Lynn McDonald
Encyclopedia
Lynn McDonald, PhD is a university professor, anti-tobacco activist and former member of the Canadian House of Commons
. She is a former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women
and was the New Democratic Party
(NDP) Member of Parliament
for Broadview—Greenwood from 1982 until 1988. McDonald is a professor of sociology
at the University of Guelph
.
when she was the Ontario New Democratic Party
's candidate in the riding of Oriole in North York
.
The next year, she entered federal politics and was elected in the by-election
held to fill the vacancy created by Bob Rae
's departure from federal politics to take the leadership of the Ontario NDP. She defeated senior party aide Gerald Caplan
on the third ballot to win the NDP nomination. In the by-election she defeated former Toronto Sun
editor Peter Worthington
, who was running as an independent
, by almost 2,000 votes. In the 1984 federal election
, she increased her margin to over 3,500 votes again defeating Worthington who, this time, was running as the official Progressive Conservative
candidate.
In Parliament, McDonald championed women's equality (she was the first Member of Parliament to be addressed as Ms.
) and was also a notable opponent of smoking. She earned the enmity of the tobacco industry
by moving a private member's bill
to restrict smoking and ban tobacco advertising.
Bill C-204, the Non-smokers' Health Act, was introduced by McDonald in October 1986 and proposed to restrict smoking in federally regulated workplaces as well as on planes, trains and boats. The Bill also would have banned tobacco advertising and regulated sales by listed tobacco products under the Hazardous Products Act.
McDonald's bill was short-listed by a parliamentary committee for debate on the floor of the house and succeeded in winning growing support from MPs from all sides of the House of Commons as health groups lobbied in its favour. On April 22, 1987, ten days prior to the Bill's scheduled second reading vote, Health Minister
Jake Epp
announced the government's intention to introduce a bill that would ban tobacco advertising and sponsorships and strengthen health warnings on cigarette packages. The government also announced that it would prohibit smoking in government buildings and restrict it in other federally regulated workplaces.
Despite intense lobbying by the tobacco industry, both McDonald's bill and Epp's Bill C-51, were passed by parliament and given royal assent
on June 28, 1988. The lobbying around McDonald's bill is credited with giving Epp the political motivation to introduce his own legislation. McDonald's bill passed in a free vote despite the fact that every member of Cabinet present in the House voted against it.
McDonald was defeated in the 1988 federal election
by Liberal
Dennis Mills
by 1,200 votes. She attempted a comeback against Mills in the 1993 federal election
, but was defeated by almost 10,000 votes as support for the NDP collapsed nation-wide.
The Early Origins of the Social Sciences (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993) and Women Founders of the Social Sciences (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1994). She is also the director of a project to publish the collected works of Florence Nightingale
in sixteen volumes.
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...
. She is a former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women
National Action Committee on the Status of Women
The National Action Committee on the Status of Women is a Canadian feminist activist organization. NAC was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations made in the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada's 1970 report on matters such as...
and was the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP) Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Broadview—Greenwood from 1982 until 1988. McDonald is a professor of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
.
Political career
McDonald's first run for public office was during the 1981 provincial electionOntario 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....
when she was the Ontario New Democratic Party
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...
's candidate in the riding of Oriole in North York
North York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
.
The next year, she entered federal politics and was elected in the by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
held to fill the vacancy created by Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's departure from federal politics to take the leadership of the Ontario NDP. She defeated senior party aide Gerald Caplan
Gerald Caplan
Gerald Lewis Caplan, PhD is a Canadian academic, public policy analyst, commentator and political activist. He has had a varied career in academia, as a political organizer for the New Democratic Party, in advocacy around education, broadcasting and African affairs and as a commentator in various...
on the third ballot to win the NDP nomination. In the by-election she defeated former Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
editor Peter Worthington
Peter Worthington
Peter Worthington is a Canadian journalist. A foreign correspondent with the Toronto Telegram newspaper from 1956, Worthington was an eyewitness to the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963, and can be seen in photographs of the event. He remained with the Telegram until it folded in 1971...
, who was running as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, by almost 2,000 votes. In the 1984 federal election
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...
, she increased her margin to over 3,500 votes again defeating Worthington who, this time, was running as the official Progressive Conservative
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....
candidate.
In Parliament, McDonald championed women's equality (she was the first Member of Parliament to be addressed as Ms.
Ms.
Ms. or Ms is an English honorific used with the last name or full name of a woman. According to The Emily Post Institute, Ms...
) and was also a notable opponent of smoking. She earned the enmity of the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
by moving a private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
to restrict smoking and ban tobacco advertising.
Bill C-204, the Non-smokers' Health Act, was introduced by McDonald in October 1986 and proposed to restrict smoking in federally regulated workplaces as well as on planes, trains and boats. The Bill also would have banned tobacco advertising and regulated sales by listed tobacco products under the Hazardous Products Act.
McDonald's bill was short-listed by a parliamentary committee for debate on the floor of the house and succeeded in winning growing support from MPs from all sides of the House of Commons as health groups lobbied in its favour. On April 22, 1987, ten days prior to the Bill's scheduled second reading vote, Health Minister
Minister of Health (Canada)
The Minister of Health is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's health department and the enforcing the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada Health Act, the law governing Medicare...
Jake Epp
Jake Epp
Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, PC, OC is an executive and former Canadian politician.Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Jake Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering politics...
announced the government's intention to introduce a bill that would ban tobacco advertising and sponsorships and strengthen health warnings on cigarette packages. The government also announced that it would prohibit smoking in government buildings and restrict it in other federally regulated workplaces.
Despite intense lobbying by the tobacco industry, both McDonald's bill and Epp's Bill C-51, were passed by parliament and given royal assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on June 28, 1988. The lobbying around McDonald's bill is credited with giving Epp the political motivation to introduce his own legislation. McDonald's bill passed in a free vote despite the fact that every member of Cabinet present in the House voted against it.
McDonald was defeated in the 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
by Liberal
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...
Dennis Mills
Dennis Mills
Dennis Joseph Mills is a Canadian businessman and former politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto-Danforth in the east-end of downtown Toronto. He now sits on the board of directors of Magna International....
by 1,200 votes. She attempted a comeback against Mills in the 1993 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, but was defeated by almost 10,000 votes as support for the NDP collapsed nation-wide.
Writing
McDonald is the author of a number of books and scholarly articles includingThe Early Origins of the Social Sciences (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993) and Women Founders of the Social Sciences (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1994). She is also the director of a project to publish the collected works of Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
in sixteen volumes.
External links
- Lynn McDonald faculty homepage
- The Battle to Ban Advertising on Bill C-204 and Bill C-51
- The Collected Works of Florence Nightingale project homepage