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For the earlier Newfoundland politician with the same name, see John Chalker Crosbie.
John Carnell Crosbie, PC, OC, ONL, QC (born January 30, 1931) is a retired provincial and federal politician in Canada. He sometimes sparked controversy when a Cabinet minister during the government of Brian Mulroney, from 1984 to 1993. On February 4, 2008, Crosbie was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.[1]
[edit] Early lifeBorn in pre-Confederation St. John's, Newfoundland, Crosbie was educated at St. Andrew's College in Ontario, between 1945 and 1949, after which he studied Political Science at Queen's University and law at Dalhousie Law School. Crosbie's grandfather, Sir John Chalker Crosbie was a prominent businessman and politician. His father, Chesley A. Crosbie, was leader of the Party for Economic Union with the United States in the 1940s and a leading opponent of the campaign for Newfoundland to join Canadian Confederation. Although he was too young to vote in the 1948 referendums, John Crosbie assisted his father's campaign. [edit] Local and Provincial political careerCrosbie first entered politics as a member of the St. John's city council until he was appointed to the provincial cabinet of Liberal Premier Joey Smallwood in 1966. He won a seat in the Newfoundland House of Assembly soon after. Smallwood's government had been in power since 1949, and the Premier was trying to rejuvenate his cabinet by bringing in new blood. Smallwood's authoritarian style and refusal to allow a younger generation to take power frustrated Crosbie and other young ministers such as Clyde Wells. In 1969, Crosbie challenged Smallwood for the party leadership and lost. He crossed the floor to join the opposition Progressive Conservatives led by Frank Moores. Crosbie helped the Tories defeat Smallwood and come to power in 1972 and held several senior portfolios in Moores's cabinet. [edit] Federal political careerIn 1976, Crosbie moved to federal politics, winning the seat of St. John's West in the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election. When Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives formed a minority government after the 1979 general election, Crosbie became Minister of Finance. He presented a tough budget that included tax increases in what Crosbie quipped was "short term pain for long term gain." A Motion of No Confidence on the budget brought the Clark government down on December 13, 1979, resulting in a new election which the Tories lost. Clark's government would last a total of 9 months less a day. Crosbie famously described it in his own inimitable way: "Long enough to conceive, just not long enough to deliver." Crosbie was a candidate at the 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership convention, placing a strong third behind Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark. While Crosbie may have been the most popular of the candidates, he was hurt by his inability to speak French. His response that he did not know how to speak Chinese either was not well received. Less notable was the failure of the "John Crosbie blimp" to operate properly during his campaign's demonstration on the floor of the convention. After Trudeau retired in 1984 and was replaced by John Turner, Mulroney led the Tories to power in the 1984 federal election. Crosbie was named Minister of Justice in Mulroney's first cabinet. In 1985, while justice minister, he attracted attention when, in a heated moment during parliamentary debate, he told Liberal Member of Parliament Sheila Copps "Just quieten down, baby." This remark was the motivation for the choice of title for her autobiography, Nobody's Baby. In 1986, he was named Minister of Transport. He became Minister for International Trade in 1988, shortly after the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was negotiated. A lifelong supporter of free trade with the United States, Crosbie actively promoted the agreement in the that year's federal election, which was primarily fought on the issue. At a fundraising dinner in Victoria, British Columbia in 1990, Crosbie took another dig at Sheila Copps by saying that she made him think of the song lyrics, "Pass the Tequila, Sheila, and lay down and love me again." Crosbie finished his career as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and did not run for re-election in 1993. He would later again rankle feminists and progressives with his recurring references, in the late 1980s and early 1990s (during the 34th Canadian Parliament), to the "Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse", in reference to Copps, fellow MPs Dawn Black, Mary Clancy, and National Action Committee on the Status of Women President Judy Rebick. [edit] Life after federal politicsIn 1997, he published his memoirs, entitled No Holds Barred: My Life in Politics (ISBN 0-7710-2427-4). Around this time, the feud between him and Copps had also cooled. Crosbie had devoted an entire chapter in his autobiography to his confrontations with Copps. In her second autobiography, Worth Fighting For, Copps had Crosbie write an introduction in which he says "I write this Introduction to her new book as a tribute to a feisty, sometimes ferocious, feminist protagonist, never shy or retiring but redoubtable political personality. She was a constant thorn in my side while she was in Opposition, but her marriage to my fellow Newfoundlander Austin Thorne has made her more serene and has calmed her sometimes volcanic and partisan excesses". Crosbie remained in the Progressive Conservative Party until its dissolution in 2003. Despite his earlier opposition to the Canadian Alliance, he did not oppose the merger of the two parties and joined the new Conservative Party of Canada. In 2004, he served as an advisor to Tony Clement's campaign for the leadership of the new party. In the 2004 federal election, he publicly considered running for the Conservatives against Liberal incumbent John Efford in the Newfoundland riding of Avalon, but ultimately decided against doing so. Since 1994, he has served as Chancellor of Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1998, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Crosbie continued to practise law with the law firm of Cox & Palmerin St. John's until his current appointment. [edit] Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and LabradorOn February 4, 2008, Governor General Michaëlle Jean, on the advice of her Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, appointed John Crosbie as Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, suceeding Edward Roberts. [edit] Memorable quotations
Reference No Holds Barred - John Crosbie's autobiography [edit] External links
[edit] Notes
Categories: 1931 births | Canadian Ministers of Finance | Canadian Ministers of Transport | Canadian university and college chancellors | Lieutenant Governors of Newfoundland and Labrador | Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Newfoundland and Labrador | Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party MHAs | Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party MHAs | Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs | Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada | Canadian lawyers | Canadian Queen's Counsel | Dalhousie Law School graduates | Queen's University alumni | People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | Officers of the Order of Canada | Members of the United Church of Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador municipal councillors | Living people | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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