Patrick "Pat" Michael Hayes (October 26, 1942 - May 2, 2011) was a politician in

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. He served as a New Democratic 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 1985 to 1987, and again from 1990 to 1995.

Background

Hayes was born in

Maidstone Township, Ontario Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

. He was the 13th child in a family of 18 children. He did not complete high school, instead he got a job at

Ford Motors Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobil ...

. Hayes reflected on his early life choices. He said, "When I was a teenager it was one of those cases where if you wanted a new pair of pants, or shoes, you had to go to work for them." By the time he was 25 he was plant health and safety representative for the

Canadian Auto Workers The National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada, commonly known as the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), was one of Canada's largest labour unions. In 2013, it merged with the Communications, Energy and Paperwork ...

. He lived in

Essex County, Ontario Essex County is a primarily rural county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising seven municipalities: Amherstburg, Kingsville, Ontario, Kingsville, Lakeshore, Ontario, Lakeshore, LaSalle, Ontario, LaSalle, Leamington, Ontario, Leamington, Tec ...

where he and his wife Rose Claire raised five children.

Provincial politics

Hayes was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Jack Morris by about 1,300 votes in Essex North. He served as the NDP critic for Transportation and Communications, Tourism and Recreation, and Agriculture in the parliament that followed. The Liberals won a landslide majority in the 1987 provincial election, and Hayes his seat lost to Liberal MPP Jim McGuigan, by 1,063 votes in the redistributed riding of

Essex—Kent Essex—Kent was a federal electoral district in Ontario that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1997. It was created in 1976 from parts of Essex—Windsor, Kent—Essex and Lambton—Kent ridings, and initially ...

. He ran against McGuigan again in the 1990 election, this time defeating him by 5,890 votes amid a provincial victory for the NDP under

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 ...

. He served as

Parliamentary Assistant In British politics and some Commonwealth nations, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan staff member employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work ...

to the Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1990 to 1993, and to the Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1993 to 1995. In 1994, Hayes was one of twelve NDP members to vote against Bill 167, a bill extending financial benefits to same-sex partners. Premier

allowed a free vote on the bill which allowed members of his party to vote with their conscience. By the 2003 campaign, he had changed his mind on this issue. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Hayes finished third, 2,293 votes behind the winning candidate, Liberal Pat Hoy. He sought a return to the legislature in the 2003 provincial election, but, although he was generally seen as a strong candidate, he lost to Liberal incumbent

Bruce Crozier Bruce Crozier (June 26, 1938 – June 3, 2011) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the ridings of Essex South and Essex for the Ontario Liberal Party. Background Crozier ...

by about 8,000 votes in the riding of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Municipal politics

Hayes was mayor of

Lakeshore, Ontario Lakeshore is a municipality on Lake Saint Clair (North America), Lake St. Clair, in Essex County, Ontario, Essex County, Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1999 by amalgamating the Town of Belle River with the township (Canada), townships o ...

from 1997 to 2003, and was generally regarded as a popular figure within that community. He managed the campaign of

Taras Natyshak Taras Natyshak (born October 12, 1977) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2011 to 2022, representing the riding of Essex. Background Natyshak was born in Essex C ...

, a family friend and NDP candidate in

in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections.

Later life

Hayes died in 2011 after a long battle with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. He is buried in St. Mary`s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Essex County, Ontario.

References

External links

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Tribute in the Legislative Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Patrick Michael 1943 births 2011 deaths Canadian Auto Workers people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from Essex County, Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario 21st-century mayors of places in Ontario