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| Rank | 19th | |
| Term of Office: | February, 1985 - June 26, 1985 | |
| Predecessor: | William Davis | |
| Successor: | David Peterson | |
| Date of Birth: | May 14, 1927 | |
| Died: | July 21, 2000 | |
| Place of Birth: | Toronto, Ontario | |
| Profession: | Engineer, Businessman | |
| Political Party: | Progressive Conservative | |
Frank Miller ( 1927- 2000) was a Canadian politician, who served briefly as Premier of OntarioOntario ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains Capital Toronto Largest City Toronto Area Total % fresh water 4th largest(2nd lgst prov. 1 076 395 kmē 14. 7% Population Total (2001) Density Rank in 1985.
Miller had a successful career as a professional engineer, car dealer and resort operator before entering politics in 1967 as a member of Muskoka's town council. In 1971, he was elected to the Ontario legislatureA legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. Legislatures are known by many names, including: parliament congress diet and national assembly . In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme a as an MPP for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. He was re-elected in 1975, 1977 and 1981. In 1974, he joined the cabinet of Premier William Davis, and served variously as health minister, provincial treasurer and industry miniter.
When Davis retired Miller defeated Larry Grossman, Roy McMurtry and Dennis Timbrell for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in its January 1985 leadership convention. Davis and his predecessor John Robarts were considered Red Tories and ran relatively progressive administrations that saw increased public investment and expansion. Miller was perceived as a right winger, and took the party in a more conservative direction.
Miller became Premier once Davis officially stepped down in February and called an election for May 1985, but ran a disastrous campaign. He was not helped when he refused to agree to a television debate with his rivals David Peterson of the Ontario Liberal Party and Bob Rae of the NDP. Miller was also hurt by his predecessor's announcement to extend public funding for Catholic Separate Schools to grade 13, a decision which had been left to Miller to implement and which was unpopular with some in the Tory party's traditional rural Protestant base.
The election resulted in a minority government in which the Tories had only four more seats than the Liberals, with the NDP holding the balance of power. After several weeks of negotiations, the NDP signed an agreement with Peterson to support a Liberal minority government. Miller's government was soon defeated in the legislature on a Motion of No Confidence. As a result of the Liberal-NDP accord, the lieutenant-governor asked Peterson to form a government, ending the 42 years of successive Conservative governments. Miller resigned as Progressive Conservative leader in a November 1985 leadership convention, and was replaced by Larry Grossman. The Tories did not return to power in Ontario until 1995 under Mike Harris.
Miller returned to private life, passing away in 2000. His son, Norm Miller, entered provincial politics in 2001, winning the riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka after Ernie Eves resigned the seat.
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Preceded by: | Premier of Ontario 1985 |
Succeeded by: |
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Preceded by: | Ontario Conservative Leaders |
Succeeded by: |