Ian Deans

Canadian politician (1937–2016)

Ian Deans

Member of Parliament
for Hamilton Mountain
In office
18 February 1980 – 31 August 1986
Preceded by| Duncan Beattie
Succeeded by| Marion Dewar
Ontario MPP
In office
17 October 1967 – 1 February 1979
Preceded by| Don Ewen
Succeeded by| Colin Isaacs
Constituency| Wentworth
Personal details
Born| (1937-08-16)16 August 1937
Kilmarnock, Scotland
Died| 3 May 2016(2016-05-03) (aged 78)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Political party| New Democrat
Spouse(s)| June Deans (née Bateman)[1]
Diane Deans (div.)
Occupation|

* Firefighter
* draftsman

Ian Deans (16 August 1937 – 3 May 2016) was a Scottish-Canadian politician. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1979 and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1986.[2]

## Background[edit]

Deans was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland. He moved to Canada as a youth and found work as a firefighter. He met his wife, Diane, when she was a staffer on Parliament Hill. He helped her launch her own political career as an Ottawa-area city councillor. The couple were married for 22 years before divorcing. Afterwards, Deans moved back to the Hamilton area.[3]

Deans died in Hamilton, Ontario on May 3, 2016, at the age of 78.[3]

## Politics[edit]

### Provincial[edit]

He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a New Democratic Member in the 1967 provincial election representing the Hamilton area riding of Wentworth.[4]

In 1970, he favoured a resolution that would force The Waffle, a radical left-wing group within the party, to be expelled. Deans objected to the organization because it recruited its own members, raised its own funds, and created its own policy, called 'The Manifesto'. He said, "You then become a political organization unto yourself."[5] The resolution passed at an NDP convention in 1972.[6] In 1970, Deans broke with most of his colleagues by expressing support for Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's implementation of the War Measures Act during the FLQ Crisis.

In 1978, he ran in the Ontario NDP leadership convention to succeed Stephen Lewis. Deans' earlier support for the War Measures Act became a point of contention and he recanted his position saying he was wrong and had regretted it ever since.[7] Initially projected to be the front runner, he lost by less than 200 votes to Michael Cassidy. Deans resigned from the legislature the next year.

### Federal[edit]

Deans moved to federal politics and won a seat in the House of Commons of Canada during the 1980 federal election representing Hamilton Mountain.[8]

He served as House Leader for the New Democratic Party during the illness of Stanley Knowles, and became official House Leader following the 1984 federal election.[9]

In the fall of 1986, he surprised colleagues by resigning from parliament to accept an appointment by Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as head of the Public Service Staff Relations Board, a position Deans went on to hold for 10 years.[3]

In 2007, Deans returned to politics and was acclaimed as the federal NDP's candidate in Brant. However, due to the onset of Parkinson's disease, he dropped out of the race.

### Municipal[edit]

In 2010, Deans said in an interview that he might run in the Hamilton Municipal Election in 2010 if his Parkinson's hasn't progressed any farther.[10] On September 2, 2010, he announced he would be running for mayor of Hamilton in the 2010 Municipal Election. He was quoted as saying, "The current city council 'a laughing stock' that has made it impossible to sell anything to do with Hamilton."[11] At the last minute, he changed his mind, withdrew from the Mayoral race and ran instead for the position of Ward 2 (Downtown) Councillor in a field of 20 candidates after the incumbent councillor, Bob Bratina, decided to run for Mayor. Deans finished in eighth place with 231 votes (3%).[12]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Ian Deans". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
2. ^ "Former Hamilton Mountain NDP MP Ian Deans dies". The Hamilton Spectator. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.[permanent dead link]
3. ^ a b c "Ian Deans (1937-2016): NDP firebrand went on to head Public Service Staff Relations Board". Ottawa Citizen. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
4. ^ Canadian Press (18 October 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
5. ^ Slinger, John (30 November 1971). "Supports Hamilton Mountain resolution: NDP MRP favors outlawing Waffle as organization". The Globe and Mail. p. 33.
6. ^ Hoy, Claire (26 June 1972). "Waffle decides to defy NDP order to disband". The Toronto Star. Toronto. pp. 01, 03.
7. ^ Webster, Norman (4 February 1978). "Deans out front, but Cassidy close". The Globe and Mail.
8. ^ "Federal general election results listed riding-by-riding". The Ottawa Citizen. 19 February 1987. pp. 29–30.
9. ^ "How Canada voted". The Globe and Mail. 5 September 1984. pp. 14–15. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|url=` (help)
10. ^ Newman, Mark (11 July 2008). "Ian Deans considers comeback". Hamilton Mountain News.
11. ^ Newman, Mark (2 September 2010). "The Return of Ian Deans". Stoney Creek News. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
12. ^ "Municipal election results". Hamilton Spectator. 26 October 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2012.[permanent dead link]

## External links[edit]

*   * Ian Deans – Parliament of Canada biography
* Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history