- Janet Ecker
Infobox_Politician
name = Janet Ecker
small| caption =
birth_date =October 18 ,1953
birth_place = Simcoe,Ontario
residence =
office1 = MPP for Durham West
term_start1 = 1995
term_end1 = 1999
predecessor1 =Jim Wiseman
successor1 = riding dissolved
constituency1 =
office2 = MPP for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge
term_start2 = 1999
term_end2 = 2003
predecessor2 = first member
successor2 = Wayne Arthurs
constituency2 =
party = Progressive Conservative Party
religion =
occupation = Government workerJanet Ecker (born
October 18 ,1953 in Simcoe,Ontario ) is apolitician inOntario ,Canada . She was a member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and was a seniorcabinet minister in the governments ofMike Harris andErnie Eves .The Early Years
Ecker grew up in Exeter, Ontario. Her father was a family physician in the town, and also owned a hobby farm on the outskirts of the town. The young Janet was fond of horses and spent much of her spare time riding horses and entering competitions. Ecker earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree inJournalism from theUniversity of Western Ontario . In 1985, Ecker served as Director of Communications at the Ontario Treasury. She worked as a Government Relations Consultant with Public Affairs Management from 1987 to 1991, and was Director of Policy for theCollege of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario from 1991 to 1995.Entry into Politics
Ecker was also involved with the
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario during these years. ARed Tory , she supportedLarry Grossman at both of the party's 1985leadership convention s, and served as Assistant Executive Director of the Ontario PC Party from 1985 to 1987.She was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating Liberal
Joe Dickson and incumbent New DemocratJim Wiseman by a significant margin in the riding of Durham West, east ofToronto . She was not initially appointed tocabinet byMike Harris , but was named Minister of Community and Social Services onAugust 16 ,1996 .Re-Election
In the provincial election of 1999, she was re-elected by a comfortable margin in the redistributed riding of Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge. After the election, she was named to the important portfolio of Minister of Education, which she held until
April 14 ,2002 . Ecker also served as GovernmentHouse Leader afterFebruary 8 ,2001 . In 2000, she supportedHugh Segal 's bid for the leadership of the federal Progressive Conservative Party.Ecker's most celebrated controversy as Education Minister was not with the legislative opposition or the teaching community, but with
Jim Flaherty , another cabinet minister in the Mike Harris government. In 2001, Flaherty announced that the government planned to introduce a tax credit for parents choosing to send their children to private and denominational schools. Flaherty's announcement broke a 1999 campaign pledge from Harris not to introduce such legislation. Moreover, he did not consult with Ecker prior to making his statement.Ecker opposed this shift in policy, and according to some accounts was initially prepared to quit cabinet over the issue. She was persuaded to stay, but remained on very poor terms with Flaherty. As a result of this controversy, Ecker became a leading spokesperson for "moderate conservative" positions in her party, against the right-wing views of Flaherty and Harris.
When Harris resigned as party leader in 2002, many anticipated that Ecker would join the contest to replace him. Instead, she supported the candidacy of
Ernie Eves , who won by defeating Flaherty in the second round of balloting. Ecker was named Minister of Finance onApril 15 ,2002 , and became the first female Minister of Finance in Ontario to introduce a provincial budget. (Bette M. Stephenson had served briefly as Minister of Finance in 1985, but did not introduce a budget.) Shortly after being named as Finance Minister, Ecker announced that the Eves government would postpone the previously-announced private-school tax credit.The Magna Budget
In 2003, Ecker delivered her provincial budget at an auto parts factory owned by
Magna International , rather than in the legislature. The move was widely criticized, even by some members of the Progressive Conservative party. Despite her previous opposition, Ecker also re-introduced the private-school tax credit in this budget.Her Defeat
The Eves government was defeated in the provincial election of 2003, and Ecker herself was narrowly defeated by Wayne Arthurs of the Liberal Party.
Her Life Today
Ecker is an Advisor with Tramore Group -- a Toronto-based program management professional services firm. She currently teaches
public administration atQueen's University in Kingston. In 2004, she supportedBelinda Stronach 's unsuccessful campaign to lead the newConservative Party of Canada . She is the current president of theToronto Financial Services Alliance .External links
* [http://www.tramoregroup.com Tramore Group]
* [http://www.ontariopc.com/ Ontario Progressive Conservative Party]
* [http://www.queensu.ca/sps/ Queen's University School of Policy Studies]Preceded by: Jim Flaherty
2001-2002Minister of Finance (Ontario)
2002-2003Succeeded by: Greg Sorbara
2003-2005
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