Steven W. Mahoney, (born 18 July 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician. He was a 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 1987 to 1995, and a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1997 to 2004. In the latter capacity, he served for eight months as a minor

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the government of

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

. Mahoney is a member of 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 ...

Background

Mahoney was educated at Richview Collegiate in Etobicoke, Toronto. From 1978 to 1987, he served as a councillor on the

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

City Council and the Regional Council of

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

Provincial politics

Mahoney was first elected to the

Ontario legislature 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 the 1987 provincial election, defeating his closest opponent by over 14,000 votes in the newly created riding of

Mississauga West Mississauga West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2003. It was located in the city of Mississauga in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1987 from Mississauga North rid ...

. For the next three years, he served as a backbench

Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Pro ...

(MPP) supporting the government of

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 ...

. The Liberals lost the 1990 provincial election, though Mahoney was re-elected without difficulty and became Chief

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. He ran 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 ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, although he had only a minimal support base within the party. Most political observers believed he was attempting to increase his public profile, to be assured of a cabinet position when the Liberals returned to power. He was generally regarded as being on the right-wing of the party during this campaign. Mahoney placed fifth out of six candidates on the first ballot of the convention. He withdrew from the contest after the second ballot, and endorsed

Lyn McLeod Lyn McLeod (born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 2003. McLeod was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of David Peterson from 1987 to 1990, and served as leade ...

. (This support was pivotal to McLeod's victory on the fifth ballot, as she defeated runner-up

Murray Elston Murray John Elston (born October 8, 1949) is a former politician in Ontario Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1994 who represented the central Ontario ridings of Huron—Bruce and Bruce. He was ...

by only nine votes.)

Federal politics

The Progressive Conservative Party won a majority government in the 1995 election and Mahoney was narrowly defeated in Mississauga West by PC candidate

Rob Sampson Rob Sampson (born October 27, 1955) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris. Backgr ...

. He switched to federal politics two years later, and was easily elected to the Canadian House of Commons for Mississauga West in the 1997 federal election, defeating his nearest opponent by over 21,000 votes. He scored an equally easy victory in the 2000 federal election. Mahoney supported

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

in the 1990 federal Liberal leadership convention, but subsequently opposed efforts by other Martin supporters to remove Jean Chrétien from the leadership position. During his time in parliament, he was considered a Chrétien loyalist. On 11 April 2003 Chrétien appointed Mahoney Secretary of State for selected

Crown Corporations Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

. His primary responsibility was the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and he was generally regarded as minister responsible for affordable housing. Mahoney was demoted to the

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

es again when

became

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

on 11 December 2003. As a result of redistribution, Mahoney was forced to run against fellow Liberal Member of Parliament

Carolyn Parrish Carolyn Parrish (born Karolina Janozeski; October 3, 1946) is a Canadian politician who has been the 7th and current mayor of Mississauga since June 24, 2024. Parrish previously served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP ...

for the Liberal nomination in

Mississauga—Erindale Mississauga—Erindale was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2015. It was created in 2003 from parts of Mississauga Centre and Mississauga West ridings. In ...

in the 2004 federal election. Parrish was often criticized in the Canadian media for making statements that were interpreted as anti-American, while Mahoney frequently condemned anti-American rhetoric during his time in the Commons. On 27 February 2003, he ended one spoken-word intervention by yelling "God Bless America". Parrish defeated Mahoney for the nomination, 2,165 votes to 1,925. After losing the contest, Mahoney told reporters that Parrish was "so low in the gutter that it's a shame that she's standing to represent the Liberal party".

Later life

In 2006, Mahoney was appointed Chair of the

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is the workplace compensation board for provincially regulated workplaces in Ontario, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces a ...

of Ontario. He announced his retirement in March 2012, and

Elizabeth Witmer Elizabeth Witmer (née Gosar; born October 16, 1946) is a former Deputy Premier of Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 until 2012, representing Waterloo North (provincial electoral district), Wate ...

was appointed as his successor. On 17 March 2014, Mahoney announced his candidacy to replace the retiring long-serving Mayor of

Hazel McCallion Hazel Mary Muriel McCallion (; February 14, 1921 – January 29, 2023) was a Canadian politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga. First elected in November 1978, McCallion was mayor for 36 years until her retirement in 2014, makin ...

, in the 2014 municipal elections. He placed second in the election, losing to former MP and City Councillor

Bonnie Crombie Bonnie-Michelle Teresa Bernadette Stack Sawarna Crombie ( Stack, formerly Sawarna; born February 5, 1960) is a Canadian politician and businesswoman who has been the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party since December 2, 2023. Crombie previousl ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahoney, Steve 1947 births Canadian people of Irish descent Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada