James Henry "Harry" Bloy (born April 19, 1946) is a retired Canadian politician from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He was a

BC Liberal BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

from 2001 to 2013, representing Burquitlam (2001-2009) and later Burnaby Lougheed (2009-2013). Bloy was notably the only BC Liberal MLA to support

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...

's successful candidacy for party leadership in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. He did not run for reelection in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Early life and education

Bloy was born on April 19, 1946 in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He received a marketing diploma from

Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

Political career

Bloy was an unsuccessful candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party in the 1983 provincial election in the riding of

Burnaby North Burnaby North is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. History MLAs Election results , - , - , - , NDP , Pietro Calendino , align="right", 5,99 ...

. He was first elected to the

in the 2001 election for Burquitlam. He was reelected by a margin of 372 votes in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he was elected to represent the newly-created Burnaby-Loughseed riding, defeating NDP candidate by Jaynie Clark by 696 votes, a margin of 48 to 45%.

Ministerial tenure and controversies

, Bloy was the only member of the Liberal caucus to endorse

's successful candidacy for leader of the BC Liberals. When Clark became premier in March 2011, Bloy was appointed to his first cabinet position as Minister of Social Development. Bloy received scrutiny in this role over his relationship with the press, as well as criticism from BC New Democratic Party politicians over disability assistance funding. Criticism of Bloy as Minister of Social Development centered on a controversy surrounding the closure of group homes for developmentally disabled adults. Bloy was demoted 6 months later by Clark to the position of Minister of State for Multiculturalism, a more junior position in the provincial government. During this appointment, Liberal party members and public servants began work on what resulted in the 2013 Quick Wins ethnic outreach scandal. Bloy announced his resignation from cabinet in March 2012 after admitting he leaked, to a private company, an email the government had received from a newspaper. It was subsequently revealed that Bloy would not run for re-election in the 2013 provincial election.

References

External links

Official Biography from the website of the Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaMLA Web Site of Harry Bloy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloy, Harry BC United MLAs Living people Politicians from Greater Sudbury People from Coquitlam 1946 births People from Burnaby Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Toronto Metropolitan University alumni