John Eakins

Canadian politician

John Eakins

Ontario MPP
In office
1975–1990
Preceded by| Ronald Glen Hodgson
Succeeded by| Dennis Drainville
Constituency| Victoria—Haliburton
Personal details
Born| (1922-12-08)December 8, 1922
Mariposa Township, Victoria County, Ontario
Died| September 16, 1998(1998-09-16) (aged 75)
Hamilton, Ontario
Political party| Liberal
Spouse| Iris May
Children| 3
Occupation| Barber

John F. Eakins (December 8, 1922 - September 16, 1998) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1990 who represented the riding of Victoria—Haliburton. He served as a Cabinet Minister in the government of David Peterson.

## Background

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Eakins was born in Mariposa Township in Victoria County, Ontario and educated in Lindsay, Ontario. Eakins was a barber and hairdresser. Eakin was predeceased by his wife, Iris, who died in the mid-1980s and they had three children.

## Politics

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He served as a councillor in Lindsay for three years, and as Mayor for six. As Mayor, he led the twinning of the Town of Lindsay with Nayoro, Hokkaido, and Japan in 1969.[1] Eakins was also a governor of Fleming College, and a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. He also served as Warden of Victoria County, Ontario.

He first sought election to the Ontario legislature in the 1967 provincial election, but lost to Progressive Conservative Glen Hodgson by 2,016 votes in Victoria—Haliburton. He ran again in the 1971 election and lost to Hodgson by 2,119 votes.

The Ontario Liberal Party increased its legislative representation in the 1975 provincial election, and Eakins defeated Hodgson by 1,023 votes in his third attempt.[2] He was re-elected by greater margins in the elections of 1977,[3] 1981,[4] 1985[5] and 1987.[6]

After serving in opposition for forty-two years, the Liberal Party formed a minority government after the 1985 election. David Peterson, the province's new Premier, appointed Eakins as his Minister of Tourism and Recreation on June 26, 1985.[7] He held this position until September 29, 1987, when he was appointed as Minister of Municipal Affairs.[8] He left cabinet on August 2, 1989.[9]

Eakins did not run in the 1990 election.

### Cabinet positions

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Ontario provincial government of David Peterson

Cabinet posts (2)
Predecessor  | Office  | Successor
Bernard Grandmaitre | Minister of Municipal Affairs
1987-1989  | John Sweeney
Claude Bennett | Minister of Tourism and Recreation
1985-1987  | Hugh O'Neil

## Later life

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After leaving provincial office, he remained active in the Rotary Club of Lindsay and numerous other community activities.[10] Eakins was the driving force behind the creation of the Lindsay and District Sports Hall of Fame, which was developed to honour athletes, coaches and supporters of sporting activities in the County.[11]

Eakins died in 1998, after undergoing cancer treatments in Hamilton, Ontario.

## References

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1. ^ [1]|Lindsay Post, September 4, 2009
2. ^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
3. ^ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
4. ^ Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Election results for Metro Toronto ridings". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
5. ^ "Results of vote in Ontario election". The Globe and Mail. May 3, 1985. p. 13.
6. ^ "Results from individual ridings". The Windsor Star. September 11, 1987. p. F2.
7. ^ "Liberals pledge reform as they take over in Ontario". The Gazette. Montreal, Que. June 27, 1985. p. B1.
8. ^ "Wrye gets new cabinet job". The Windsor Star. September 29, 1987. p. A1.
9. ^ Allen, Gene (August 3, 1989). "Veterans bear load as 8 ministers cut in Peterson shuffle". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
10. ^ [2]| Tribute in the Legislative Assembly, September 30, 1998
11. ^ "Our Founder". Archived from the original on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2013-05-30.|LADSHF History

## External links

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* Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Premier of Ontario David Peterson (1985-1990)

David Peterson

* Charles Beer
* Jim Bradley
* Ken Black
* Elinor Caplan
* Shirley Collins
* Sean Conway
* Alvin Curling
* John Eakins
* Murray Elston
* René Fontaine
* Ed Fulton
* Bernard Grandmaître
* Christine Hart
* Chaviva Hošek
* Vince Kerrio
* Ken Keyes
* Monte Kwinter
* Remo Mancini
* Lyn McLeod
* Lily Oddie Munro
* Robert Nixon
* Hugh O'Neil
* Steve Offer
* Richard Patten
* Gerry Phillips
* Jack Riddell
* Tony Ruprecht
* Ian Scott
* Joan Smith
* Greg Sorbara
* John Sweeney
* Ron Van Horne
* Chris Ward
* Mavis Wilson
* Bill Wrye

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