Richard Patten
Encyclopedia
Richard Andrew Patten is a politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Patten was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

, representing the riding of Ottawa Centre
Ottawa Centre (provincial electoral district)
Ottawa Centre is an urban provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1968...

.

Biography

Patten was educated at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) in Montreal. Before entering public life, he was a manager with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and served as President of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation. Patten sat on an NGO advisory committee to the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

 while with the CCIC.

Legislative work

Patten served during the 34th
34th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The 34th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was in session from September 10, 1987 until July 30, 1990, just prior to the 1990 general election. The majority party was the Ontario Liberal Party led by David Peterson.- External links :*...

, 36th
36th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The 36th Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada's most-populous province, was in session from June 8, 1995 until May 5, 1999, just prior to the Ontario general election. Majority was held by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party led by Mike Harris....

, 37th
37th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The 37th Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was in session from June 8, 1999 until May 5, 2003, just prior to the Ontario general election...

 and 38th
38th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The 38th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was a legislature of the government of the Province of Ontario, Canada. It officially opened November 19, 2003, at Queen's Park in Toronto, and ended on June 5, 2007...

 Legislative Assemblies of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

.

Patten was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1987
The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...

, defeating incumbent New Democrat
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...

 Evelyn Gigantes
Evelyn Gigantes
Evelyn Adelaide Gigantes is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on three occasions between 1975 and 1995, and was a prominent cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.The daughter of Earle Sanford Peach...

 by just over 2000 votes in Ottawa Centre. Patten was appointed a cabinet minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

 in the government of David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....

, serving as Ontario Minister of Government Services from September 29, 1987 to August 2, 1989, and as Ontario Minister of Correctional Services from August 2, 1989 to October 1, 1990.

Gigantes defeated Patten during the snap 1990 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....

, in which the New Democrats scored an upset victory over the Liberals. For the next five years, Patten served as President and CEO of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario is a major children's hospital and university teaching hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, serving Eastern Ontario and western Quebec. It is affiliated with The Ottawa Hospital and the University of Ottawa, and is funded by the provincial Government of Ontario...

 (CHEO) Foundation, doing extensive fund-raising work for the organization.

Support for the Ontario NDP declined considerably between 1990 and 1995, and Patten was able to defeat Gigantes again in the 1995 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...

 (this time by about 1700 votes). The Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 won the election, and Patten joined 29 other Liberals in the opposition. He attempted to mobilize a campaign for the party's leadership in 1996, but failed in this effort and subsequently supported Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan, MPP is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1995, and is the Minister of Finance in the government of Dalton McGuinty...

. When Duncan was eliminated after the third ballot, he endorsed Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....

, the winner (Ottawa Citizen, 2 December 1996).

In the 1999 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

, Patten was elected over his Progressive Conservative opponent Ray Kostuck by about 2500 votes; New Democrat Elisabeth Arnold
Elisabeth Arnold
Elisabeth Arnold was an Ottawa City Councillor who represented Somerset Ward from 1994 to 2003.. One of her accomplishments on council was spearheading the rebuilding of the Plant Recreation Centre....

, who was expected to be his primary opposition, finished third. The Progressive Conservatives again won the election, and Patten remained in opposition. Patten was treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma during this parliament.

The Liberals won the 2003 election
Ontario general election, 2003
The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

 and Patten was re-elected in Ottawa Centre by over 10,000 votes. He was not appointed to the cabinet of Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....

, but was instead named parliamentary assistant to Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada...

, the Ontario Minister of Education on October 23, 2003. On September 27, 2004, he was named parliamentary assistant to Joseph Cordiano
Joseph Cordiano
Joseph Cordiano is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and a cabinet minister in the government of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty.-Early life:...

, the Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade. On November 16, 2006, Patten was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier. Patten maintained a strong interest in the CHEO and devoted legislative efforts towards the centre's operations.

On March 14, 2007, Patten announced he would not seek re-election in the upcoming election
Ontario general election, 2007
The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...

, preferring to focus on work with the CHEO Foundation.

External links

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