Steven W. Mahoney, (born July 18, 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. He was a member of 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 1987 to 1995, and a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1997 to 2004. In the latter capacity, he served as 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

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

. Mahoney is a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Background

Mahoney was educated at Richview Collegiate in Etobicoke, Toronto. From 1978 to 1987, he served as a councillor on the

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

City Council and the Regional Council of Peel.

Provincial politics

Mahoney was first elected to the

Ontario legislature 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 ...

in the 1987 provincial election, defeating his closest opponent by over 14,000 votes in the newly created riding of

Mississauga West Mississauga West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2003. It was located in the city of Mississauga in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1987 from Mississauga North riding ...

. For the next three years, he served as a backbench Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) supporting 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 ...

. The Liberals lost the 1990 provincial election, though Mahoney was re-elected without difficulty and became Chief

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. He ran for the leadership of the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, although he had only a minimal support base within the party. Most political observers believed he was attempting to increase his public profile, to be assured of a cabinet position when the Liberals returned to power. He was generally regarded as being on the right-wing of the party during this campaign. Mahoney placed fifth out of six candidates on the first ballot of the convention. He withdrew from the contest after the second ballot, and endorsed

Lyn McLeod Lyn McLeod (born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 2003. McLeod was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of David Peterson from 1987 to 1990, and served as leader ...

. (This support was pivotal to McLeod's victory on the fifth ballot, as she defeated runner-up

Murray Elston Murray John Elston (born October 8, 1949) is a former politician in Ontario Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1994 who represented the central Ontario ridings of Huron—Bruce and Bruce. He was ...

by only nine votes.)

Federal politics

The Progressive Conservative Party won a majority government in the 1995 election and Mahoney was narrowly defeated in Mississauga West by PC candidate Rob Sampson. He switched to federal politics two years later, and was easily elected to the Canadian House of Commons for Mississauga West in the 1997 federal election, defeating his nearest opponent by over 21,000 votes. He scored an equally easy victory in the 2000 federal election. Mahoney supported

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

in the 1990 federal Liberal leadership convention, but subsequently opposed efforts by other Martin supporters to remove Jean Chrétien from the leadership position. During his time in parliament, he was considered a Chrétien loyalist. On April 11, 2003 Chrétien appointed Mahoney Secretary of State for selected

Crown Corporations A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

. His primary responsibility was the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and he was generally regarded as minister responsible for affordable housing. Mahoney was demoted to the

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

es again when

became

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

on December 11, 2003. As a result of redistribution, Mahoney was forced to run against fellow Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Carolyn Parrish Carolyn Parrish (born Karolina Janoszewska; October 3, 1946) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the House of Commons from 1993 to 2006 representing ridings in Mississauga, Ontario; initially as a Liberal Party MP, and then a ...

for the Liberal nomination in

Mississauga—Erindale Mississauga—Erindale was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. It was created in 2003 from parts of Mississauga Centre and Mississauga West ridings. In 20 ...

in the 2004 federal election. Parrish was often criticized in the Canadian media for making statements that were interpreted as anti-American, while Mahoney frequently condemned anti-American rhetoric during his time in the Commons. (On February 27, 2003, he ended one spoken-word intervention by yelling "God Bless America".) Parrish defeated Mahoney for the nomination, 2,165 votes to 1,925. After losing the contest, Mahoney told reporters that Parrish was "so low in the gutter that it's a shame that she's standing to represent the Liberal party". Mahoney did not contest in the 2004 election.

Later life

In 2006, Mahoney was appointed Chair of the

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB; french: Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l'assurance contre les accidents du travail, CSPAAT) is the workplace compensation board for provincially regulated workplaces in Ontario ...

of Ontario. He announced his retirement in March 2012.

Elizabeth Witmer Elizabeth Witmer (née Gosar; born October 16, 1946) is a former Deputy Premier of Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 until 2012, representing Waterloo North and later Kitchener—Waterloo as a me ...

has been appointed as his successor. On March 17, 2014, Mahoney announced his candidacy to replace the retiring long-serving Mayor of

Hazel McCallion Hazel McCallion, (; born February 14, 1921) is a Canadian businesswoman and retired politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, from 1978 until 2014. She is the first and current chancellor of Sheridan College. McCallion ...

, in the 2014 municipal elections. He was placed second in the election, losing to former MP and City Councillor

Bonnie Crombie Bonnie Crombie ( Stack, born February 5, 1960) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 6th and current Mayor of Mississauga, Ontario since December 1, 2014. From 2008 to 2011, she was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Missi ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Steve 1947 births Canadian people of Irish descent Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario