 1977) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2011 to 2022, representing the riding of Essex. Background Natyshak was born in Essex ...

, a family friend and NDP candidate in

in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections.

Later life

Hayes died in 2011 after a long battle with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. He is buried in St. Mary`s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Essex County, Ontario.

References

External links

*
Tribute in the Legislative Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Patrick Michael 1943 births 2011 deaths Canadian Auto Workers people Mayors of places in Ontario Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from Essex County, Ontario