Ronald George Van Horne (October 24, 1932 – November 2, 2017) was a
politician in Ontario,
Canada. 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 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’, â ...
in the government of
David Peterson.
Background
Van Horne was educated at the
University of Western Ontario, and worked as a teacher, school administrator and school superintendent. He was the Public Utilities Commissioner in
London, Ontario from 1970 to 1976. Van Horne's son, also named Ronald, is a solicitor in
Lambton County.
Politics
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the
1977 provincial election, defeating
Progressive Conservative Marvin Shore
Marvin Leonard Shore (April 13, 1929 – September 27, 2019) was a Canadian politician, who represented London North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1977, originally as a Liberal member.
Shore was born in Toronto, Ontario in ...
by about 4,500 votes in the urban riding of
London North.
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 of the
NDP 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