Canadian politician (1949–2015)
Eric Gordon Cunningham (April 14, 1949 – January 1, 2015) was a politician in Ontario , Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1984.
Background
Cunningham was born in Hamilton , Ontario, and educated at the University of Western Ontario and McMaster University . He worked as an advertising executive, was a founder of the Ontario New Liberal Association, and received a provincial recognition award in 1968.
Politics
He campaigned for the House of Commons of Canada in the 1974 federal election as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada , and lost to Progressive Conservative Bill Kempling by 668 votes in Halton—Wentworth .[ 1] He was elected to the Ontario legislature in a provincial election the following year, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Don Ewen by 1,977 votes in Wentworth North .[ 2] He was re-elected by an increased majority in the 1977 election ,[ 3] and defeated Progressive Conservative challenger Ann Sloat in 1981 .[ 4] He supported Jim Breithaupt for the Liberal Party leadership in 1982, and resigned from the legislature in 1984 to run federally a second time.
Cunningham was defeated in the 1984 federal election , losing to Progressive Conservative candidate Geoff Scott by over 10,000 votes amid Brian Mulroney 's landslide victory across the country.[ 5]
Later life
Cunningham joined United Water Canada in 1999, as vice-president of business development responsible for Canada.[ 6] In 2002, he told an interviewer that his company was investigating possibilities with several Canadian municipalities for private sector expansion in water treatment.[citation needed ]
Cunningham also remained active in the Liberal Party. In 2004, he supported Tony Valeri over Sheila Copps for the federal party's contested nomination in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek .
Cunningham died at the age of 65 on January 1, 2015.[ 7] [ 8]
References
^ "How the party candidates fared across the country". The Toronto Star . July 9, 1974. p. A12.
^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail . September 19, 1975. p. C12.
^ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail . June 10, 1977. p. D9.
^ Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Winds of change, sea of security" . The Windsor Star . Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-01 .
^ "How Canada voted". The Globe and Mail . September 5, 1984. pp. 14–15.
^ "North American French Industrial Club" (PDF) . June 6–8, 2001. p. 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2004.
^ "Eric Cunningham, former MPP, dead at 65" . Hamilton Spectator . January 1, 2015. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015 .
^ Gallant, Jacques (January 2, 2015). "Former Hamilton MPP Eric Cunningham dies in his sleep at 65" . Hamilton Spectator .
External links