(
May 14 ,
1927 -
July 21 ,
2000 ) was a
Canadian politician, who served briefly as
Premier of
Ontario in
1985 .
Miller was born in
Toronto , Ontario, and received a degree in engineering from
McGill University in
Montreal . He had a successful career as a professional engineer, car dealer and resort operator before entering politics in
1967 as a member of the
Bracebridge town council, serving until
1970 . In the
1971 Ontario Provincial Election , he ran for election to the
Legislative Assembly Of Ontario in
Muskoka as a
Progressive Conservative , and was elected. He was re-elected in the
1975 ,
1977 and
1981 Elections .
He joined the
Cabinet of Premier
William Davis on
February 26 ,
1974 as
Minister Of Health . He planned to close a number of small hospitals and consolidate urban services after the 1975 election, but withdrew in the face of cabinet opposition. He suffered a heart attack during this period as a result of work-related stress.
Miller became
Minister Of Natural Resources following a cabinet shuffle on
February 3 ,
1977 . On
August 16 ,
1978 , he was promoted to
Treasurer and
Minister Of Economics . He also served as
Minister Of Intergovernmental Affairs from August 16, 1978 to
August 30 ,
1979 . As Treasurer, he opposed the Davis government's
Suncor purchase in
1981 as considered resigning over the issue. After another shuffle on
July 6 ,
1983 , he was named
Minister Of Industry And Trade .
When Davis retired, Miller defeated
Larry Grossman ,
Roy McMurtry and
Dennis Timbrell for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in its
January 1985 Leadership Convention . His supporters included
Bette Stephenson ,
Philip Andrewes ,
George Ashe ,
Margaret Scrivener ,
Claude Bennett ,
Bud Gregory ,
Nicholas Leluk ,
Alan Pope ,
George McCague and
Mike Harris .
Davis and his predecessor
John Robarts were considered
Red Tories and ran relatively progressive administrations that increased public investment and expanded the public sector. Miller, on the other hand, was seen as a
Right-winger , taking the party in a more conservative direction. When Davis officially stepped down on
February 8 , 1985, Miller became Premier.
Miller's victory created some divisions in the Progressive Conservative Party, and the new Premier had difficulty keeping order among senior party staff. He was sometimes criticized for speaking in an overly candid manner to reporters, once claiming that he would prefer to eliminate the minimum wage but could not do so for pragmatic reasons. Miller's appearance also became a political issue, after he decided to wear a loud tartan jacket to the 1983 budget ceremony. He was caricatured by some reporters as a symbol of Ontario's rural past, and seemed out of step with generational and demographic changes in the province. Senior party organizer
Hugh Segal later acknowledged that the jacket probably alienated many new voters.
Miller's Progressive Conservatives had a significant lead in the polls of around 55% (compared to the two opposition parties, in the low to mid 20s) when he called an
Election For May 1985 , but his campaign was considered disastrous. He elicited controversy when he refused to agree to a television debate with his rivals
David Peterson of the
Ontario Liberal Party and
Bob Rae of the
New Democratic Party (NDP). Miller's situation was also made more difficult by Davis's decision to extend public funding for
Catholic Separate School s to
Grade 13 , a decision that had been left to Miller to implement. Although the policy was supported by all parties in the legislature, it was unpopular with some in the Progressive Conservative Party's traditional rural
Protestant base. Many PC voters simply stayed home on election day because of this issue. During the election, Miller refused to agree to a televised debate against his opponents,
David Peterson and
Bob Rae . This decision is thought to have hurt Miller's standing with the public.
The election resulted in a
Minority Government , in which the Tories had only four more seats than the Liberals, with the NDP holding the
Balance Of Power . After several weeks of negotiations, the NDP signed an agreement with Peterson to support a Liberal minority government. Miller's government was soon defeated in the legislature on a
Motion Of No Confidence . As a result of the Liberal-NDP accord, the
Lieutenant-Governor asked Peterson to form a government, ending the 42 years of successive Conservative governments. Miller formally resigned as Premier on
June 26 ,
1985 .
Miller resigned as Progressive Conservative leader in a November
1985 Leadership Convention , and was replaced by
Larry Grossman . He played only a minor role in the legislature after this time, and did not seek re-election in
1987 . After leaving the legislature, Miller later became chairman of the
District Of Muskoka .
The Tories did not return to power in Ontario until the
1995 Election , when
Mike Harris , who Miller had brought to his cabinet as
Minister Of Natural Resources , became premier.
Miller returned to private life, passing away in
2000 . His son,
Norm Miller , entered provincial politics in
2001 , winning a
By-election in the riding of
Parry Sound-Muskoka after
Ernie Eves resigned the seat.
