Neil Young (politician) explained

Neil Young
Riding:Beaches-Woodbine
Parliament:Canadian
Term Start:1988
Term End:1993
Predecessor:New riding
Successor:Maria Minna
Riding2:Beaches
Parliament2:Canadian
Term Start2:1980
Term End2:1988
Predecessor2:Robin Richardson
Successor2:Riding abolished
Birth Date:28 August 1936
Birth Place:Edinburgh, Scotland
Death Place:Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Party:New Democrat
Spouse:Vivien
Children:4
Profession:Machinist, consultant

Neil Young (August 28, 1936 – March 7, 2015) was a Canadian politician. He was a New Democratic member of the Canadian parliament from 1980 to 1993. He represented the downtown Toronto ridings of Beaches and Beaches-Woodbine.

Background

Young was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1936. He emigrated to Canada in the 1950s and worked as a machinist in the electrical industry. He later became an organizer for the United Electrical Workers Union. After leaving politics he worked as a consultant on people with disabilities. He and his wife Vivien raised four children.[1] He died on March 7, 2015, in Toronto.[1]

Politics

He ran unsuccessfully for Toronto City Council's Ward 9 in 1976. He came in 6th place behind winners Pat Sheppard and Tom Wardle Jr.[2] In a closely contested nomination race, he won the NDP nomination for the Beaches federal electoral district by two votes in 1977.[3] In the federal election of 1979 he lost narrowly to Progressive Conservative candidate Robin Richardson by 518 votes. The PC's won and Richardson served in the short lived Joe Clark minority government.[4] In 1980, Young faced Richardson again, this time defeating him by 1,496 votes.[5] He represented the electoral districts of Beaches from 1980 to 1988, and Beaches—Woodbine from 1988 to 1993, in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Young served as the NDP critic on several portfolios such as pensions and veteran's affairs. He was the party's whip from 1981 to 1984.

He was defeated in the 1993 election by Liberal Party of Canada candidate Maria Minna.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Obituary: Neil Young . March 7, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150615055913/http://www.canadianobituaries.com/neil-young-obituary-march-7-2015.html . June 15, 2015 . Canadian obituaries.
  2. News: Voting Results . Toronto Star . December 7, 1976 . A11.
  3. News: Brewin ends long career, heir picked . York . Marty . The Globe and Mail . November 26, 1977 . 5.
  4. Web site: Counting the votes: The Liberals watch from their Quebec fortress...as Conservatives sweep most of the West . The Globe and Mail . May 24, 1979 . 10–11.
  5. News: Federal general election results listed riding-by-riding . The Ottawa Citizen . February 19, 1987 . 29–30.
  6. News: Results may be more complete than as published Riding-by-riding results from across Canada Ontario Algoma . Toronto Star . October 26, 1993 . B10.