David Christopherson

David Christopherson MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Hamilton Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office 2004
Preceded by	new riding
Member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for Hamilton West
In office 1999–2003
Preceded by	Lillian Ross
Succeeded by	Judy Marsales
Member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for Hamilton Centre
In office 1990–1999
Preceded by	Lily Oddie
Succeeded by	riding abolished
Personal details
Born	October 5, 1954 (1954-10-05) (age 57) Hamilton, Ontario
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	(divorced)
Residence	Hamilton, Ontario
Profession	director, political assistant, union officer

David Christopherson (born October 5, 1954) is a Canadian politician. Since 2004, he has represented the riding of Hamilton Centre in the Canadian House of Commons. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister in the provincial government of Bob Rae. Christopherson is a member of the New Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Christopherson was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He is self-educated, having dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. A voracious reader, he is a particular fan of books on politics. He began working with International Harvester in Hamilton at age 19, and remained with the company for eleven years. He was active with the United Auto Workers union, becoming plant chairman in 1978 and president of the Local 525 in 1979.^[1]

Christopherson campaigned in Hamilton East in the 1984 federal election, finishing second against Liberal candidate Sheila Copps. He was elected to Hamilton City Council the following year for the city's fourth ward, and re-elected in 1988. Christopherson became chairman of Hamilton's licencing committee, and made a concerted effort to reform the city's notorious regulatory practices.^[2] He developed a reputation on as a hard worker, and was one of three councillors to decline a pay increase in 1988.^[3]

Christopherson was also a constituency assistant for NDP Member of Parliament (MP) Ian Deans in the mid-1980s.^[4] He sought the NDP nomination for Hamilton Mountain after Deans's retirement in 1986, but lost to Marion Dewar.^[5]

Member of Provincial Parliament

Government backbencher

Christopherson was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1990 provincial election, defeating Liberal cabinet minister Lily Oddie Munro in Hamilton Centre as the NDP won a majority government across the province. He was chair of caucus and parliamentary assistant to Provincial Treasurer Floyd Laughren from 1990 to 1992.^[6]

Cabinet minister

Christopherson was respected by all parties for his legislative work ethic and contributions to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, and was widely considered as one of the most skilled backbenchers in the government caucus.^[7] There was little surprise when he was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Correctional Services on September 23, 1992, notwithstanding that Hamilton already had three representatives in cabinet.

Christopherson's portfolio was extremely challenging, and was described by one journalist as "one of the worst jobs in government". The Correctional Services ministry had previously been damaged by reports of sexual abuse and intimidation involving staff at Ontario jails and training centres, and Christopherson was required to enact substantial internal reforms.^[8] He supported former NDP leader Stephen Lewis's recommendations on race relations in the criminal justice system, and made efforts to address racism in Ontario prisons.^[9]

On February 3, 1993, Christopherson was given additional cabinet responsibilities as Solicitor-General of Ontario.^[10] This was also a difficult portfolio, and Christopherson has since acknowledged that relations between the Rae government and Ontario police services were extremely tense when he entered the ministry. He has been credited with improving this situation, winning the respect of many in the police community. Julian Fantino, then an executive member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, commented that there was "marked improvement" in relations following Christopherson's appointment.^[11]

Christopherson allowed semi-automatic weapons to be issued to officers in late 1993.^[12] This was supported by many in the police service, but was criticized by some in the legal community on the grounds that the new weapons were not safer than the .38 models they replaced.^[13] Christopherson also introduced new guidelines for targeting hate crimes, and mandated stricter standards for police investigations of spousal assault.^[14] Early in 1995, he announced that police would soon be given the right to warn the general public about sex offenders released into residential neighbourhoods.^[15]

In May 1994, Christopherson introduced a pilot project to reduce illegal gun ownership in Ontario. For a three-month period, Ontarians were permitted to turn over illegal or unwanted firearms to the police without risking prosecution for illegal possession. The policy was endorsed by the police community.^[16] After three months, the ministry announced that 1,000 pistols and revolvers, 2,000 rifles and shotguns and over 150,000 rounds of ammunition had been turned over to the police.^[17]

In addition to his official cabinet portfolios, Christopherson was also responsible for articulating the Rae government's strategy for the proposed Red Hill Creek Expressway in Hamilton. Although he had previously opposed the project for environmental and other reasons, Christopherson argued in 1994 that a scaled-back four-lane highway would be the "best possible compromise" under the circumstances.^[18] The Rae government approved the plan, although it was later rejected by the succeeding ministry.

Christopherson was widely respected for his abilities in cabinet, and often won praise from members of the opposition. Progressive Conservative Bob Runciman credited him for his competence and managerial skills, while Liberal Tim Murphy described him as "the best of a bad bunch".^[11] He served until the defeat of the Rae government in 1995.

Opposition member

The Rae government was defeated in the 1995 election, falling to only seventeen seats out of 130. Christopherson, still personally popular, was narrowly re-elected for Hamilton Centre. He served in the next legislature as NDP critic for labour issues and the Workers' Compensation Board.^[19]

Rae resigned as party leader in 1996, and there was considerable media speculation that Christopherson would run to succeed him. Toronto Star journalist Thomas Walkom indicated that he would be a powerful candidate on the centrist wing of the party, and would likely win the support of pro-Rae trade unions such as the Steelworkers.^[20] He decided against running and gave his support to Howard Hampton, the eventual winner.^[21]

Christopherson was a prominent supporter of Hamilton's amalgamation with neighbouring municipalities in the late 1990s.^[22] The policy, which was supported by some members of all three major parties, was enacted by the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris in 2000. Christopherson considered leaving politics to run for the leadership of the Ontario Federation of Labour in 1997, but ultimately declined.^[23]

The Hamilton Centre riding was eliminated by redistribution in 1996, and Christopherson chose to contest the expanded riding of Hamilton West for the 1999 provincial election against incumbent Progressive Conservative Lillian Ross. He was re-elected, and became one of only nine New Democrats returned to the reduced 103-seat legislature. He served as his party's Finance and Labour Critic, and was appointed as House Leader.^[24] He considered campaigning for Mayor of Hamilton in 2000, but reluctantly declined.^[25]

Christopherson resigned as NDP House Leader in 2001, amid rumours of a rift with Hampton.^[26] He continued to serve as his party's critic for Consumer and Business Services and the Management Board of Cabinet, and was a deputy speaker in the legislature from 2001 to 2003.

Mayoral campaign

Christopherson did not seek re-election to the legislature in 2003. He instead campaigned for mayor of Hamilton in that year's municipal campaign. He promised to reform the city's disclosure laws, requiring municipal politicians to declare their assets, debts and holdings.^[27] He also spoke out against plans to build an incinerator in the city for waste disposal.^[28] He was supported by two teachers' unions and the city firefighters' union, as well as by Liberal MPP Dominic Agostino from Hamilton East. Initially considered the frontrunner, he was ultimately defeated by rival candidate Larry Di Ianni. Hamilton's amalgamation with the more right-leaning suburbs was a factor, as was Christopherson's opposition to a revised Red Hill Expressway.^[29]

Federal politician

Christopherson returned to political life a few months later, defeating Liberal cabinet minister Stan Keyes to win the Hamilton Centre riding in the 2004 federal election. The Liberal Party won a minority government, and Christopherson served as NDP critic for cities, community infrastructure, labour and steel policy in the 38th parliament. He was part of a Canadian delegation that observed presidential elections in Ukraine in late 2004.^[30]

He was re-elected in the 2006 federal election with an increased majority, as the Conservatives won a minority government nationally. In May 2006, he called for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police rather than the government to investigate a leak of the Auditor General's report into the Canadian gun registry. Christopherson suspected that someone connected to the government may have been responsible for the leak, given its "self-serving" nature.^[31] He has also criticized the previous Liberal government for allowing billions in unpaid tax monies to remain uncollected.^[32]

Christopherson was re-elected to his federal seat again in the 2008 federal election.

Christopherson is often described as a pragmatic politician. He once said that he has never been a "hard-line ideologue", but "the NDP is where I'm most comfortable."^[11]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democrat	David Christopherson	23,849	57.0	+7.7	-
	Conservative	James Byron	11,020	26.4	+4.1	-
	Liberal	Anne Tennier	5,912	14.1	-3.5	-
	Marijuana	Michael Baldasaro	780	1.9	n/a	-
	Marxist–Leninist	Lisa Nussey	252	0.6	+0.3	-
Total valid votes			41,813	100.0	-
Total rejected ballots			320	0.8
Turnout			42,133	54.7
Eligible voters			77,077

Canadian federal election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democrat	David Christopherson	20,010	49.3%	-18.3%
	Conservative	Leon O'Connor	9,051	22.3%	-9.2%
	Liberal	Helen Wilson	7,164	17.6%	-36.2%
	Green	John Livingstone	3,625	8.9%	+44.2%
	Libertarian	Anthony Giles	528	1.3%
	Marxist–Leninist	Lisa Nussey	126	0.3%
	Communist	Ryan Sparrow	125	0.3%
Total valid votes			40,629	100.0%
Total rejected ballots			247	0.6%
Turnout			40,876	50.9%

2006 federal election : Hamilton Centre edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic Party	(x)David Christopherson	24,503	51.29	$79,917.66
	Liberal	Javid Mirza	11,224	23.49	$71,436.13
	Conservative	Eliot Lewis Hill	9,696	20.29
	Green	John Livingstone	2,022	4.23	$1,353.15
	Canadian Action Party	Tony Des Lauriers	332	0.69
Total valid votes			47,777	100.00
Total rejected ballots			279
Turnout			48,056	59.21
Electors on the lists			81,161

Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

2004 federal election : Hamilton Centre edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic Party	David Christopherson	20,321	45.81	$72,723.37
	Liberal	(x)Stan Keyes	14,948	33.70	$71,403.14
	Conservative	Leon Patrick O'Connor	6,714	15.13	$25,596.37
	Green	Anne Marie Pavlov	1,422	3.21	$1,174.56
	Christian Heritage	Stephen Downey	520	1.17	$1,581.38
	Independent	Michael James Baldasaro	345	0.78	$413.20
	Marxist-Leninist	Jamilé Ghaddar	91	0.21	$10.00
Total valid votes			44,361	100.00
Total rejected ballots			328
Turnout			44,689	55.32
Turnout			80,778

Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000. Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

2003 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election, Mayoredit

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Larry Di Ianni	70,539	50.92
David Christopherson	54,298	39.20
Dick Wildeman	4,462	3.22
Michael Peters	3,270	2.36
Tom Murray	2,881	2.08
Michael Baldasaro	2,569	1.85
Matt Jelly	510	0.37
Total valid votes	138,529	100.00

1999 Ontario provincial election : Hamilton West edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic Party	(x)David Christopherson	15,625	37.84	$63,891.36
	Progressive Conservative	(x)Lillian Ross	12,261	29.70	$58,588.68
	Liberal	Frank D'Amico	12,037	29.15	$48,994.28
	Green	Phyllis McColl	495	1.20	$6,090.89
	Family Coalition	Lynne Scime	403	0.98	$1,100.80
	Ind. (Marxist-Leninist)	Wendell Fields	236	0.57	$0.00
	Natural Law	Rita Rassenberg	231	0.56	$0.00
Total valid votes			41,288	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			549
Turnout			41,837	57.87
Electors on the lists			72,295

1995 Ontario provincial election : Hamilton Centre edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic Party	(x)David Christopherson	8,012	36.81	$40,543.33
	Liberal	Filomena Tassi	7,322	33.64	$34,483.85
	Progressive Conservative	Angie Tomasic	5,723	26.30	$18,222.88
	Family Coalition	Tom Wigglesworth	376	1.73	$1,548.28
	Natural Law	Monique Poudrette	331	1.52	$0.00
Total valid votes			21,764	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			372
Turnout			22,136	54.71
Electors on the lists			40,459

1990 Ontario provincial election : Hamilton Centre edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic Party	David Christopherson	14,029	55.32
	Liberal	(x)Lily Oddie Munro	7,814	30.81
	Progressive Conservative	Graham Snelgrove	2,116	8.34
	Green	Brent Monkley	605	2.39
	Libertarian	Julien Frost	429	1.69
	Family Coalition	Jewell Wolgram	365	1.44
Total valid votes			25,358	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			446
Turnout			25,804	59.78
Electors on the lists			43,166

1988 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election, Council, Ward Four (two members)edit

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
(x)Geraldine Copps	8,174	44.07
(x)David Christopherson	8,055	43.43
Bob Fanjoy	2,319	12.50
Total valid votes	18,548	100.00

Electors could vote for two candidates.
The percentages are determined in relation to the total number of votes.
Results taken from the Hamilton Spectator, 5 November 1991.

1985 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election, Council, Ward Four (two members)edit

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Geraldine Copps	elected	.
David Christopherson	elected	.
(x)Don Gray	defeated	.
(x)Vince Scott	defeated	.
Total valid votes	.	.

Electors could vote for two candidates.

1984 federal election : Hamilton East edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	+/-
	Liberal	Sheila Copps	14,533	37.88
	New Democratic Party	David Christopherson	11,872	30.95
	Progressive Conservative	Jack MacDonald	11,711	30.53
	Social Credit	Vince G. Vostrez	102	0.27
	Communist	Elizabeth Rowley	87	0.23
	Commonwealth	Ken Perry	59	0.15
Total valid votes			38,364	100.00
Total rejected ballots			348
Turnout			38,712	74.87
Electors on the lists			51,705

All federal election information is taken from Elections Canada. All provincial election information is taken from Elections Ontario. The 2003 municipal election results are taken from official results provided by the City of Hamilton, available here. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

The 1999 provincial expenditure entries are taken from official candidate reports as listed by Elections Ontario. The figures cited are the Total Candidate's Campaign Expenses Subject to Limitation, and include transfers from constituency associations.

Table of offices held

Provincial Government of Bob Rae
Cabinet Posts (2)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Allan Pilkey	Solicitor-General 1993—1995	Bob Runciman
Allan Pilkey	Minister of Correctional Services 1992—1995	Bob Runciman

Parliament of Canada
Preceded by riding created in 2004	MP for Hamilton Centre 2004-	Succeeded by incumbent
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Preceded by Lillian Ross	MPP for Hamilton West 1999-2003	Succeeded by Judy Marsales
Preceded by Lily Oddie Munro	MPP for Hamilton Centre 1990-1999	Succeeded by riding abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Don Gray and Vince Scott	Hamilton City Councillor, Ward Four (with Geraldine Copps) 1985-1990	Succeeded by Geraldine Copps and Dave Wilson

External links

• David Christopherson - Parliament of Canada biography
• David Chistopherson, page on NDP website
• How'd They Vote?: David Christopherson's voting history and quotes
• Legislative Assembly of Ontario biography

Footnotes

1. ^ Jill Morrison, "Great expectations", Hamilton Spectator, 13 February 1993, B3.
2. ^ Terry Cooke, "Licensing mess could consume council term", Hamilton Spectator, 10 February 2007, A19.
3. ^ "3 Hamilton aldermen refuse pay raise", Globe and Mail, 28 April 1988, A22.
4. ^ "Political infighting erupts in race for Deans' Hamilton riding", Toronto Star, 19 January 1987, A8.
5. ^ "Dewar wins Hamilton nomination", Globe and Mail, 24 January 1987, A5.
6. ^ Emilia Cassella, "Sunday shopping", Hamilton Spectator, 13 May 1992, A1; Emilia Cassella, "NDP betting on optimistic projections", Hamilton Spectator, 1 May 1992, A1.
7. ^ Emilia Cassella, "Christopherson touted for NDP cabinet shuffle", Hamilton Spectator, 14 August 1992, A1.
8. ^ Richard Mackie, "Critics brand cabinet shuffle 'damage control'", Globe and Mail, 24 September 1992, A7 and "Hiring, Property and Internal Investigations", Hamilton Spectator, 22 July 1993, B4.
9. ^ "Ontario unveils policy for police race relations", Globe and Mail, 6 April 1993, A12; Sean Fine, "Prison racism rampant, panel finds", Globe and Mail, 2 February 1994, A5.
10. ^ "Rae shuffles deck", Hamilton Spectator, 3 February 1993, A1.
11. ^ ^{a b c} Richard Brennan, "Street smarts", Hamilton Spectator, 28 December 1994, B3.
12. ^ "New guns for police estimated at $17M", Financial Post, 22 October 1993, p. 51. See also "Solicitor General announces new handgun and training for police", Canada NewsWire, 27 January 1994.
13. ^ Robert Sheppard, "Ready, aim and hope for the best", Globe and Mail, 31 January 1994, A11.
14. ^ "Guidelines on hate crimes issued", Globe and Mail, 23 July 1993, A4; "Hate crime, wife assault crackdown launched", Financial Post, 20 January 1994, p. 55.
15. ^ "Sex offender warnings", Globe and Mail, 10 February 1995, A2.
16. ^ Amber Nasrulla, "Firearms amnesty launched", Globe and Mail, 17 May 1994, A4 and Ross Longbottom, "Amnesty for guns way to safer streets", Hamilton Spectator, 17 May 1994, B3.
17. ^ "Success of province-wide firearms program", Canada NewsWire, 1 September 1994.
18. ^ Emilia Cassella, "Too little, too late say PCs, Grits", Hamilton Spectator, 3 March 1994, B2; Sharon Oosthoek, "Friends of valley road embrace", Hamilton Spectator, 22 March 1994, B1.
19. ^ Lee Prokaska, "Critics lambast WCB cuts", Hamilton Spectator, 26 July 1995, B3.
20. ^ Thomas Walkom, "NDP needs an identity as well as a leader", Toronto Star, 16 January 1996, A15.
21. ^ "Hampton to seek NDP leadership", Globe and Mail, 20 February 1996, A11.
22. ^ "Just one MPP opposes H-W supercity", Hamilton Spectator, 4 December 1996, A11.
23. ^ "Race for top post reveals crack in house of labour", Toronto Star, 1 November 1997, p. 1.
24. ^ "Hampton announces critic portfolios", Canada NewsWire, 28 June 1999, 15:14 report.
25. ^ Eric Mcguinness, "Morrow throws his hat into the ring", Hamilton Spectator, 31 May 2000, A01.
26. ^ Richard Brennan, "Signs of rift in NDP as house leader quits", 19 April 2001, A11.
27. ^ Chinta Puxley, "Mayoral hopeful pushes disclosure rule", Hamilton Spectator, 16 June 2003.
28. ^ Fred Vallance-Jones, "Incinerator fuels mayoral clash", Hamilton Spectator, 8 September 2003, A04.
29. ^ "Expressway dispute", Broadcast News, 12 November 2003, 03:24 report.
30. ^ "Hamilton New Democrat M-P David Christopherson is heading to Ukraine for Christmas", Broadcast News, 17 December 2004, 03:58 report.
31. ^ "Who leaked Fraser's report? Harper to probe", Winnipeg Free Press, 13 May 2006, A11.
32. ^ Carly Weeks, "Agency lets billions in tax money slip away: Problems reported in 1994 never fixed", Ottawa Citizen, 17 May 2006, A5.

Persondata
Name	Christopherson, David
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 October 1954
Place of birth	Hamilton, Ontario
Date of death
Place of death