James Gillies Explained

Riding:Don Valley
Parliament:Canadian
Term Start:20 October 1972
Term End:21 May 1979
Predecessor:Bob Kaplan
Successor:Riding abolished
Profession:economist, educator
Party:Progressive Conservative
Residence:Toronto, Ontario
Birth Name:James McPhail Gillies
Birth Date:1924 11, df=y
Birth Place:Teeswater, Ontario, Canada
Death Place:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Allegiance:Canadian
Branch:Royal Canadian Air Force
Serviceyears:1944–1945
Rank:Flight crew

James McPhail (Jim) Gillies, CM (2 November 1924  - 13 December 2015) was a politician and economist in Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1972 to 1979 who was elected in the Toronto, Ontario riding of Don Valley. He taught economics at the Faculty of Administrative Studies at York University and was sought after for commentary on economic issues.

Background

Gillies attended public and secondary school in Teeswater, Ontario. He then went to London, Ontario to attend University of Western Ontario. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1944 during World War II. In 1945 he continued his education in the United States at Brown University and Indiana University Bloomington.[1] He joined the faculty of University of California, Los Angeles's Graduate School of Management in 1951 and remained there until his return to Canada in 1965 where he was the first dean of York University's Faculty of Administrative Studies, now named the Schulich School of Business.[2]

Gillies was chair of the Ontario Economic Council in 1971 and 1972.[1]

Politics

Gillies ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1972 federal election. He was elected in the riding of Don Valley defeating Liberal incumbent Robert Kaplan by 6,135 votes.[3] He was re-elected in 1974 and left federal office after completing his term in the 30th Canadian Parliament.[4] In 1976, Gillies was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, placing 9th out of 11 candidates and withdrawing after the first ballot. He was a senior policy advisor to Prime Minister Joe Clark in the brief PC government of 1979-80.[5]

Later life

He was named a professor emeritus of the Schulich School of Business and continued to provide commentary on economic matters.[6] He died on 13 December 2015, aged 91.[7]

Works

Archives

There is a James McPhail Gillies fonds at Library and Archives Canada.[8] Archival reference number is R3294.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Normandin, Pierre G. . Canadian Parliamentary Guide . 1973.
  2. Book: Gillies, James M. . Where business fails . 1981 . 978-0-920380-53-6 . IRPP . Back cover.
  3. News: How the 1,117 candidates fared across Canada . The Toronto Star . 31 October 1972 . 15.
  4. News: How the party candidates fared across the country . The Toronto Star . 9 July 1974 . A12.
  5. News: Jim Gillies: Schulich School of Business first dean 'thought big' . 31 December 2015 . The Globe and Mail . Diane . Peters . 6 January 2019.
  6. News: Extremely cautious optimism . 24 December 2009 . Julian . Beltrame . . 2010-03-25.
  7. News: Obituary: James McPhail Gillies . 13 December 2015 . Globe and Mail.
  8. Web site: Finding aid to James McPhail Gillies fonds, Library and Archives Canada. 26 May 2020.