John Paul Harney

John Paul Harney
Member of Parliament
for Scarborough West
In office
1972–1974
Preceded by David Weatherhead
Succeeded by Alan Martin
Personal details
Born Jean-Paul Harney
(1931-02-02) February 2, 1931
Lévis, Quebec[1]
Nationality Canadian
Political party New Democrat
Parents Michael Harney, Blanche Lemieux[1]
Residence Prince Edward County, Ontario
Alma mater Queen's University
Profession Poet, Professor
Religion Unitarian

John Paul Harney (born Jean-Paul Harney; born February 2, 1931) is a Canadian professor and former politician.

Academic life

After completing his M.A. at Queen's University in 1961, he became an assistant professor of English at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, Ontario, and taught there until 1966.[2] He was also a poet, and gave readings at the Guelph Public Library.[3] In 1970, he became a humanities professor at York University,[4] and was still a professor of Canadian studies there in 1992.[5]

Political career

Harney ran as a candidate for the New Democratic Party throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

From 1962 to 1965, he stood as a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada in Wellington South.[lower-alpha 1] After moving to Toronto, he then stood once more as a candidate in Scarborough West in the 1968 federal election. He won a seat in the House of Commons in the 1972 federal election, but was defeated in 1974. He continued to campaign in subsequent elections there up to 1980. In addition, he sought the NDP nomination in the 1978 federal byelection for Broadview, but lost out to Bob Rae.[7]

He was the Provincial Secretary for the Ontario New Democratic Party from 1966 to 1970. In that time, he was also the campaign manager for that party's breakthrough campaign in the 1967 general election.[8]

He campaigned to become national leader at the NDP's 1971 leadership convention, coming in third behind winner David Lewis and runner-up James Laxer. He stood as a candidate again at the 1975 leadership convention,[9] where he got as far as the second ballot.

Pierre-Marc Johnson questions John Harney about the future of his party

Born in Quebec and fluently bilingual, Harney returned to the province and became leader of the Quebec wing of the federal NDP in 1984. He continued to teach at York University, while living in Sillery, Quebec.[1] He led the relaunching of the New Democratic Party of Quebec as a provincial party in 1985[10] but was unable to win a seat either in the federal House of Commons (running in Lévis in two elections) or in the Quebec National Assembly (running in Louis-Hébert).[11]

Late in the 1988 federal election campaign, he called a press conference to support using the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution to protect Quebec's francophone culture and restrict the use of other languages.[12] This press conference was not endorsed by the NDP leadership, and many believe that it cost the party support among Quebec's anglophones.[13] He stepped down later that year. Although he favoured the Bloc Québécois position on Quebec sovereignty, he refused to consider becoming one of its candidates as long as it pursued independence from Canada.[5]

Harney is retired and lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario, and has been involved in promoting local causes.[14]

Electoral record

Federal

Wellington South

Canadian federal election, 1962
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeAlfred Dryden HALES 11,345 42.0 -17.4
LiberalRoy MCVITTIE 8,508 31.5 -0.6
New DemocraticJohn HARNEY 6,989 25.9 17.4
Social CreditReginald YOUD 174 0.6 0.6
Total valid votes 27,016100.0
Canadian federal election, 1963
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeAlfred Dryden HALES 11,350 39.7 -2.3
LiberalRalph DENT 10,713 37.5 6.0
New DemocraticJohn HARNEY 6,391 22.3 -3.6
Social CreditReginald YOUD 150 0.5 -0.1
Total valid votes 28,604100.0
Canadian federal election, 1965
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeAlfred Dryden HALES 11,264 38.8 -0.9
New DemocraticJohn HARNEY 9,190 31.6 7.3
LiberalDonald E. MCFADZEN 8,595 29.6 -7.9
Total valid votes 29,049100.0

Scarborough West

Canadian federal election, 1968
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalDavid WEATHERHEAD 14,889 42.9
New DemocraticJohn Paul HARNEY 12,473 35.9
Progressive ConservativeHerb CROSBY 7,340 21.2
Total valid votes 34,702100.00
Canadian federal election, 1972
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
New DemocraticJohn Paul HARNEY 15,028 36.4 +0.5
LiberalDavid WEATHERHEAD 13,635 33.0 -9.9
Progressive ConservativeBasil CLARK 12,539 30.4 +9.2
IndependentRoger TENTREY 103 0.2 +0.2
Total valid votes 41,305100.00
Canadian federal election, 1974
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalAlan MARTIN 13,702 36.6 +3.6
New DemocraticJohn Paul HARNEY 12,298 32.8 -3.6
Progressive ConservativeBasil CLARK 11,339 30.2 -0.2
Marxist–LeninistLinda TURNBULL 89 0.2 +0.2
IndependentHarold ROWBOTTOM 61 0.2 0.0
Total valid votes 37,489100.00
Canadian federal election, 1979
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeBill WIGHTMAN 15,697 36.4 +6.2
LiberalAlan MARTIN 13,523 31.4 -5.2
New DemocraticJohn Paul HARNEY 13,437 31.2 -1.6
LibertarianD'Arcy J. CAIN 257 0.6 +0.6
CommunistTom BULL 114 0.3 +0.3
Marxist–LeninistBrenda MILLER 56 0.1 -0.1
Total valid votes 43,084100.00
Canadian federal election, 1980
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalDavid WEATHERHEAD 14,316 35.1 +3.7
New DemocraticJohn Paul HARNEY 13,146 32.2 +1.0
Progressive ConservativeBill WIGHTMAN 12,744 31.3 -5.1
LibertarianD'Arcy J. CAIN 401 1.0 +0.4
CommunistJohn MACLENNAN 92 0.2 -0.1
Marxist–LeninistBrenda MILLER 66 0.2 +0.1
Total valid votes 40,765100.00

Lévis

Canadian federal election, 1984
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeGabriel Fontaine 32,338 49.6
LiberalGaston Gourde 17,283 26.4
New DemocraticJean-Paul Harney 12,076 18.5
Parti nationalisteAntoine Dubé 1,649 2.5
RhinocerosRaymond Emiliano Marquis 1,630 2.5
Social CreditJean-Paul Rhéaume 216 0.3
Total valid votes 65,192100.0
Canadian federal election, 1988
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
Progressive ConservativeGabriel Fontaine 33,673 57.4 7.8
LiberalDenis Sonier 13,002 22.2 -4.2
New DemocraticJean-Paul Harney 11,501 19.6 1.1
Social CreditJean-Paul Rhéaume 445 0.8 0.5
Total valid votes 58,621100.0

Québec

Louis-Hébert

Quebec general election, 1985
Party Candidate Votes % ±
     Liberal Réjean Doyon 16,913 51.9 -0.9
Parti QuébécoisLouise Beaudoin 12,279 37.7 -6.4
     New Democrat Jean-Paul Harney 2,798 8.6 +8.6
     Progressive Conservative Claudette J. Hethrington 287 0.9 +0.9
     Independentist Emmanuel Le Brasseur 252 0.8 +0.8
     Christian Socialist Michel Durocher 58 0.2 +0.2

Notes

  1. ↑ Since 1898, it had been the policy of the provincial government that no civil servant, under any condition, could ever be involved in politics. As the Ontario Agricultural College was then a branch of the Ontario Department of Agriculture, Harney was subject to the policy. The ensuing controversy in 1962 was resolved when Premier John Robarts announced that civil servants would be entitled to take a leave of absence in order to campaign.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Graham Fraser (January 17, 1987). "Harney-watchers in NDP see two different people". The Globe and Mail.
  2. ↑ "Four chase Lewis for the NDP leadership". The Globe and Mail. April 17, 1971. p. 7.
  3. ↑ Joan Finnigan (January 20, 1962). "Canadian poetry finds its voice in a Golden Age". The Globe and Mail.
  4. ↑ Canadian Press (June 3, 1985). "Quebec's fledgling NDP picks Harney to lead way". The Globe and Mail.
  5. 1 2 Yves Boisvert (June 22, 1992). "Le Bloc québécois: une coalition plutôt hétéroclite" (PDF). La Presse (in French). p. 12.
  6. ↑ Donald C. MacDonald (May 13, 1982). "PUBLIC SERVANTS POLITICAL RIGHTS ACT". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Ontario: Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
  7. ↑ Rae, Bob (1996). From Protest to Power: Personal Reflections on a Life in Politics. Toronto. p. 57.
  8. ↑ Jack Cahill (January 17, 1967). "The gray flannel "brains trust" that runs Ontario's NDP". Toronto Daily Star. pp. 1, 14.
  9. ↑ Peter Daniel (June 27, 1975). "Ed Broadbent: Race for the leadership". CBC News.
  10. ↑ Fraser, Graham, "Toronto university professor runs as Quebec NDP chief," Globe and Mail, September 3, 1984
  11. ↑ "General election results , 2 December 1985".
  12. ↑ Jennifer Robinson, "NDP would restrict English rights; 'West Island' no longer running party, vice-president declares," Montreal Gazette, 5 November 1988, A1.
  13. ↑ Ingrid Peritz, "Language hard-liners hurt NDP in west end," Montreal Gazette, 23 November 1988, A10.
  14. ↑ "Minutes: Corporation of the County of Prince Edward". County of Prince Edward. June 28, 2004. p. 3.

Bibliography

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