Yvonne O'Neill (June 9, 1936 – September 6, 2010) was a politician from Ontario, Canada. She was 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 ...

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. She represented the riding of

Ottawa–Rideau Ottawa–Rideau was a short lived provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ottawa, Ontario. It elected one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It was created in 1987 and was abolished in 1999 into Ottawa South (pro ...

Background

O'Neill was born as Yvonne Anne Bray in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, and was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and the

Ontario College of Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research, located in Toronto, Ontario. It is located directly above the St. George subway sta ...

. She worked as a secondary school teacher from 1958 to 1964, and later served as a trustee on the Carleton Roman Catholic Separate School Board of Education.

Political career

She was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, defeating her Progressive Conservative opponent by more than 6000 votes in the riding of

. The Liberals won a majority government in this election under

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 ...

, and O'Neill 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 Education in 1987–1988. The Liberals were upset by the

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 ...

in the 1990 provincial election, although O'Neill was comfortably re-elected in her own riding. She served as Deputy Opposition

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 ...

from 1990 to 1992, and held a number of official critic positions. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in the 1995 provincial election, and O'Neill lost her riding to Progressive Conservative

Garry Guzzo Garry Guzzo (born November 18, 1941) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003. He represented the ridin ...

by 1,523 votes.

Later life

She went on to serve with Elections Canada as the Federal Returning Officer for the electoral district of Ottawa West Nepean. She died from cancer on September 6, 2010, at the Cumberland Regional Health Centre in Amherst, Nova Scotia at the age of 74. A funeral was held on September 15, 2010, at the St. Augustine's Catholic Church in Ottawa.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Yvonne 1936 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Ontario school board trustees Politicians from Toronto Women MPPs in Ontario