Peter Adams
Encyclopedia
William Peter Adams, PC
(born April 17, 1936 in the United Kingdom
) is a Canadian
politician, and a former Liberal
Member of Canada's House of Commons
. He was a Member of Parliament
from 1993 until 2006, representing the riding of Peterborough
in eastern Ontario
. Previously, Adams represented the provincial riding of Peterborough in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1987 to 1990, sitting as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party
.
Adams was educated at the University of Sheffield
and McGill University
. He has served as director of the subarctic research laboratory in Schefferville
, Quebec
, and before entering political life was a member of the Geography department and coordinator of Northern Studies at Trent University
in Peterborough
, where he is now an Emeritus Professor. Adams also served as Vice President - Academic while at Trent. Adams has authored many books and articles, and co-edited the regional history Peterborough and the Kawarthas. In 1981, he was named as Peterborough's Citizen of the Year.
He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial election
, but finished third against Progressive Conservative
John Turner
(not to be confused with the former Liberal Prime Minister
of the same name) and incumbent New Democrat Gill Sandeman. He ran again in the 1981 provincial election
, and finished second against Turner.
Adams ran for the seat again in the 1987 provincial election
, and won by a comfortable majority amid a landslide provincial victory for the Liberal Party. He was not appointed to the cabinet of David Peterson
, but served as parliamentary assistant to Minister of the Environment Jim Bradley from 1989 to 1990.
The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the New Democratic Party
in the 1990 provincial election
, and Adams lost his seat to NDP candidate Jenny Carter
by 185 votes.
Adams was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the federal election of 1993
, defeating Progressive Conservative
incumbent Bill Domm
by almost 16,000 votes. He was re-elected in the elections of 1997
, 2000
and 2004
, each time by a comfortable margin.
Adams is on the left-wing of the Liberal Party. He was for many years a prominent supporter of Jean Chrétien
, opposing Paul Martin's bid to succeed Chrétien as party leader. Adams was appointed by Martin as Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal on July 20, 2004. He did not stand for re-election in the 2006 federal election
.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(born April 17, 1936 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) is a Canadian
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...
politician, and a former 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...
Member of Canada's 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...
. He was a 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,...
from 1993 until 2006, representing the riding of Peterborough
Peterborough (electoral district)
Peterborough is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953.The riding's borders have differed slightly since its creation in 1953, but has always included most or all of Peterborough County and its county seat of...
in eastern 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....
. Previously, Adams represented the provincial riding of Peterborough 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...
from 1987 to 1990, sitting as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party
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...
.
Adams was educated at the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
and McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. He has served as director of the subarctic research laboratory in Schefferville
Schefferville, Quebec
Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Naskapi and Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. The town has an incorporated area of . It is located within the...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and before entering political life was a member of the Geography department and coordinator of Northern Studies at Trent University
Trent University
Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...
in Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, where he is now an Emeritus Professor. Adams also served as Vice President - Academic while at Trent. Adams has authored many books and articles, and co-edited the regional history Peterborough and the Kawarthas. In 1981, he was named as Peterborough's Citizen of the Year.
He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1977
The Ontario general election of 1977 was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, but finished third against Progressive Conservative
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...
John Turner
John Melville Turner
John Melville Turner is a former politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1975, and again from 1977 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. He was the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature from 1981 to...
(not to be confused with the former Liberal Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
of the same name) and incumbent New Democrat Gill Sandeman. He ran again in the 1981 provincial 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 finished second against Turner.
Adams ran for the seat again in the 1987 provincial 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...
, and won by a comfortable majority amid a landslide provincial victory for the Liberal Party. He was not appointed to the cabinet 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....
, but served as parliamentary assistant to Minister of the Environment Jim Bradley from 1989 to 1990.
The Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the 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...
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 Adams lost his seat to NDP candidate Jenny Carter
Jenny Carter
Jenny Carter is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.-Background:...
by 185 votes.
Adams was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the federal election of 1993
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...
, defeating 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....
incumbent Bill Domm
Bill Domm
William Henry Domm was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1993. He was best known for his crusades against the metric system and in favour of capital punishment....
by almost 16,000 votes. He was re-elected in the elections of 1997
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, 2000
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
and 2004
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, each time by a comfortable margin.
Adams is on the left-wing of the Liberal Party. He was for many years a prominent supporter of Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
, opposing Paul Martin's bid to succeed Chrétien as party leader. Adams was appointed by Martin as Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development (Canada)
The Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the federal department that oversees programs such as Employment Insurance and Canada Student Loans...
and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal on July 20, 2004. He did not stand for re-election in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
.