Bruce Owen is a former politician in Ontario, 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...

. He served in 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...

 as a Liberal

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...

 from 1987 to 1990.

Early life

Owen was born in Chatham

Chatham, Ontario

Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...

, 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....

, and was educated at the University of Western Ontario

University of Western Ontario

The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...

, the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 and Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...

. He practices law, and was an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 in Barrie, Ontario

Barrie, Ontario

Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...

.

First attempts at elected office

He ran for the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 three times as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

. He lost to P.B. Rynard of the Progressive Conservative Party

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 in Simcoe North

Simcoe North

Simcoe North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867. Its population was 119,400 in 2006.-Demographics:Ethnic groups: 92.3% White, 5.9% Native Canadian...

 in the 1972 election

Canadian federal election, 1972

The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...

, and to Progressive Conservative Ronald A. Stewart in Simcoe South

Simcoe South

Simcoe South was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925, and from 1979 to 1988. It was located north of Toronto in the province of Ontario...

 in the elections of 1980

Canadian federal election, 1980

The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...

 and 1984

Canadian federal election, 1984

The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...

.

Hard won success

He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1967 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1967

The Ontario general election of 1967 was held on October 17, 1967, to elect the 117 members of the 28th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

, but lost to P.C.

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...

 candidate Arthur Evans by 2,530 votes in Simcoe Centre

Simcoe Centre

Simcoe Centre was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Grey—Simcoe, Simcoe South and Wellington—Dufferin—Simcoe ridings....

. He ran again in the 1981 election

Ontario general election, 1981

The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

, and lost to P.C. candidate George Taylor by a wider margin. Owen was finally elected in the 1987 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 Progressive Conservative incumbent Earl W. Rowe

Earl W. Rowe

See William Earl Rowe for the former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.Earl W. Rowe was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario....

 by 2,492 votes in Simcoe Centre. He served as a backbench supporter 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....

's government for the next three years.

Back to the drawing board

The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated in the 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....

, and Owen lost his seat to Paul Wessenger

Paul Wessenger

Paul Wessenger is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995.-Background:...

 of the NDP by almost 3,000 votes. He attempted a comeback in the 1995 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...

, but lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Joe Tascona by 17,729 votes.

Post-public office life

Owen is now program chairman of the Barrie Concert Association, and has presented numerous programs of classical music in the city including the "Colours of Music" festivals. Owen himself has been a vocal soloist for several churches in Barrie, and performed a solo in the papal choir when Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 visited the city. (Owen is an Anglican, but has also performed in both Protestant and Roman Catholic venues.)

In 2005, he presented a plan to city council for a new arts theater, noting that the existing Fisher Auditorium is showing signs of age. His plan has been supported by some figures in the tourism sector.