Thomas Michael McMillan

For other people named Thomas McMillan, see Thomas McMillan (disambiguation).
Tom McMillan
Member of Parliament for Hillsborough
In office
1979–1988
Preceded by Heath MacQuarrie
Succeeded by George Proud
Minister of the Environment
In office
1985–1988
Preceded by Suzanne Blais-Grenier
Succeeded by Lucien Bouchard
Personal details
Born (1945-10-15) October 15, 1945
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Political party Progressive Conservative
Profession Political scientist

Thomas Michael "Tom" McMillan, PC (born October 15, 1945) is a Canadian political scientist and former politician.

Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, McMillan was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1979 general election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Hillsborough, Prince Edward Island. He was re-elected in the 1980[1] and 1984 elections. He served as Deputy House Leader from 1983 to 1984 under Leader of the Opposition Brian Mulroney.

Following the Tory landslide in the 1984 general election, Mulroney appointed McMillan to Cabinet as Minister of State for tourism.[2] A year later, McMillan was named Minister of the Environment, replacing the controversial Suzanne Blais-Grenier.[3] McMillan maintained a much lower profile than his predecessor.

He was concerned with emerging issues of the 1980s like acid rain, and remained active in local issues and heritage preservation. When in 1981 an historic bank building in his riding was demolished there was an outcry from concerned citizens, including McMillan. He summed up the loss of this historic structure, "The actions of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Charlottetown have been decidedly more imperial than Canadian." He became increasingly active in preservation causes including the restoration of a brick powder magazine located in Brighton Compound in Charlottetown.

McMillan remained Environment minister until he was defeated in the 1988 general election due to opposition to the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement among his constituents.[4][5] In August 1989, McMillan was appointed Canada's consul-general to Boston.[6][7] He maintained his involvement in politics, and attempted unsuccessfully to regain his seat in the 1993 general election.[8] He again attempted a comeback in the 1997 general election, this time in the riding of Peterborough, Ontario, but came in third place behind Liberal candidate Peter Adams and the Reform Party's Nancy Branscombe.[9]

References

  1. "Liberals gain 6 seats in Maritimes". The Globe and Mail. February 19, 1980.
  2. "40-member Cabinet includes 23 first-time ministers". The Globe and Mail. September 18, 1984.
  3. "PM shuffles problems aside, boosts image in Maritimes". The Globe and Mail. August 21, 1985.
  4. "Atlantic tide turns Liberal; 2 ministers go down to defeat". The Toronto Star. November 22, 1988.
  5. "Liberals' red tide sweeps Atlantic provinces". The Globe and Mail. November 22, 1988.
  6. "Defeated minister gets Boston posting". The Globe and Mail. August 29, 1989.
  7. "Defeated Tory gets diplomatic post". The Toronto Star. August 29, 1989.
  8. "Liberals sweep Atlantic region". The Globe and Mail. October 26, 1993.
  9. "Election '97 Winners & Losers". The Globe and Mail. June 3, 1997.
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