Lily Oddie (September 27, 1937 – April 6, 2021), formerly known as Lily Munro, was a former provincial

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. She is best known for having been involved in a fundraising scandal involving Patti Starr. Oddie married prominent Liberal politician John Munro on June 27, 1978, and took his surname. John Munro's career would also be undone by scandal in the 1980s, although he was later exonerated of any wrongdoing. The couple would later divorce, at which time Oddie returned to using her original name. Oddie died at St. Peter's Hospital in

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, on April 6, 2021.

Background

Lily Oddie was educated at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

and

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in Halifax,

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, where she earned a Ph.D. She worked as a psychologist after her graduation and was a member of the Psychologists Association of Alberta, the American Education Research Association, the Canadian Association for Adult Education, the Hamilton Status of Women Committee, the Hamilton-Wentworth Industrial-Education Council, and Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Intern and the Year of the Child Committee. Oddie was involved with several organizations including the Hamilton Status of Women, the Canadian Association for Adult Education and the American Education Research Association. Oddie was the director of the McMaster University School of Adult Education prior to her election to the Ontario Provincial Legislature.

Politics

Oddie first ran for 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 ...

in a

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on December 13, 1984. A Liberal, she lost

Sheila Copps Sheila Maureen Copps (born November 27, 1952) is a former Canadian politician who also served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to April 30, 1996, and June 19, 1996, to June 11, 1997. Her father, Victor Copps, ...

's former riding of Hamilton Centre to Mike Davison of the

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by 55 votes. She ran again for the Liberals in the 1985 provincial election. This election was a watershed moment in Ontario politics, as the Progressive Conservative Party which had governed Ontario since 1943 was brought to a precarious

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

status under

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's leadership. The

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

under

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Back ...

dramatically increased the size of their caucus, and Oddie defeated Davison by 384 votes in a rematch from the previous year. The Liberals formed a minority government after the election, with assistance from the

Ontario NDP The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Ontario, political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. I ...

. Oddie was appointed Minister of Citizenship and Culture on June 26, 1985. She was re-elected with an increased majority in the 1987 provincial election, and was named Minister of Culture and Communications on September 29, 1987. On August 2, 1989, Oddie was dropped from cabinet after being implicated in the Patti Starr affair. Starr had been accused of improperly diverting money from the

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section of the

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to the Liberal Party, following donations to the NCJW from corporations linked to the

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company of developers (to which Starr was also linked). In the course of investigations surrounding the scandal, it was revealed that Oddie had made use of such donations in her 1987 campaign. Oddie was not formally accused of wrongdoing, and it is unclear if she had any involvement in the scandal beyond accepting contributions from Starr. Nonetheless, the controversy was deemed significant enough that she resign her portfolio. She ran for re-election in the 1990 provincial election, but was defeated by

David Christopherson David Christopherson (born October 5, 1954) is a Canadian politician. From 2004 until 2019, he represented the riding of Hamilton Centre in the House of Commons of Canada. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 t ...

of the NDP.

Peterson cabinet

Later career

After leaving politics, Oddie worked at the St. Catharines, Ontario YWCA as well as Orlick Industries. She was then appointed an adjudicator to the Refugee Protection Division of the

Immigration and Refugee Board The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (or IRB; , CISR), established in 1989 by an Act of Parliament, is an independent administrative tribunal that is responsible for making decisions on immigration and refugee matters. As one of their resp ...

. In 2008, she was appointed to the council of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Oddie was also on the board of governors for

Mohawk College Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public college of applied arts and technology located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1966, the college currently has five main campuses: the Fennell Campus on the Hamilton Mount ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oddie, Lily 1937 births 2021 deaths Women government ministers of Canada Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario Women MPPs in Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century Canadian women politicians