Karen Haslam (born April 19, 1946) is a former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She was a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1990 to 1995 and served as a minister in the government of

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

. From 2000 to 2003, she served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River (Ontario), Avon River within Perth County, Ontario, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population of 33,232 in a land area of . Stratford is the County seat, s ...

Background

Haslam was a teacher and librarian before entering public life. She was elected as a Rate Payer's trustee in Beaverbank,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in 1984, and as a school board trustee in Stratford in 1987.

Provincial politics

She ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1990 provincial election in the southwestern riding of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. She won the election defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Gerry Teahen by 2,985 votes. The NDP won a majority government and Haslam was appointed as a Deputy

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. On July 31, 1991, she was promoted to cabinet as Minister of Culture and Communications. In October 1991, a humorous incident occurred when Haslam was escorting

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

on a tour of the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

(AGO) when she caught her heel in a door sill and her shoe fell off. Charles gallantly picked it up and offered it back to her. She said, "My gracious, my prince is handing me my shoe... Thank goodness it fits." During her time as minister she established a publishing centre for the book and magazine industry. She also managed a funding shortage that occurred at the AGO. In 1991 the AGO asked for an additional $6 million for its operating grant. Due to financial constraints, Haslam was unable to agree the request. In July 1992 the AGO was planning a three-month closure for a scheduled expansion but instead it closed for seven months and laid off half of its staff. Haslam convened a task force to review the operation of the AGO led by

Glenn Lowry Glenn David Lowry (born September 28, 1954) is an American art historian and director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City since 1995. His initiatives there include strengthening MoMA's contemporary art program, significantly deve ...

. In November the task force released its findings. If found the operations "basically sound" but the gallery needed to "reduce its dependency on government funding." When the expanded gallery reopened in January 1993, Haslam announced an additional $2 million in funding. On February 3, 1993 she was demoted to junior position in cabinet as

Associate Minister of Health The associate minister of health () was a federal minister of the Crown and a member of the Canadian Cabinet supporting the minister of health. The office was associated with the Department of Health and Public Health Agency of Canada. The posi ...

assisting

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Ruth Grier Ruth Anna Grier (born 2 October 1936) is a former Canadian politician in Ontario. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995 and served as a high-profile cabinet minister in the government of ...

. She subsequently emerged as a prominent opponent of the Rae government's ''

Social Contract In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is an idea, theory, or model that usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Conceptualized in the Age of Enlightenment, it ...

'' austerity legislation, which revised labour contracts and mandated unpaid leave days for many provincial workers. After the government decided to move forward with the legislation, Haslam resigned her cabinet position on June 14, 1993. She was the only cabinet minister in the Rae government to resign on principle over this matter. Later, she joined with maverick NDP MPPs

Peter Kormos Peter Kormos (October 7, 1952 – March 30, 2013) was a politician in Welland, Ontario, Canada. A lawyer by profession, he was first elected as an Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) to the Legislative Asse ...

and Mark Morrow and former New Democrat

Dennis Drainville Dennis Paul Drainville (born February 20, 1954) is a Canadian retired bishop, educator and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1993; later taught humanities and history for 12 years at the Cégep de l ...

to vote against the legislation. Haslam's decision won her the respect of many dissidents within the party. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Haslam lost her own seat to Progressive Conservative Bert Johnson, but she managed a credible second-place finish in a riding where the NDP had little historical support.

Cabinet positions

Municipal politics

In 1999, Haslam supported

Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; ) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well. CUPE is the largest union in Canada, ...

workers in Stratford during a protracted strike in the city. The following year, she scored an upset victory over incumbent Dave Hunt for mayor of the city, winning by 6305 votes to 4228. She was defeated in 2003 in her bid for re-election winning only 12% of the popular vote against two other prominent opponents.

Later life

In October 2005, Haslam took on the position of Provincial Secretary of the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (Nova Scotia NDP) is a social democratic political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial section for the province of the federal New Democratic Party. It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwe ...

. She subsequently resigned in March 2006. Haslam currently serves on the Provincial Conservation Review Board.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haslam, Karen 1946 births Living people Mayors of Stratford, Ontario Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Politicians from St. Catharines Women government ministers of Canada Women mayors of places in Ontario Women MPPs in Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Ontario