Karen Haslam

Haslam was a teacher and librarian before entering public life. She was elected as a Rate Payer's trustee in Beaverbank, Nova Scotia in 1984, and as a school board trustee in Stratford in 1987.

She ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1990 provincial election in the southwestern riding of Perth. She won the election defeating Liberal Gerry Teahen by 2,985 votes.{{cite news |title=Ontario speaks; Election Results 1990 |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=September 7, 1990 |page=B7}} The NDP won a majority government and Haslam was appointed as a Deputy Speaker.{{cite news |title=Shuffling the deck: Bob Rae expected to change cabinet in a bid to exorcise its bumbling image |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=July 27, 1991 |page=B3}} On July 31, 1991, she was promoted to cabinet as Minister of Culture and Communications.{{cite news |title=Cooke loses housing, named house leader |first=Richard |last=Brennan |work=The Windsor Star |date=July 31, 1991 |page=A1}}

In October 1991, a humorous incident occurred when Haslam was escorting Prince Charles on a tour of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) when she caught her heel in a door sill and her shoe fell off. Charles gallantly picked it up and offered it back to her. She said, "My gracious, my prince is handing me my shoe... Thank goodness it fits."{{Cite news |title=Charles: Prince charming a city |work=The Windsor Star |date=October 26, 1991 |page=A13}}

During her time as minister she established a publishing centre for the book and magazine industry.{{cite news |title=Publishing industry gets $5M boost from Ontario |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=August 27, 1991 |page=E7}} She also managed a funding shortage that occurred at the AGO. In 1991 the AGO asked for an additional $6 million for its operating grant.{{cite news |title=Art Gallery of Ontario faces cash crisis |work=Kitchener - Waterloo Record |date=October 15, 1991 |page=C11}} Due to financial constraints, Haslam was unable to agree the request. In July 1992 the AGO was planning a three-month closure for a scheduled expansion but instead it closed for seven months and laid off half of its staff. Haslam convened a task force to review the operation of the AGO led by Glenn Lowry. In November the task force released its findings. If found the operations "basically sound" but the gallery needed to "reduce its dependency on government funding."{{cite news |title=A museum reborn |last=Young |first=Pamela |work=Maclean's |date=February 1, 1993 |page=56}} When the expanded gallery reopened in January 1993, Haslam announced an additional $2 million in funding.{{cite news |title=Province gives AGO $2 million budget boost |work=Kitchener - Waterloo Record |date=January 22, 1993 |page=E6}}

On February 3, 1993 she was demoted to junior position in cabinet as Associate Minister of Health assisting Minister of Health Ruth Grier.{{cite news |title=ankin gets key job: Eight ministries cut in cabinet shuffle |last=Thompson |first=Catherine |work=Kitchener - Waterloo Record |date=February 3, 1993 |page=A1}}

She subsequently emerged as a prominent opponent of the Rae government's Social Contract austerity legislation, which revised labour contracts and mandated unpaid leave days for many provincial workers. After the government decided to move forward with the legislation, Haslam resigned her cabinet position on June 14, 1993.{{Cite news

|url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/504441681.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+15%2C+1993&author=Anne+Kelly&pub=Waterloo+Region+Record&desc=Haslam+quits+NDP+cabinet+in+protest&pqatl=google |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121105001855/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/504441681.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+15,+1993&author=Anne+Kelly&pub=Waterloo+Region+Record&desc=Haslam+quits+NDP+cabinet+in+protest&pqatl=google |url-status= dead |archive-date= November 5, 2012 |title=Haslam quits NDP cabinet in protest |work=Kitchener - Waterloo Record |author=Anne Kelly|date= June 15, 1993|page=A1 |accessdate=3 January 2011

}}{{Cite web |url= http://www.cbc.ca/ontariovotes2003/riding/066/ |title=Ontario Votes 2003 |work=CBC

|accessdate=3 January 2011}} She was the only cabinet minister in the Rae government to resign on principle over this matter. Later, she joined with maverick NDP MPPs Peter Kormos and Mark Morrow and former New Democrat Dennis Drainville to vote against the legislation.

Haslam's decision won her the respect of many dissidents within the party. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Haslam lost her own seat to Progressive Conservative Bert Johnson, but she managed a credible second-place finish in a riding where the NDP had little historical support.{{cite web |url=http://results.elections.on.ca/results/1995_results/valid_votes.jsp?e_code=36&rec=0&district=perth&flag=E&layout=G |title=Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate |publisher=Elections Ontario |date=June 8, 1995 |accessdate=2014-03-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316080436/http://results.elections.on.ca/results/1995_results/valid_votes.jsp?e_code=36&rec=0&district=perth&flag=E&layout=G |archivedate=March 16, 2014 }}

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In 1999, Haslam supported Canadian Union of Public Employees workers in Stratford during a protracted strike in the city. The following year, she scored an upset victory over incumbent Dave Hunt for mayor of the city,{{Cite news |url=http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=2848246 |title=Haslam bounces Hunt as mayor |author=Bev Neeb |work=The Stratford Beacon Herald |date=November 16, 2010 |accessdate=3 January 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} winning by 6305 votes to 4228. She was defeated in 2003 in her bid for re-election winning only 12% of the popular vote against two other prominent opponents.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

In October 2005, Haslam took on the position of Provincial Secretary of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. She subsequently resigned in March 2006.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

Haslam currently serves on the Provincial Conservation Review Board.{{Cite web|url=https://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/1443915-dunlap-observatory-remarkable-should-be-protected-says-expert/|title=Dunlap Observatory ‘remarkable,’ should be protected, says expert|author=David Fleischer|date=January 19, 2009|work=yorkregion.com|accessdate=5 March 2023|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306014519/https://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/1443915-dunlap-observatory-remarkable-should-be-protected-says-expert/|url-status=live}}

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Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:Mayors of Stratford, Ontario

Category:Members of the Executive Council of Ontario

Category:Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs

Category:Politicians from St. Catharines

Category:Women government ministers of Canada

Category:Women mayors of places in Ontario

Category:Women MPPs in Ontario

Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Category:20th-century Canadian women politicians

Category:21st-century mayors of places in Ontario