Hugh Edighoffer

Hugh Edighoffer
Ontario MPP
In office
1967–1990
Preceded byJ. Fred Edwards
Succeeded byKaren Haslam
ConstituencyPerth
Personal details
Born
Hugh Alden Edighoffer

(1928-07-22)July 22, 1928
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
DiedJuly 2, 2019(2019-07-02) (aged 90)
Mitchell, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
OccupationBusinessman

Hugh Alden Edighoffer (July 22, 1928 – July 2, 2019) was a politician in Ontario, Canada.[1] He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal member from 1967 to 1990, and was Speaker of the legislature during the administration of David Peterson.

Background

Edighoffer was born in 1928 at Stratford, Ontario,[2] grew up in Mitchell, was educated at Pickering College and worked as a retail merchant in the clothing business before entering provincial politics. He also served on the town council for Mitchell in 1958 and 1959 and was mayor from 1960 to 1961.[2]

Politics

He ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1963 election, but lost to Progressive Conservative J. Fred Edwards by over 5,000 votes in the constituency of Perth.[3] Edighoffer ran again in the 1967 election, and defeated Edwards by 187 votes.[4] He was re-elected without difficulty in the elections of 1971,[5] 1975,[6] 1977,[7] 1981,[8] 1985,[9] and 1987.[10]

The Liberal Party, which had been out of power since 1943, formed a minority government after the election of 1985. Edighoffer, who had served as Deputy Speaker in a previous minority parliament, was appointed Speaker of the Legislature on June 4, 1985 after the toppling of the Frank Miller's government in a motion of non-confidence. Edighoffer was nominated and seconded for the Speaker's position by the leaders of all three political parties represented in the legislature, and was generally regarded as an impartial officeholder.[2] He was re-appointed as speaker on November 3, 1987 following that year's provincial election. He served in the position for another three years, and did not seek re-election in 1990.[2]

Edighoffer's painting in the Ontario legislature was painted by Istvan Nyikos, a Hungarian-born Canadian artist.[11]

Parliamentary positions

Special Parliamentary Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
John Melville Turner Speaker
1985-1990
David William Warner
Jack Stokes Deputy Speaker
1977-1981
Sam Cureatz

References

  1. ^ Hugh Edighoffer's obituary
  2. ^ a b c d Dale, Clare A (1992). Whose servant I am" : speakers of the assemblies of the province of Upper Canada, Canada and Ontario, 1792-1992. Toronto: Ontario Legislative Library. pp. 298–303.
  3. ^ Canadian Press (September 26, 1963). "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 25. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  4. ^ Canadian Press (October 18, 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  5. ^ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  6. ^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  7. ^ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  8. ^ Canadian Press (March 20, 1981). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  9. ^ "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
  10. ^ "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. September 11, 1987. p. F2.
  11. ^ "Hansard". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. May 1, 1991. Archived from the original on 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2014-08-30.