Robert Gordon Eaton (June 23, 1937 – January 7, 2009) 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 was a Progressive Conservative member 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 1971 to 1985, 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 William Davis.

Background

He was born in

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

, Ontario, and educated at the Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology. He was a member of his local school board from 1964 to 1966, and a director of Missouri Mutual Fire Insurance.

Politics

Eaton was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1971 provincial election, defeating

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

MPP Kenneth Bolton by 3,053 votes in Middlesex South. He was re-elected for the redistributed seat of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was appointed to Davis's cabinet 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 ...

on February 13, 1982. He was appointed to the additional position of

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 July 6, 1983. He supported

Dennis Timbrell Dennis Roy Timbrell (born November 13, 1946) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1971 to 1987, and was a Cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Bill Davis and Frank Mil ...

to succeed Davis as party leader in January 1985, and was dropped from cabinet when

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...

became

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. The Conservatives suffered an electoral setback in the 1985 election under Miller's leadership. Eaton was personally defeated, losing to

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

Doug Reycraft Douglas Richard Reycraft (born March 9, 1943) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990 who represented the southwestern Ontario riding of Middlesex. From 2001 to ...

by 810 votes.

Cabinet positions

Later life

After leaving politics, he continued his farm operation, specializing in Hereford cattle, and launched his a real estate company, Royal LePage Landco Realty, with agents in Woodstock, Ingersoll, London and St. Thomas. Eaton served as the President of Woodstock and Ingersoll Real Estate Board. During his last years, Eaton was an advocate for cancer patients, pushing for cancer drug coverage under OHIP. Eaton died in January 2009, after a battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.

References

External links

Tribute in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
June 2, 2010. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Robert 1937 births 2009 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Ontario People from Woodstock, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs