Michael Morris Cassidy (born May 10, 1937) is a

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politician. He served in 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 1971 to 1984, and in the

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from 1984 to 1988. Cassidy was the leader of the

New Democratic Party of Ontario The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

from 1978 to 1982.

Background

Cassidy was born in Victoria,

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 ...

, the son of Beatrice Pearce and

Harry Cassidy Harry Cassidy (1900–1951) was a Canadian academic, social reformer, civil servant and, briefly, a politician. Cassidy was born on January 8, 1900, to parents Herbert Cassidy and Maria Morris Cassidy, transplanted Maritimers who ran a general st ...

, who was a founding member of the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; , FCC) was a federal democratic socialism, democratic socialistThe following sources describe the CCF as a democratic socialist political party: * * * * * * and social democracy, social-democ ...

, a one-time candidate for the leadership of 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 ...

, and dean of the School of Social Work at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. After graduating from the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by a written exam ...

, he attended the

University of Trinity College Trinity College (occasionally referred to as the University of Trinity College) is a University of Toronto#Colleges, federated college of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Down ...

in the

, and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Cassidy worked as a journalist before entering political life, and was bureau chief of the ''

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'' in

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for a period.

Politics

Cassidy was elected as an Ottawa

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in January 1970. The following year, he was elected to the Ontario legislature for Ottawa Centre in the 1971 provincial election. Cassidy defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Garry Guzzo, who later served in the legislature from 1995 to 2003, by 182 votes. He did not immediately resign from his council seat, and held both positions until the provincial government banned concurrent tenure in 1972. Focussing on provincial politics, Cassidy was re-elected with an increased majority in the 1975 election, in which the NDP under

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations in the 1980s and was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democr ...

reduced the Conservatives to a

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 ...

and became the official opposition in the legislature. The NDP fell back to third place, behind the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, in the 1977 provincial election, and Lewis resigned as leader the following year. Cassidy entered the contest to succeed him and defeated Ian Deans and Michael Breaugh in February 1978. He had a difficult job following Lewis, who was a charismatic and dynamic figure. Cassidy, by comparison, had a rather dry personality. He was also the most

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

of the three leadership candidates, and was not fully trusted by the party establishment. Cassidy's policy advisor in the leadership campaign was

James Laxer James Robert Laxer (22 December 1941 – 23 February 2018), also known as Jim Laxer, was a Canadian political economist, historian, public intellectual, and political activist who served as a professor at York University. Best known as co-f ...

, a former leader of

The Waffle The Waffle (officially known as the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada after 1972) was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, ...

NDP faction which had separated from the party in 1974. Some members of the NDP caucus considered his election as a serious mistake and encouraged him to resign before contesting an election. Cassidy ignored this advice and remained as leader. The NDP fared poorly in the 1981 election, falling from 33 seats to 21. Their decline allowed the Progressive Conservatives to regain a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...

, while the Liberals neither gained nor lost seats. Cassidy faced a difficult re-election in Ottawa Centre, defeating PC candidate David Small by only 599 votes. He stepped down as leader after the campaign, and was replaced in 1982 by

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 ...

Donald C. MacDonald Donald Cameron MacDonald (December 7, 1913 – March 8, 2008) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. Referred to in the media as the "best Premier of Ontario, premier Ontario never had," he represented the provincial riding of York South ( ...

, another former NDP leader, would later describe Cassidy's leadership as "an unhappy interlude for both him and the party". (MacDonald, ''The Happy Warrior'', p. 186.) Cassidy then resigned as Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in 1984 to enter national politics. He campaigned for the federal

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 ...

in the 1984 election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Dan Chilcott by 54 votes to win the Ottawa Centre riding; two-term Liberal MP John Leslie Evans fell to third place. He served in the

33rd Canadian Parliament The 33rd Canadian Parliament was in session from November 5, 1984, until October 1, 1988. The membership was set by the 1984 federal election on September 4, 1984, and it only changed slightly due to resignations and by-elections prior to bein ...

. He lost his seat in the 1988 election, coming 762 votes behind Liberal challenger

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. Cassidy was appointed to the board of directors of

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity ge ...

in the early 1990s, during Bob Rae's tenure as

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

. He was fired without notice on January 10, 1996 by the Progressive Conservative government of

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC ...

, but was reinstated by a court order on January 19. Cassidy opposed the Harris government's plan to restructure and partially privatize the Crown corporation, and remained a director until 1997.

Electoral record

Later life

In 2005, Cassidy became involved in a battle to protect Tay River and the surrounding area from exploitation by multinational developers. He published an essay on the controversy in October 2005. Cassidy has also operated the Ottawa-based Ginger Group Consultants firm, providing lobbying, strategic planning and public relations work for labour organizations and related groups. He was elected to Council in the Township of Lanark Highlands in 2003 but was defeated in 2006.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Michael 1937 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Canadian socialists Canadian Unitarian Universalists Leaders of the Ontario New Democratic Party Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario New Democratic Party MPs Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Ottawa city councillors Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia Trinity College (Canada) alumni University of Toronto alumni Upper Canada College alumni 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario sv:Michael Cassidy