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Bill Wrye




Wrye was educated at the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto , and worked as a television producer before entering political life.

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1981 Provincial Election , defeating incumbent New Democrat Ted Bounsall by 134 votes in the constituency of Windsor—Sandwich . He was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1985 Election .

After serving in opposition for forty-two years, the Ontario Liberal Party formed a Minority Government following the 1985 election. Wrye, who represented a large working-class constituency, was appointed Minister Of Labour on June 26 , 1985 . As Labour Minister, Wrye brought forward legislation providing automatic yearly adjustments of workers-compensation benefits to the consumer price index.

He defeated George Dadamo of the NDP by 2,353 votes in the 1987 Election , and was named Minister Of Consumer And Commercial Relations on September 29 , 1987 . After a cabinet shuffle on August 2 , 1989 , he was named Minister Of Transportation .

The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the NDP in the 1990 Provincial Election , and Wrye lost his seat to George Dadamo by over 4,000 votes.

Wrye has recently served with the Windsor- Essex County branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association .

Wrye was a party delegate supporting Dwight Duncan at the Liberal Party's 1996 Leadership Convention . After Duncan's elimination, he shifted his allegiance to Gerard Kennedy (''Windsor Star'', 3 December 1996). In 2003 , Wrye was named as executive assistant to Duncan, who was by this time the government house leader and Liberal Member Of Provincial Parliament for Windsor—St. Clair . Ironically, Duncan had once been a member of Wrye's staff.