Bill Blaikie
Encyclopedia : B : BI : BIL : Bill Blaikie
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| Ridings | Winnipeg—Birds Hill (1979-1988) Winnipeg Transcona (1988-1997) Winnipeg—Transcona (1997-2004) Elmwood—Transcona (2004-present) |
|---|---|
| Political party: | New Democratic Party |
| First elected: | 1979 election |
| Profession(s): | Clergyperson |
Rev. William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC, M.Div, BA (born June 19, 1951 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician and deputy leader of the social-democratic New Democratic Party (NDP). He is the longest serving member of the House of Commons, having first been elected in 1979 and in this capacity serves as the Dean of the House. As a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada (see below), he has the right to the style The Honourable for life.
Blaikie served in the Canadian Army from 1967 to 1972. He was employed as a labourer with the Canadian National Railway from 1969 to 1974. He subsequently received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Winnipeg, and a Master's Degree in Divinity from Emmanuel College in Toronto. He was ordained a minister in the United Church of Canada on June 4, 1978, and preaches the social gospel in the tradition of other prominent ministers in the CCF (the NDP's predecessor) and NDP such as Tommy Douglas, J.S. Woodsworth and Stanley Knowles.
Blaikie was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1979 election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative MP Dean Whiteway. He has been re-elected in his Winnipeg riding in every election since then. His closest election was in the 1993 election, when he defeated Liberal candidate Art Miki by only 219 votes during a period of reduced popularity for his party. Between 1993 and 1997, he was the only New Democratic member of parliament to represent a riding east of Saskatchewan. He supported Simon de Jong's leadership campaign in 1989, and Lorne Nystrom's leadership campaign in 1995.
Blaikie himself was a candidate in the 2003 leadership election, and placed second to Jack Layton. As a concession to Blaikie, Layton appointed him the NDP's deputy leader. As Layton was without a seat in Parliament, Blaikie acted as the NDP's parliamentary leader until the 2004 Canadian election--an appointment which allowed him to be sworn into the Privy Council. In the NDP's shadow cabinet, Blaikie is currently Labour and Democratic Renewal Critic as well as deputy leader.
Blaikie is one of the most prominent supporters of the Clarity Act in the NDP caucus, a position which in the past had placed him at odds with Layton but during the 2006 Layton reversed his position to one of support for the clarity act. [link] He was also a vocal opponent of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and is currently a leading opponent of Canadian involvement in the Missile Defence Shield which has been proposed by the USA.
Blaikie has also opposed the prominent role given to "identity politics" in the modern Canadian left, and has argued that the NDP has placed an undue emphasis on "social issues" such as abortion and same-sex marriage. While he holds socially liberal views on most issues (and, indeed, supports same-sex marriage in Canada), Blaikie's position is that the economic needs of working-class and low-income Canadians should be the party's primary concern. Here, as well, Blaikie is seen as holding divergent views from Layton, who supports both "identity politics" and progressive economic policies.
Blaikie's daughter Rebecca Blaikie stood for the NDP against Prime Minister Paul Martin in his constituency of LaSalle-Emard in Montreal in the 2004 election.
Blaikie has a second daughter, Jessica, a graduate of the University of Manitoba.
Following the 2006 election, Blaikie was chosen as Deputy Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons.
External links
- [Official site]
- [How'd They Vote?: Bill Blaikie's voting history and quotes]
- [Political Biography from the Library of Parliament]
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| Canadian Parliamentary Caucuses from Manitoba>Manitoba Caucus serving in the 39th Canadian Parliament. |
| Senators | Sharon Carstairs (Lib), Maria Chaput (Lib), Janis Gudrun Johnson (Con), Mira Spivak (Ind), Terrance Richard Stratton (Con), Rod Zimmer (Lib) |
| Members of Parliament | Rod Bruinooge (Con), James Bezan (Con), Bill Blaikie (NDP), Tina Keeper (Lib), Steven Fletcher (Con), Inky Mark (Con), Pat Martin (NDP), Anita Neville (Lib), Brian Pallister (Con), Raymond Simard (Lib), Joy Smith (Con), Vic Toews (Con), Merv Tweed (Con), Judy Wasylycia-Leis (NDP) |
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