Ronald George Van Horne (October 24, 1932 – November 2, 2017) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

in Ontario,

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 ...

as 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 ...

from 1977 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

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgro ...

Background

Van Horne was educated at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

, and worked as a teacher, school administrator and school superintendent. He was the Public Utilities Commissioner in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

from 1970 to 1976. Van Horne's son, also named Ronald, is a solicitor in

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

Politics

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative Marvin Shore by about 4,500 votes in the urban riding of

London North London North was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was first created for the 1926 provincial election when the London riding was divided in two sections, and then eliminated prior to the 1934 provincial election when the ci ...

. He was re-elected in the 1981 election by about the same margin. The Liberal Party served as Ontario's official opposition during this period. Van Horne was re-elected by over 9,000 votes over his Progressive Conservative opponent in the 1985 provincial election (

Marion Boyd Phyllis Marion Boyd ( Watt; March 26, 1946 – October 11, 2022) was a Canadian politician in Ontario. She was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1999 who represented the riding of London Centre. She ...

of the

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Deve ...

finished third). The Liberals formed 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 ...

following the election, and Van Horne was appointed 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 Senior Citizen's Issues on June 26, 1985. The Liberals won a landslide majority government in the 1987 election, and Van Horne was easily returned in London North. He was not reappointed to cabinet on September 29, 1987, and he resigned from the legislature on December 31 of that year. Van Horne died in Mount Hope, Ontario, on November 2, 2017, after a brief illness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Horne, Ronald 1932 births 2017 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Goderich, Ontario University of Western Ontario alumni