Ernie Eves

Ernie Eves
23rd Premier of Ontario
In office
April 15, 2002 – October 22, 2003
MonarchElizabeth II
Lieutenant GovernorJames Bartleman
Preceded byMike Harris
Succeeded byDalton McGuinty
5th Deputy Premier of Ontario
In office
June 26, 1995 – February 8, 2001
PremierMike Harris
Preceded byFloyd Laughren
Succeeded byJim Flaherty
Leader of the Opposition in Ontario
In office
October 23, 2003 – September 28, 2004
Preceded byDalton McGuinty
Succeeded byBob Runciman (interim)
Leader of the Ontario PC Party
In office
March 23, 2002 – September 18, 2004
Preceded byMike Harris
Succeeded byJohn Tory
Member of the
Ontario Provincial Parliament
In office
May 2, 2002 – January 31, 2005
Preceded byDavid Tilson
Succeeded byJohn Tory
ConstituencyDufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey
In office
June 3, 1999 – February 8, 2001
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byNorm Miller
ConstituencyParry Sound—Muskoka
In office
March 19, 1981 – June 3, 1999
Preceded byLorne Maeck
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyParry Sound
Personal details
Born
Ernest Larry Eves

(1946-06-17) June 17, 1946 (age 78)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouse
Vicki Eves
(m. 1976; div. 1999)
Domestic partnerIsabel Bassett (1999–)
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
Osgoode Hall Law School

Ernest Larry Eves OOnt KC[1] (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership upon Mike Harris's resignation as party leader, but the party was defeated in the 2003 election by the Liberals, under Dalton McGuinty.

Eves was born in Windsor, Ontario, to a working-class family. He studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School and practised law in his own firm, Green & Eves. He was elected in the northern Ontario riding of Parry Sound in 1981 by a margin of six votes but retained the seat for 20 years. He served briefly as a cabinet minister in the short-lived government of Frank Miller in 1985, but he was consigned to the opposition benches when the Tories were defeated in a motion of no confidence by an alliance of the opposition Liberal and New Democrats. He remained in opposition until 1995, when the Tories returned to power under Mike Harris, who appointed Eves as his Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. Family tragedy and marital problems led to his resignation from the legislature in 2001.

After a brief return to the private sector, Eves returned to politics when Harris resigned in 2002. He won the party leadership and regained a seat in the legislature after winning a by-election in the central Ontario riding of Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey. His tenure as premier was short, as his party was defeated 16 months later in the 2003 election, which saw the PC party lose 35 of its 59 seats. He resigned as leader in 2004 and retired from the legislature on January 31, 2005.

In 2007, Eves was appointed as Chairman of Jacob Securities Inc., a Toronto-based financial services company. He served in that position until July 2012.[2]

  1. ^ "Ontario Newsroom".
  2. ^ "Ernie Eves, Q.C., Former Ontario Premier and Minister of Finance, Joins Jacob & Company Securities Inc. as Executive Chairman". Marketwired. May 30, 2007.