Marion Boyd: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1946–2022)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Marion Boyd

| successor1 = ''Riding abolished''

| constituency1 = [[London Centre]]

| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|03|26}}

| birth_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada

}}

 

 

==Early life==

 

==Politics==

Boyd sought a rematch against Peterson in the [[1990 Ontario general election|1990 provincial election]]. This time she won, defeating the Premier by more than 8,000 votes.<ref name="1990 Election Results">{{cite news|title=Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=September 7, 1990|page=A12}}</ref> It was almost unheard of for a provincial premier to be defeated in his own riding, and the size of Boyd's victory was all the more surprising. The NDP won the election, and the new Premier, [[Bob Rae]], appointed her as [[Minister of Education (Ontario)|Minister of Education]] on October 1, 1990.<ref name="1990RaeCabinet">{{cite news |title=Ontario cabinet|newspaper=The Windsor Star|date=October 1, 1990 |page=A4}}</ref>

 

 

Boyd was promoted to [[Attorney General of Ontario]] on February 3, 1993, the first woman to hold that position as well as the first non-lawyer.<ref name="1993RaeCabinet">{{cite news|title=Rae chops 10 ministries 'leaner' cabinet sworn in|first=William|last=Walker|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=February 3, 1993|page=A1}}</ref> In this capacity she was responsible for the [[Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act]] (Bill 167), that would have provided same-sex couples with rights and obligations mostly equal to those of opposite-sex [[Common-law marriage|common law couples]].<ref>{{cite news|title=NDP bill to grant more spousal rights to same-sex couples|first=Bruce|last=DeMara|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=June 11, 1993|page=A1}}</ref> The bill failed on a [[free vote]] when twelve NDP members voted with the opposition parties against the bill.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ontario rejects same-sex bill; Angry gay activists shout 'shame' after compromise defeated|last=Powell|first=Betsy |newspaper=The Gazette|date=June 10, 1994|page=A1}}</ref> The bill's failure was a personal disappointment for Boyd, who had invested considerable effort in promoting its passage. The Progressive Conservative Party, which voted unanimously against Bill 167, formed government after the next election and ultimately passed similar legislation five years later when required by the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]'s ruling in ''[[M v H]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Same-sex couples granted new rights; Bill's passage follows order by top court to end discrimination|last=Mallan|first=Caroline|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=October 28, 1999|page=1}}</ref>

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1988|percent=yes|change=yes}}

{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|[[Joe Fontana]]|19,547|37.7% |+11.8%}}

{{end}}

<small>Source:<ref>{{cite web|title=Profile – London East, Ontario (1968-04-23 – 1997-04-26)|url=https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/ElectionsRidings/Ridings/Profile?OrganizationId=4934|accessdate=October 14, 2022|publisher=Library of Parliament|location=Ottawa, Canada}}</ref></small>

{{Election box begin | title=[[1985 Ontario general election]]}}

{{CANelec|ON|Liberal|Ronald Van Horne|20,536|54.4%|+4.8%}}

{{CANelec|ON|NDP|'''Marion Boyd'''|5,191|13.8%|+1.4%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Freedom|Robert Smeenk|566|1.5%|+1.5%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Liberal|[[David Peterson]]|18,194|55.2%|+0.4%}}

{{CANelec|ON|NDP|'''Marion Boyd'''|9,266|28.1%|+11.0%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Family Coalition|Brenda Rowe|695|2.1%|+2.1%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Freedom|Lloyd Walker|589|1.8%|+0.2%}}

{{Election box begin | title=[[1990 Ontario general election]]}}

{{CANelec|ON|NDP|'''Marion Boyd'''|17,837|51.3%|+23.2%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Progressive Conservatives|Mark Handelman|5,348|15.4%|+3.7%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Family Coalition|John Van Geldersen|982|2.8%|+0.7%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Independent|Terry Smart|375|0.8%|+0.8%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Communist|Issam Mansour|84|0.2%|+0.2%}}

 

{{Election box begin | title=[[1995 Ontario general election]]}}

{{CANelec|ON|Progressive Conservatives|Patrick McGuinness|9,364|31.0%|+15.6%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Family Coalition|Mike Dwyer|1,041|3.5%|+0.7%}}

{{CANelec |ON |Green |Jeff Culbert |533 |1.8% |+1.8%}}

 

==After politics==

 

In December 2003, it came to light that religious tribunals had some legal basis under the Arbitration Act. Some argued that this interpretation allowed for Muslim [[Sharia]] law to be applied in settling family disputes.<ref name="CWS2006">{{cite journal|title=Arbitration and Family Laws: Muslim Women Campaign to Eliminate the Use of Religious Laws in Legally-Binding Arbitration|last=Hogben|first=Alia|journal=Canadian Woman Studies|volume=25|issue=Summer 2006|pages=133–136}}</ref> In the spring of 2004, the issue flared up even more with some claiming that the use of Sharia law tribunals was infringing on the rights of Muslim women.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ontario sharia tribunals assailed; Women fighting use of Islamic law But backers say rights protected|last=Hurst|first=Lynda|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=May 22, 2004|page=A1}}</ref> In the summer of 2004, Premier [[Dalton McGuinty]] asked Boyd to investigate the issue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Attorney General And Women's Issues Minister To Review Arbitrations Processes|url=https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/25409/former-attorney-general-and-womens-issues-minister-to-review-arbitrations-processes|date=June 25, 2004|accessdate=October 14, 2022|publisher=Government of Ontario}}</ref>

[[Category:1946 births]]

[[Category:2022 deaths]]

[[Category:20th-century Canadian women politicians]]

[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of Ontario]]

[[Category:Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs]]

[[Category:Politicians from London, Ontario]]

[[Category:Politicians from Toronto]]

[[Category:Women MPPs in Ontario]]