Bill Cook (Ontario politician)

Bill Cook is a political activist in Ontario, Canada. In the 2003 provincial election, he was the only candidate of the Reform Association of Ontario, also known as the Independent Reformers. More recently, Cook has formed an unregistered political party called the Representative Party of Ontario, served as its interim leader, but currently was a candidate for and is the deputy leader of the Reform Party of Ontario.

Cook is a full-time farmer who lives near Owen Sound in Grey County, and is 38 years old as of 2005. He is a populist, and advocates "protest politics" initiatives akin to those promoted by the Reform Party of Canada in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (The Representative Party of Ontario uses an "R" symbol very similar to that used by the Reform Party of Canada.)

Cook first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 2003 provincial election, in the rural riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound. Although the Reform Association of Ontario had endorsed several candidates in the 1995 provincial election, none came close to being elected and the unregistered party had been reduced to marginal status by 2003. Cook, the party's sole candidate in the 2003 campaign, received 586 votes (1.31%), and finished last in a field of six candidates. The successful candidate was Bill Murdoch of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

The Reform Association of Ontario seems to have dissolved in 2004. Cook co-founded the Representative Party of Ontario as its successor party in either December 2004 or January 2005. This party has few members, and almost no public profile in the province.

When Ernie Eves resigned as MPP for the rural riding of Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey in early 2005, Cook entered the race to succeed him. According to unofficial results, he received 163 votes (0.6%) and finished sixth out of eight candidates. The successful candidate was John Tory, Eves's successor as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.

During the 2005 by-election, Cook regularly attended candidate meetings wearing a plaid flannel jacket and faded blue jeans, and spoke in a deliberately unpolished manner, almost like the colloquial Red Green. He criticized "big government", "big unions" and "big business" for many of the province's ills, and called for an Ontario Constitution, Bill of Rights and a provincial law enshrining individual and property rights.

Cook supports voter recall for elected representatives, argues that MPPs should take a 5% pay cut until the provincial budget is balanced, and favours referendums on issues such as same-sex marriage. He has called for greater "choice" and "competition", though he states he is against full privatization. Cook has also advocated greater provincial input over Canada's immigration policy, and reduced provincial spending on francophone affairs.

As a farmer, Cook has also promoted agricultural issues. He opposes the province's nutrient management act, and has expressed concern that executive decisions by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario in favour of quota purchasing could result in the shutdown of several small farms. He is especially opposed to the province's Greenbelt legislation, and has called for Ontario to adopt a subsidization system of farm support like that used in Quebec.