Robert C. Mitchell (July 4, 1931 – June 16, 2007) 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 Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. 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 1980 to 1987, 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’, � ...

in the government of Frank Miller. Mitchell was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Background

Mitchell was a communication officer in the Department of National Defence before entering political life.

Politics

He served for nine years in municipal government, in the city of Nepean and the

Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, held on November 20, 1980 for the Carleton riding. He defeated

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 Al Loney by 3,502 votes. He served in the legislature as a backbench supporter of

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

's administration. Mitchell was re-elected in the 1981 election, defeating Liberal

Hans Daigeler Hans Wolfgang Daigeler (February 21, 1945 – November 9, 1995) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1995 Background Daigeler was educated at the University of W� ...

and

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 ...

Judy Wasylycia-Leis by an increased margin. When Frank Miller replaced Davis as

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly of On ...

on February 8, 1985, he appointed Mitchell 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

Science and Technology Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

. He was re-elected in the 1985 election, defeating Daigeler by a reduced margin. The Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a fragile

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 ...

in the 1985 election. Mitchell was named as a minister without portfolio and

Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

on May 17, 1985, but accomplished little in this position before Miller's government was defeated in the house. In opposition, he served as his party's critic for energy. Mitchell lost to Hans Daigeler in the 1987 provincial election, by 3,636 votes.

Cabinet posts

Later life

On June 16, 2007, Mitchell died after a long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by friends and family at the time of his death. Coincidentally, Mitchell received his medical care at the

Queensway Carleton Hospital Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) is a 355-bed hospital located in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that delivers acute care and is west Ottawa's only full-service hospital. QCH was officially opened on October 5, 1976, by then Ontario Prem ...

in Ottawa, Ontario, which he had been affiliated with numerous times during his political career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Robert C. 1931 births 2007 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs