Home > Howard Hampton

He was born in Fort Frances, Ontario to a blue collar family. He was a good student, but also athletically gifted and politically active, getting involved with the NDP as a teenager.

He took an undergraduate degree in philosophy and religion from Dartmouth College, which he attended on a hockey scholarship. He later obtained a degree in education from the University of Toronto and a law degree from the University of Ottawa. He worked as a lawyer for the Canadian Labour Congress, and for the NDP government of Allan Blakeney in Saskatchewan.

Hampton first ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1977 , placing third against incumbent Liberal Pat Reid and Progressive Conservative Gordon Thomson in the riding of Rainy River . He ran for the riding again in the 1987 provincial election, this time losing to Progressive Conservative Jack Pierce by 78 votes.

Hampton was finally elected to Queen's Park on his third attempt, in the provincial election of 1987. He was re-elected in the 1990 provincial electionAs a result of serious scandals, David Peterson Liberal government was defeated by a large protest vote. In a surprise upset, Bob Rae's Ontario New Democratic Party won a majority government. This marked the first time the NDP won an election in Ontario., in which the NDP won an unexpected majority government. On October 1October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). There are 91 days remaining. Events 331 BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Arbela 959 Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England 965 John XIII becomes Pop, 1990Events January January 3 Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces. January 7 The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public due to safety concerns. January 9 Lt Gen Bazilio Olara Okello The man who led the coup aginst Dr Apo, he was named Attorney General in the government of Bob RaeRobert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) was the 21st premier of Ontario, and the first to represent the NDP in that role. He served as premier from October 1, 1990, to June 28, 1995. The Hon. Bob Rae Rank 21st Term of office October 1, 1990 June 28, 1995 P.

By all accounts, Hampton and Rae were not cabinet allies. Hampton represented the left-wing of the NDP, and disapproved of many of the Rae government's centrist policies; in particular, he opposed Rae's decision to retreat from an election pledge to introduce public automobile insurance in the province. Journalist Thomas Walkom has also argued that Rae deliberately undermined Hampton's control over the Attorney General's office, staffing the ministry with bureaucrats to which he was ideologically incompatible.

Following a cabinet shuffle on February 3February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 331 days remaining, (332 in leap years). In the Northern hemisphere, there are 88 days in winter (in a non-leap year). We are considered halfway through winter on February 3., 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic., Hampton was named Minister of Natural Resources , responsible for Native Affairs . The NDP were defeated in the provincial election of 1995Bob Rae's Ontario New Democratic Party government was defeated by voters, who are angry at the mistakes made by the inexperienced NDP, and frustrated by rising taxes and unemployment. Lyn McLeod's Liberals, who had been leading in the polls, were denied v, and Hampton re-elected over Progressive Conservative Lynn Beyak by only 205 votes.

After Rae retired from politics, Hampton became the leader of the NDP on June 22June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. Events 168 BC Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat and capture Macedonian King Perseus, ending the Third Macedonian War, 1996, beating Frances Lankin, who many had considered the front-runner, on the third ballot. Leadership candidate Peter Kormos and his support generally went to Hampton rather than Lankin, which was seen as important to Hampton's victory. Tony Silipo also ran for the leadership and would become Hampton's Deputy Leader until 1999.

In the 1999 Ontario election, some union leaders, who had been a crucial source of NDP support before 1995, attempted to defeat Mike Harris, the Progressive Conservative premier, by abandoning the NDP for the Liberals. This tactical voting, commonly called "strategic voting," did not succeed in ousting the Harris government, but nearly decimated the NDP as they took just nine seats and 12 per cent of the popular vote in their poorest election showing since the 1950s. As Hampton was not judged to have been at fault, he stayed on as leader.

Hampton endorsed Bill Blaikie in the latter's unsuccessful bid for the federal New Democratic Party leadership in 2002. This decision was unpopular with some other members of his caucus, including Deputy Leader Marilyn Churley who was a leading supporter of Jack Layton.

In Harris' second term, the government unveiled plans to privatize the public electricity utility, Ontario Hydro. Hampton quickly distinguished himself as a passionate advocate of maintaining public ownership of the utility, and published a book on the subject, Public Power, in 2003. Harris' successor as premier, Ernie Eves, was ultimately forced to back down on selling the hydro utility.

Although Hampton and the NDP were widely judged to have run an excellent campaign, they won only seven seats in the 2003 Ontario election, losing official party status. However, Hampton retained his seat and the party won a larger share of the popular vote than it had in 1999. After intense lobbying to lower the minimum number of seats for party status, embarrassing the new government in that they were failing to follow the spirit of their promise of electoral reform, a compromise was reached which allowed additional funding for the NDP and more inquiry opportunities during Question Period.

On May 13, 2004, the NDP won official party status in a by-election in Hamilton East, Ontario, where city councillor Andrea Horwath was elected to fill the vacancy left by the death of Liberal member Dominic Agostino.

Hampton's wife, Shelley Martel, is also an MPP, representing Nickel Belt.