Ron McNeil
{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ron McNeil
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| office1 = Ontario MPP
| term_start1 = 1958
| term_end1 = 1987
| predecessor1 = Fletcher Thomas
| successor1 = Marietta Roberts
| constituency1 = Elgin
| party = Progressive Conservative
| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|1|15}}
| birth_place = Springfield, Ontario
| death_date = {{death date and age|2003|3|18|1920|1|15}}
| death_place = Lyons, Ontario
| occupation = Farmer
| spouse = Doris (1987-2000)
}}
Ronald Keith McNeil (January 15, 1920 – March 18, 2003) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1958 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Background
McNeil was born in Springfield, Ontario. He majored in field husbandry at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, and received his degree in 1942. He worked as a livestock farmer. McNeil was a bachelor until age 65. He married his wife Doris in 1987 who predeceased him in 2000.{{cite web |title=McNeil (Obituary) |url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/t/h/o/Doug-Thomas/FILE/0018text.txt |publisher=familytreemaker.org |date=March 18, 2003 |accessdate=April 29, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021031720/http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/t/h/o/Doug-Thomas/FILE/0018text.txt |archivedate=October 21, 2014 }}
Municipal politics
McNeil served on the municipal council of South Dorchester from 1946 to 1948, was its reeve from 1949 to 1952, and was a warden of Elgin County in 1952. Also in 1952, he served as chair of the centennial committee for Elgin and St. Thomas.
Provincial politics
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in a by-election held on January 30, 1958, in the constituency of Elgin. He defeated Liberal candidate Ralph Auckland by 3,246 votes, and served in the legislature as a backbench supporter of Leslie Frost's administration. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1959,{{cite news |author=Canadian Press |title=Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies |newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen |date=June 12, 1959 |location=Ottawa |page=26 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Yh0yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d-QFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6095%2C2812390 |accessdate=2014-03-22}} 1963,{{cite news |author=Canadian Press |title=78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=September 26, 1963 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=25 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QDM_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=T1EMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6134%2C3886120|accessdate=2014-05-24}} 1967,{{cite news |author=Canadian Press |title=Tories win, but... |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=October 18, 1967 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=B2 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TDM_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=VVEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3673%2C2835192 |accessdate=2014-03-30}} 1971,{{cite news |title=Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=October 23, 1971 |page=10}} 1975,{{cite news |title=Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=September 19, 1975 |page=C12}} 1977,{{cite news |title=Ontario provincial election results riding by riding |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 1977 |page=D9}} 1981{{cite news|author=Canadian Press |title=Winds of change, sea of security |newspaper=The Windsor Star |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0NtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QlIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1444%2C1388326 |date=1981-03-20 |location=Windsor, Ontario |page=22 |accessdate=2014-04-01}} and 1985.{{cite news |title=Results of vote in Ontario election |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=May 3, 1985 |page=13}} McNeil came close to losing in 1967 and 1975, but on other occasions won re-election by fairly significant margins.
Despite his long service in the house, McNeil was never appointed to cabinet. He served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1977 to 1985. He was known for his efforts to keep the Ontario Police College in Aylmer.{{cite news |title=Fond farewells |url=http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/01/01/301547.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115074223/http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/01/01/301547.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |newspaper=London Free Press |date=January 1, 2004 |accessdate=April 29, 2014}}
McNeil was defeated in the 1987 provincial election, losing to Liberal candidate Marietta Roberts by 2,437 votes.{{cite news |title=Results from individual ridings |newspaper=The Windsor Star |date=September 11, 1987 |page=F2}} Roberts had finished a close second to McNeil in the 1975 election.
Later life
After the election, McNeil returned to his farm in Lyons. McNeil died in 2003. Norm Sterling, speaking in the Ontario legislature on his death, described him as a quiet, respected man who made few legislative speeches. He said of McNeil "he was one of those MPPs who never forgot where he came from, and during all that time he served everyone who came to him for help."{{cite web |title=Official Records for 28 May 2003 |url=http://ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2003-05-28&Parl=37&Sess=4&locale=en#P163_22340 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Ontario |date=May 28, 2003 |accessdate=April 29, 2014}} There is currently a Ron McNeil Road in Springfield.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Ontario MPP biography|id=ronald-keith-mcneil}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeil, Ron}}
Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
Category:People from Middlesex County, Ontario
Category:Ontario Agricultural College alumni
Category:20th-century mayors of places in Ontario
Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario