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{{Infobox Officeholder
{{Infobox Officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name = Peter Heenan
| name = Peter Heenan
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN||PC}}
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN||PC}}
| image = Peter Heenan LAC.jpg
| image = Peter Heenan LAC.jpg
| caption =
| caption =
| office1 = [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
| office1 = [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
| term_start1 = October 20, 1919
| term_start1 = October 20, 1919
| term_end1 = October 18, 1926
| term_end1 = October 18, 1926
| predecessor1 = [[Harold Arthur Clement Machin]]
| predecessor1 = [[Harold Arthur Clement Machin]]
| successor1 = [[Joseph Pattulo Earngey]]
| successor1 = [[Joseph Pattulo Earngey]]
| office2 = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Kenora—Rainy River]]
| office2 = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Kenora—Rainy River]]
| term_start2 = October 29, 1925
| term_start2 = October 29, 1925
| term_end2 = July 3, 1934
| term_end2 = July 3, 1934
| predecessor2 = New riding
| predecessor2 = New riding
| successor2 = [[Hugh Bathgate McKinnon]]
| successor2 = [[Hugh Bathgate McKinnon]]
| office3 = [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
| office3 = [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
| term_start3 = August 7, 1934
| term_start3 = August 7, 1934
| term_end3 = June 30, 1943
| term_end3 = June 30, 1943
| predecessor3 = [[Earl Hutchinson]]
| predecessor3 = [[Earl Hutchinson]]
| successor3 = [[William Manson Docker]]
| successor3 = [[William Manson Docker]]
| office4 = [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]] for Canada
| office4 = [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]] for Canada
| term_start4 = September 25, 1926
| term_start4 = September 25, 1926
| term_end4 = August 7, 1930
| term_end4 = August 7, 1930
| predecessor4 = [[George Burpee Jones]]
| predecessor4 = [[George Burpee Jones]]
| successor4 = [[Gideon Decker Robertson]]
| successor4 = [[Gideon Decker Robertson]]
| office5 = Minister of Lands and Forests for Ontario
| office5 = Minister of Lands and Forests for Ontario
| term_start5 = July 10, 1934
| term_start5 = July 10, 1934
| term_end5 = May 27, 1941
| term_end5 = May 27, 1941
| predecessor5 = [[William Finlayson (Canadian politician)|William Finlayson]]
| predecessor5 = [[William Finlayson (Canadian politician)|William Finlayson]]
| successor5 = [[Norman Otto Hipel]]
| successor5 = [[Norman Otto Hipel]]
| office6 = Minister of Labour for Ontario
| office6 = Minister of Labour for Ontario
| term_start6 = June 14, 1938
| term_start6 = June 14, 1938
| term_end6 = September 2, 1938
| term_end6 = September 2, 1938
| predecessor6 = [[Morrison Mann MacBride]]
| predecessor6 = [[Morrison Mann MacBride]]
| successor6 = [[Norman Otto Hipel]]
| successor6 = [[Norman Otto Hipel]]
| office7 = Minister of Labour for Ontario
| office7 = Minister of Labour for Ontario
| term_start7 = May 27, 1941
| term_start7 = May 27, 1941
| term_end7 = August 17, 1943
| term_end7 = August 17, 1943
| predecessor7 = [[Norman Otto Hipel]]
| predecessor7 = [[Norman Otto Hipel]]
| successor7 = [[Charles Daley]]
| successor7 = [[Charles Daley]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1875|2|19|mf=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1875|2|19|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Tullaree, near [[Newcastle, County Down]], [[Ireland]]
| birth_place = Tullaree, near [[Newcastle, County Down]], [[Ireland]]
| death_date = {{death date and age |1948|5|12|1875|2|19}}
| death_date = {{death date and age |1948|5|12|1875|2|19}}
| death_place = [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], [[Canada]]
| death_place = [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], [[Canada]]
| party = [[Labour Party of Canada]] (to 1926)<br/>[[Liberal Party of Canada]]<br/>[[Ontario Liberal Party]]
| party = [[Labour Party of Canada]] (to 1926)<br/>[[Liberal Party of Canada]]<br/>[[Ontario Liberal Party]]
| spouse = Annie Fawcett
| spouse = Annie Fawcett
| religion = [[Roman Catholic]]
| religion = [[Roman Catholic]]
| alma_mater =
| alma_mater =
| profession = [[coal miner]], [[Surface-supplied diving|diver]], [[Railroad engineer|locomotive engineer]], [[trade union|union leader]]
| profession = [[coal miner]], [[Surface-supplied diving|diver]], [[Railroad engineer|locomotive engineer]], [[trade union|union leader]]
|}}
|}}

'''Peter Heenan''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN||PC}} (February 19, 1875 &ndash; May 12, 1948) was a [[Canada|Canadian]] union leader and politician, and also served as a cabinet minister at the federal and provincial levels.
'''Peter Heenan''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN||PC}} (February 19, 1875 &ndash; May 12, 1948) was a [[Canada|Canadian]] union leader and politician, and also served as a cabinet minister at the federal and provincial levels.


==Early life==
==Early life==


Born in Tullaree, near [[Newcastle, County Down]], [[Ireland]],<ref>{{cite news |title= Striking Life Romance From Colliery Boy to Can. Cabinet|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xpEcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OGIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=936%2C6650120|newspaper= The Journal of Commerce|location = Montreal|date= July 28, 1928|accessdate=October 10, 2013}}</ref> he worked as a pit boy at St Helen's Colliery in [[Cumberland]], where he tested work on the mine's railways, then worked on the [[Rail transport in Costa Rica|Costa Rica Railway]] in [[Central America]].<ref name = "StarObit"/> An attack of [[yellow fever]] forced him to move to Canada in 1902, where he first worked on a Western ranch, and then as a locomotive engineer for the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] for the run between [[Winnipeg]] and [[Kenora]].<ref name = "StarObit"/> Experience he had acquired in Costa Rica as a [[Surface-supplied diving|diver]] also proved useful when he was called to help out in a train wreck just outside Kenora, where the locomotive had plunged down underwater.<ref name = "StarObit"/>
Born in Tullaree, near [[Newcastle, County Down]], [[Ireland]],<ref>{{cite news |title= Striking Life Romance From Colliery Boy to Can. Cabinet|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xpEcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OGIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=936%2C6650120|newspaper= The Journal of Commerce|location = Montreal|date= July 28, 1928|accessdate=October 10, 2013}}</ref> Heenan worked as a pit boy at St Helen's Colliery in [[Cumberland]], where he tested work on the mine's railways, and then worked on the [[Rail transport in Costa Rica|Costa Rica Railway]] in [[Central America]].<ref name = "StarObit"/> An attack of [[yellow fever]] forced Heenan to move to Canada in 1902, where he first worked on a Western ranch, and then as a locomotive engineer for the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] on the run between [[Winnipeg]] and [[Kenora]].<ref name = "StarObit"/> The experience he had acquired in Costa Rica as a [[Surface-supplied diving|diver]] also proved useful when he was called to help out in a train wreck just outside Kenora, where the locomotive had plunged down underwater.<ref name = "StarObit"/>


He became involved in the labour movement in [[Northwestern Ontario]], becoming its most prominent leader by the beginning of [[World War I]].{{sfn|Kuhlberg|2005|p=216}} He also became an alderman on Kenora's town council, serving for five years, and was also chairman of the local public utilities commission for two years.<ref name = "StarObit">{{cite news|title = Miner to Cabinet Minister, Hon. Peter Heenan, 72, Dies|newspaper = [[Toronto Daily Star]]|date = May 13, 1948|page = 4}}</ref>
Heenan became involved in the labour movement in [[Northwestern Ontario]], becoming its most prominent leader by the beginning of [[World War I]].{{sfn|Kuhlberg|2005|p=216}} He also became an alderman on Kenora's town council, serving for five years, and was also chairman of the local public utilities commission for two years.<ref name = "StarObit">{{cite news|title = Miner to Cabinet Minister, Hon. Peter Heenan, 72, Dies|newspaper = [[Toronto Daily Star]]|date = May 13, 1948|page = 4}}</ref>


==Political career==
==Political career==
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===Labour MPP in Ontario (1919-1926)===
===Labour MPP in Ontario (1919-1926)===


Elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] as the [[Labour Party of Canada|Labour]] candidate for the riding of [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]] in the [[Ontario general election, 1919|1919 election]], he was re-elected in [[Ontario general election, 1923|1923]]. When the Legislature was not in session, he would resume driving locomotives.<ref name = "StarObit"/>
Elected to the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]] as the [[Labour Party of Canada|Labour]] candidate for the riding of [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]] in the [[Ontario general election, 1919|1919 election]], Heenan was re-elected in [[Ontario general election, 1923|1923]]. When the Legislature was not in session, he would resume driving locomotives.<ref name = "StarObit"/>


Under Heenan's leadership, the Labour MPPs joined with the [[United Farmers of Ontario]] to form a coalition government under [[E.C. Drury]], with the understanding that Drury would support [[Edward Wellington Backus]]' plans for erecting a newsprint mill in Kenora.{{sfn|Kuhlberg|2005|p=216}} Heenan was also instrumental in getting [[Harry Mills (politician)|Harry Mills]] appointed as the Province's first Minister of Mines.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Michael S. Beaulieu|year= 2009|title= Reacting to the Worker's Revolt: The Lakehead and Winnipeg General Strike|journal= Left History|volume= 14|issue= 1|page= 25|publisher= [[York University]]|doi= |pmid= |pmc= |url= http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/lh/article/viewPDFInterstitial/24903/23097|accessdate=October 10, 2013}}</ref>
Under Heenan's leadership, the Labour MPPs joined with the [[United Farmers of Ontario]] to form a coalition government under [[E.C. Drury]], with the understanding that Drury would support [[Edward Wellington Backus]]' plans for erecting a newsprint mill in Kenora.{{sfn|Kuhlberg|2005|p=216}} Heenan was also instrumental in getting [[Harry Mills (politician)|Harry Mills]] appointed as the Province's first Minister of Mines.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Michael S. Beaulieu|year= 2009|title= Reacting to the Worker's Revolt: The Lakehead and Winnipeg General Strike|journal= Left History|volume= 14|issue= 1|page= 25|publisher= [[York University]]|doi= |pmid= |pmc= |url= http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/lh/article/viewPDFInterstitial/24903/23097|accessdate=October 10, 2013}}</ref>
Line 70: Line 71:
He was elected as the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] candidate to the [[Canadian House of Commons]] representing the riding of [[Kenora—Rainy River]] in the [[Canadian federal election, 1925|1925 federal election]]. He was re-elected in [[Canadian federal election, 1926|1926]] and [[Canadian federal election, 1930|1930]]. From 1926 to 1930, he was the [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]], and became known as "Peter the Peacemaker" for settling 160 labour disputes in his first three years.<ref name = "StarObit"/> He secured the passage of the ''Mother's Allowance Act'' and the ''Old Age Pensions Act''.<ref name = "FFT">{{cite news|title = Highway Officially Opened By Premier M.F. Hepburn Named 'Heenan Highway'|newspaper = Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake Herald|date = July 2, 1936|url = http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/highwayopened.html}}</ref>
He was elected as the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] candidate to the [[Canadian House of Commons]] representing the riding of [[Kenora—Rainy River]] in the [[Canadian federal election, 1925|1925 federal election]]. He was re-elected in [[Canadian federal election, 1926|1926]] and [[Canadian federal election, 1930|1930]]. From 1926 to 1930, he was the [[Minister of Labour (Canada)|Minister of Labour]], and became known as "Peter the Peacemaker" for settling 160 labour disputes in his first three years.<ref name = "StarObit"/> He secured the passage of the ''Mother's Allowance Act'' and the ''Old Age Pensions Act''.<ref name = "FFT">{{cite news|title = Highway Officially Opened By Premier M.F. Hepburn Named 'Heenan Highway'|newspaper = Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake Herald|date = July 2, 1936|url = http://www.fftimes.com/100-years-100-stories/highwayopened.html}}</ref>


He still found time to work as a locomotive engineer when the House was not in session.<ref>{{cite news|title = Hon. Peter Heenan To Don Overalls|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19320622&id=Xf8tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W4wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6700,3054550|newspaper = [[Montreal Gazette]]|date = June 22, 1932|page = 11}}</ref> In 1934, during a debate, he exclaimed, "I wanted to be unique. I wanted to be the only man that the Conservatives have put into [[overalls]]."<ref>{{cite news|title = Hon. Peter Heenan As Only Man Govt. Put Into Overalls|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19340222&id=qTc0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=W_UIAAAAIBAJ&pg=4313,1518103|newspaper = [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date = February 22, 1934|page = 3}}</ref>
Heenan still found time to work as a locomotive engineer when the House was not in session.<ref>{{cite news|title = Hon. Peter Heenan To Don Overalls|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19320622&id=Xf8tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W4wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6700,3054550|newspaper = [[Montreal Gazette]]|date = June 22, 1932|page = 11}}</ref> In 1934, during a debate, he exclaimed, "I wanted to be unique. I wanted to be the only man that the Conservatives have put into [[overalls]]."<ref>{{cite news|title = Hon. Peter Heenan As Only Man Govt. Put Into Overalls|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19340222&id=qTc0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=W_UIAAAAIBAJ&pg=4313,1518103|newspaper = [[Ottawa Citizen]]|date = February 22, 1934|page = 3}}</ref>


===Liberal MPP and Ontario Cabinet Minister (1934-1943)===
===Liberal MPP and Ontario Cabinet Minister (1934-1943)===


He resigned his federal seat, after winning a provincial seat as the [[Liberal Party of Ontario]] candidate in the [[Ontario general election, 1934|1934 election]] for the riding of Kenora. He was re-elected in [[Ontario general election, 1937|1937]]. From 1934 to 1941, he was the Minister of Lands and Forests in the provincial government of [[Mitchell Hepburn]]. Heenan was charged with promoting Hepburn's policies on natural resource development, including the aggressive position with respect to timber licenses in [[Northern Ontario]] that were being held by companies that would not (or could not) cut wood on them. In that regard, in 1936 the ''Forest Resources Regulation Act'' was passed that granted the government broad powers for mandating minimum production quotas, maximum limits in line with good forestry practice, reducing licensed acreages where they were in excess of requirements, and increasing [[stumpage]] fees on companies "operating or carrying on business in a manner detrimental to the public interest."<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title =The Forest Resources Regulation Act, 1936|abbr =S.O.|year =1936|chapter = 22|link=https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovin1936onta#page/96/mode/2up}}</ref> [[Great Lakes Paper]] saw its holdings reduced from {{convert|23085|km2|acre}} to {{convert|3668|km2|acre}}, and was assessed a $500,000 penalty (${{Inflation|CA|500000|1936|r=-5|fmt=c}} in current terms) for refusing to participate in a minimum price agreement set up by the Ontario and Quebec governments.<ref>{{cite book |author = A. Ernest Epp|editor1= Ajith H. Perera|editor2= David L. Euler|editor3= Ian D. Thompson|title= Ecology of a Managed Terrestrial Landscape: Patterns and Processes of Forest Landscapes in Ontario|url= https://books.google.ca/books?id=quGlpfIZfvMC&lpg=PA253&ots=RSYxFpTflc&pg=PA253#v=onepage&f=false|chapter= 12: Ontario Forests and Forest Policy Before the Era of Sustainable Forestry|year= 2000|publisher= [[UBC Press]]|location= Vancouver|isbn= 0-7748-0749-0|pages=253–254}}</ref>
Heenan resigned his federal seat, after winning a provincial seat as the [[Liberal Party of Ontario]] candidate in the [[Ontario general election, 1934|1934 election]] for the riding of Kenora. He was re-elected in [[Ontario general election, 1937|1937]]. From 1934 to 1941, he was the Minister of Lands and Forests in the provincial government of [[Mitchell Hepburn]]. Heenan was charged with promoting Hepburn's policies on natural resource development, including the aggressive position with respect to timber licenses in [[Northern Ontario]] that were being held by companies that would not (or could not) cut wood on them. In that regard, in 1936 the ''Forest Resources Regulation Act'' was passed that granted the government broad powers for mandating minimum production quotas, maximum limits in line with good forestry practice, reducing licensed acreages where they were in excess of requirements, and increasing [[stumpage]] fees on companies "operating or carrying on business in a manner detrimental to the public interest."<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title =The Forest Resources Regulation Act, 1936|abbr =S.O.|year =1936|chapter = 22|link=https://archive.org/stream/statutesofprovin1936onta#page/96/mode/2up}}</ref> [[Great Lakes Paper]] saw its holdings reduced from {{convert|23085|km2|acre}} to {{convert|3668|km2|acre}}, and was assessed a $500,000 penalty (${{Inflation|CA|500000|1936|r=-5|fmt=c}} in current terms) for refusing to participate in a minimum price agreement set up by the Ontario and Quebec governments.<ref>{{cite book |author = A. Ernest Epp|editor1= Ajith H. Perera|editor2= David L. Euler|editor3= Ian D. Thompson|title= Ecology of a Managed Terrestrial Landscape: Patterns and Processes of Forest Landscapes in Ontario|url= https://books.google.ca/books?id=quGlpfIZfvMC&lpg=PA253&ots=RSYxFpTflc&pg=PA253#v=onepage&f=false|chapter= 12: Ontario Forests and Forest Policy Before the Era of Sustainable Forestry|year= 2000|publisher= [[UBC Press]]|location= Vancouver|isbn= 0-7748-0749-0|pages=253–254}}</ref>


He also sought to exploit other uses for provincial lands. In 1941, he announced that one-seventh of all Crown land, amounting to {{convert|2000000|acre|km2}}, was being made available for lease to individuals, sportsmen's clubs and commercial camp owners.<ref>{{cite news|author = John G. Mock|title = Crown Lands Leased|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19410409&id=CMwaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cEwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3090,277654|newspaper = [[Pittsburgh Press]]|date = April 9, 1941|page = 30}}</ref>
He also sought to exploit other uses for provincial lands. In 1941, he announced that one-seventh of all Crown land, amounting to {{convert|2000000|acre|km2}}, was being made available for lease to individuals, sportsmen's clubs and commercial camp owners.<ref>{{cite news|author = John G. Mock|title = Crown Lands Leased|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19410409&id=CMwaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cEwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3090,277654|newspaper = [[Pittsburgh Press]]|date = April 9, 1941|page = 30}}</ref>
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{{s-bef|before=[[Harold Arthur Clement Machin]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Harold Arthur Clement Machin]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
|years=1919–1926}}
|years=1919–1926}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Joseph Pattulo Earngey]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Joseph Pattulo Earngey]]}}


{{s-bef|before=[[Earl Hutchinson]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Earl Hutchinson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]] for [[Kenora (electoral district)|Kenora]]
|years=1934–1943}}
|years=1934–1943}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Manson Docker]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[William Manson Docker]]}}


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{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-new|constituency}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament]] for [[Kenora—Rainy River]]
{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament]] for [[Kenora—Rainy River]]
|years=1925–1934}}
|years=1925–1934}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hugh Bathgate McKinnon]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hugh Bathgate McKinnon]]}}
{{end}}
{{end}}
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[[Category:Labour MLAs in Ontario]]
[[Category:Labour MLAs in Ontario]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Ontario Liberal Party MPPs]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario]]
[[Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of Ontario]]
[[Category:Ontario Liberal Party MPPs]]
[[Category:People from Kenora District]]
[[Category:People from Kenora District]]

Revision as of 00:42, 2 January 2017

The Honourable
Peter Heenan
PC
File:Peter Heenan LAC.jpg
MPP for Kenora
In office
October 20, 1919 – October 18, 1926
Preceded byHarold Arthur Clement Machin
Succeeded byJoseph Pattulo Earngey
Member of Parliament for Kenora—Rainy River
In office
October 29, 1925 – July 3, 1934
Preceded byNew riding
Succeeded byHugh Bathgate McKinnon
MPP for Kenora
In office
August 7, 1934 – June 30, 1943
Preceded byEarl Hutchinson
Succeeded byWilliam Manson Docker
Minister of Labour for Canada
In office
September 25, 1926 – August 7, 1930
Preceded byGeorge Burpee Jones
Succeeded byGideon Decker Robertson
Minister of Lands and Forests for Ontario
In office
July 10, 1934 – May 27, 1941
Preceded byWilliam Finlayson
Succeeded byNorman Otto Hipel
Minister of Labour for Ontario
In office
June 14, 1938 – September 2, 1938
Preceded byMorrison Mann MacBride
Succeeded byNorman Otto Hipel
Minister of Labour for Ontario
In office
May 27, 1941 – August 17, 1943
Preceded byNorman Otto Hipel
Succeeded byCharles Daley
Personal details
Born(1875-02-19)February 19, 1875
Tullaree, near Newcastle, County Down, Ireland
DiedMay 12, 1948(1948-05-12) (aged 73)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLabour Party of Canada (to 1926)
Liberal Party of Canada
Ontario Liberal Party
SpouseAnnie Fawcett
Professioncoal miner, diver, locomotive engineer, union leader

Peter Heenan, PC (February 19, 1875 – May 12, 1948) was a Canadian union leader and politician, and also served as a cabinet minister at the federal and provincial levels.

Early life

Born in Tullaree, near Newcastle, County Down, Ireland,[1] Heenan worked as a pit boy at St Helen's Colliery in Cumberland, where he tested work on the mine's railways, and then worked on the Costa Rica Railway in Central America.[2] An attack of yellow fever forced Heenan to move to Canada in 1902, where he first worked on a Western ranch, and then as a locomotive engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway on the run between Winnipeg and Kenora.[2] The experience he had acquired in Costa Rica as a diver also proved useful when he was called to help out in a train wreck just outside Kenora, where the locomotive had plunged down underwater.[2]

Heenan became involved in the labour movement in Northwestern Ontario, becoming its most prominent leader by the beginning of World War I.[3] He also became an alderman on Kenora's town council, serving for five years, and was also chairman of the local public utilities commission for two years.[2]

Political career

Labour MPP in Ontario (1919-1926)

Elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Labour candidate for the riding of Kenora in the 1919 election, Heenan was re-elected in 1923. When the Legislature was not in session, he would resume driving locomotives.[2]

Under Heenan's leadership, the Labour MPPs joined with the United Farmers of Ontario to form a coalition government under E.C. Drury, with the understanding that Drury would support Edward Wellington Backus' plans for erecting a newsprint mill in Kenora.[3] Heenan was also instrumental in getting Harry Mills appointed as the Province's first Minister of Mines.[4]

Liberal MP and federal Minister of Labour (1926-1934)

He was elected as the Liberal candidate to the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Kenora—Rainy River in the 1925 federal election. He was re-elected in 1926 and 1930. From 1926 to 1930, he was the Minister of Labour, and became known as "Peter the Peacemaker" for settling 160 labour disputes in his first three years.[2] He secured the passage of the Mother's Allowance Act and the Old Age Pensions Act.[5]

Heenan still found time to work as a locomotive engineer when the House was not in session.[6] In 1934, during a debate, he exclaimed, "I wanted to be unique. I wanted to be the only man that the Conservatives have put into overalls."[7]

Liberal MPP and Ontario Cabinet Minister (1934-1943)

Heenan resigned his federal seat, after winning a provincial seat as the Liberal Party of Ontario candidate in the 1934 election for the riding of Kenora. He was re-elected in 1937. From 1934 to 1941, he was the Minister of Lands and Forests in the provincial government of Mitchell Hepburn. Heenan was charged with promoting Hepburn's policies on natural resource development, including the aggressive position with respect to timber licenses in Northern Ontario that were being held by companies that would not (or could not) cut wood on them. In that regard, in 1936 the Forest Resources Regulation Act was passed that granted the government broad powers for mandating minimum production quotas, maximum limits in line with good forestry practice, reducing licensed acreages where they were in excess of requirements, and increasing stumpage fees on companies "operating or carrying on business in a manner detrimental to the public interest."[8] Great Lakes Paper saw its holdings reduced from 23,085 square kilometres (5,704,000 acres) to 3,668 square kilometres (906,000 acres), and was assessed a $500,000 penalty ($9,600,000 in current terms) for refusing to participate in a minimum price agreement set up by the Ontario and Quebec governments.[9]

He also sought to exploit other uses for provincial lands. In 1941, he announced that one-seventh of all Crown land, amounting to 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2), was being made available for lease to individuals, sportsmen's clubs and commercial camp owners.[10]

The 1938 collapse of the Lake Sulphite Pulp Company's operation at Red Rock[11] led to Opposition charges of ineptness in the policies of the Department of Lands and Forests. Following hearings by a legislative committee in the matter, Heenan and his deputy minister tendered their resignations.[12] He was subsequently appointed as provincial Minister of Labour.

Heenan took good care of his constituents' interests, and arranged for many improvements for Northwestern Ontario, including the construction of the Heenan Highway (now Highway 71) to serve Kenora and Rainy River.[5]

Further reading

  • Mark Kuhlberg (2005). "'eyes wide open': E. W. Backus and The Pitfalls of Investing in Ontario's Pulp and Paper Industry, 1902-1932". Journal of the Canadian Historical Association. 16 (1). Canadian Historical Association: 201–233. Retrieved October 10, 2013.

References

  1. ^ "Striking Life Romance From Colliery Boy to Can. Cabinet". The Journal of Commerce. Montreal. July 28, 1928. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Miner to Cabinet Minister, Hon. Peter Heenan, 72, Dies". Toronto Daily Star. May 13, 1948. p. 4.
  3. ^ a b Kuhlberg 2005, p. 216.
  4. ^ Michael S. Beaulieu (2009). "Reacting to the Worker's Revolt: The Lakehead and Winnipeg General Strike". Left History. 14 (1). York University: 25. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Highway Officially Opened By Premier M.F. Hepburn Named 'Heenan Highway'". Fort Frances Times and Rainy Lake Herald. July 2, 1936.
  6. ^ "Hon. Peter Heenan To Don Overalls". Montreal Gazette. June 22, 1932. p. 11.
  7. ^ "Hon. Peter Heenan As Only Man Govt. Put Into Overalls". Ottawa Citizen. February 22, 1934. p. 3.
  8. ^ The Forest Resources Regulation Act, 1936, S.O. 1936, c. 22
  9. ^ A. Ernest Epp (2000). "12: Ontario Forests and Forest Policy Before the Era of Sustainable Forestry". In Ajith H. Perera; David L. Euler; Ian D. Thompson (eds.). Ecology of a Managed Terrestrial Landscape: Patterns and Processes of Forest Landscapes in Ontario. Vancouver: UBC Press. pp. 253–254. ISBN 0-7748-0749-0.
  10. ^ John G. Mock (April 9, 1941). "Crown Lands Leased". Pittsburgh Press. p. 30.
  11. ^ "Lake Sulphite Co. Committee Named". Montreal Gazette. March 1, 1938.
  12. ^ R. Peter Gillis; Thomas R. Roach (1986). Lost Initiatives: Canada's Forest Industries, Forest Policy, and Forest Conservation. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 297. ISBN 0-313-25415-X.

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Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Preceded by MPP for Kenora
1919–1926 		Succeeded by
Preceded by MPP for Kenora
1934–1943 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Canada
New constituency Member of Parliament for Kenora—Rainy River
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