Ronald Keith McNeil (January 15, 1920 – March 18, 2003) 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 1958 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Background

McNeil was born in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Ontario. He majored in field husbandry at the

Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affili ...

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

, and received his degree in 1942. He worked as a livestock farmer. McNeil was a bachelor until age 65. He married his wife Doris in 1987 who predeceased him in 2000.

Municipal politics

McNeil served on the municipal council of South Dorchester from 1946 to 1948, was its reeve from 1949 to 1952, and was a warden of

Elgin County Elgin County is a county of the Canadian province of Ontario with a 2016 population of 50,069. Its population centres are St. Thomas, Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Dutton and West Lorne. The county seat is St. Thomas, which is separated from t ...

in 1952. Also in 1952, he served as chair of the centennial committee for Elgin and St. Thomas.

Provincial politics

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 January 30, 1958, in the constituency of Elgin. 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 Ralph Auckland by 3,246 votes, and served in the legislature as a backbench supporter of

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

's administration. He was re-elected in the general elections of

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. McNeil came close to losing in 1967 and 1975, but on other occasions won re-election by fairly significant margins. Despite his long service in the house, McNeil was never appointed to cabinet. 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 U ...

to the Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1977 to 1985. He was known for his efforts to keep the

Ontario Police College The Ontario Police College (OPC) is a police academy located in Malahide Township, just east of Aylmer, in Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. History The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) proposed the idea of a central ...

Aylmer Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP * Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Felix Aylmer, English stage actor * Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...

. McNeil was defeated in the 1987 provincial election, losing to Liberal candidate Marietta Roberts by 2,437 votes. Roberts had finished a close second to McNeil in the 1975 election.

Later life

After the election, McNeil returned to his farm in

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

. McNeil died in 2003.

Norm Sterling Norman William "Norm" Sterling (born February 19, 1942) is a Canadian politician, who served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 2011. Background Sterling attended Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and worked as a ...

, speaking in the Ontario legislature on his death, described him as a quiet, respected man who made few legislative speeches. He said of McNeil "he was one of those MPPs who never forgot where he came from, and during all that time he served everyone who came to him for help." There is currently a Ron McNeil Road in Springfield.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Ron 1920 births 2003 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs People from Middlesex County, Ontario Ontario Agricultural College alumni