John Crosbie

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John Crosbie (1983)

John Carnell Crosbie , PC , OC , ONL , QC (born January 30, 1931 in St. John's , Newfoundland - † January 10, 2020 ) was a Canadian politician . He was a member of the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador for several years . He was then from 1976 to 1993 MP in the Canadian House of Commons . In the governments of the progressive-conservative Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney he was, among other things, finance, justice and fisheries ministers. From 2008 to 2013 he was Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador and as such represented the head of state, Queen Elizabeth II , at the provincial level.

biography

Studies, local and provincial politics

Crosbie comes from an influential family of politicians. His grandfather, John Chalker Crosbie, was Treasury Secretary of the then independent state of Newfoundland from 1924 to 1928 . His father, Chesley Crosbie , led a movement in the 1940s that sought Newfoundland's accession to the United States and refused to unite with Canada.

From 1945 to 1949 (the year Newfoundland became a Canadian province), Crosbie attended St. Andrew's College in Aurora, Ontario . He then studied political science at Queen's University in Kingston and law at Dalhousie University in Halifax . He married Jane Ellen Furneaux in 1952, with whom he has three children. In 1956/57 he pursued postgraduate studies at the University of London and the London School of Economics . He then worked as a lawyer.

Crosbie's political career began in November 1965 when he was elected to the St. John's City Council . He resigned after just half a year when Joey Smallwood , the Prime Minister of Newfoundland, appointed him to the cabinet as Minister of Health. A short time later he won a seat in the House of Representatives . Smallwood, who ruled the province since 1949, had authoritarian leadership and refused to cede in favor of a younger generation, creating tension within the Liberal Party of Newfoundland .

Crosbie resigned as minister in 1968 and unsuccessfully challenged Smallwood as party chairman in 1969. In 1971 he joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland from Frank Moores , which won the election the following year. In Moores' government, Crosbie held several ministerial posts (until 1974 finance and economic development, then fisheries and energy).

Federal politics

In 1976 Crosbie won a by-election for the Progressive Conservative Party a seat in the Canadian House of Commons and then represented the constituency of St. John's West. After the 1979 general election , Joe Clark formed a progressive-conservative minority government and named Crosbie Treasury Secretary. Crosbie presented a budget that, contrary to election promises, provided for a tax increase. As a result, the New Democratic Party introduced a vote of no confidence , which was successful and led to an early election . The progressive conservatives were back in opposition after just under nine months.

In 1983, Crosbie was a candidate for the presidency of the Progressive Conservative Party, coming in third behind Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark. The main reason for his failure was his lack of knowledge of French. After the general election in 1984 , the new Prime Minister Mulroney appointed him Minister of Justice. In 1986 Crosbie became Minister of Transport and in 1988 Minister of International Trade. As such, he was responsible for the implementation of the free trade agreement with the USA and initiated the negotiation of the North American free trade agreement .

From 1991, Crosbie was Minister of Fisheries and was forced to adopt a two-year moratorium on cod fishing in order to protect stocks - a measure that particularly affected his home province. He repeatedly fought fierce arguments with the liberal MP Sheila Copps and often caused controversy with sexist remarks. For example, he referred to her and three of her feminist comrades-in-arms as "the four horsewomen of the apocalypse". In 1993 he did not seek re-election and withdrew from politics.

further activities

Crosbie worked again as a lawyer in St. John's, in addition he took a seat on the boards of various institutions and companies. In 1994 he was appointed Chancellor of Memorial University of Newfoundland , and four years later he was awarded the Order of Canada . In 1997 he published his autobiography No Holds Barred: My Life in Politics . In it he devoted an entire chapter to his rival Sheila Copps, with whom he had reconciled in the meantime. This reciprocated by having Crosbie write the preface to her own autobiography Worth Fighting For . When the Progressive Conservative Party disbanded, he joined the new Conservative Party in 2004 . He publicly indicated a retreat into politics, but finally refrained from doing so.

On February 4, 2008, Governor General Michaëlle appointed Jean Crosbie lieutenant governor of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper . In November 2009, Crosbie caused renewed controversy when he wore a sealskin coat when Prince Charles visited to show his support for the seal hunt . His term of office ended on March 19, 2013.

Quotes

  • "Why are you yelling at me? I didn't take the fish from the goddamn water."
    "Why are you yelling at me? I didn't take the fish out of the goddamn water. ”(Response during a demonstration against the cod fishing moratorium, 1992)
  • "No, and I'm goddamned not going to either! I'll tell you that, and I'm telling you that there isn't one person in the whole goddamn government who's read it. I'm the only one honest enough to say so ... At this stage of my life I don't have to kiss anybody's ass, I can say what I goddamn well like. "
    “No, and goddamn it, I won't! I'm telling you this, and I'm telling you that there isn't a single person in the whole goddamn government who has read it. I'm the only one honest enough to admit it ... At this point in my life, I don't have to kiss anyone's ass, I can goddamn say whatever I want. ”(In the Free Trade Agreement debate, 1988)
  • "It is better to be sincere in one language than to be a twit in two."
    "It is better to be honest in one language than a fool in two." (Crosbie on his lack of knowledge of French and Pierre Trudeau's bilingualism, 1983)

plant

  • John Carnell Crosbie: No Holds Barred: My Life in Politics . McClelland & Stewart, Toronto 1997, ISBN 0-7710-2427-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sealskin coat a 'statement' in support of hunt, Crosbie says. The Globe and Mail , November 4, 2009, accessed June 20, 2010 .
  2. ^ Cod moratorium protested. CBC / Radio-Canada , July 2, 1992, accessed June 20, 2010 .
  3. ↑ Lawrence Martin: Pledge of Allegiance . McClelland & Stewart, Toronto 1993, ISBN 0-7710-5663-X , pp. 45 .
  4. ↑ John Crosbie's autobiography
personal data
SURNAME Crosbie, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crosbie, John Carnell
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH St. John's
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 2020