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William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons of Canada for the federal New Democratic Party. Following his retirement from federal politics, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 2009 until 2011, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and served as Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader.
Blaikie had the longest continuous parliamentary record in the 38th and 39th Canadian Parliaments, and in this capacity served as the Dean of the House. He was a member of the King's Privy Council for Canada. Blaikie was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2008.
Prior to the 2011 Manitoba election, he announced that he was retiring from political life.
Blaikie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and religious studies from the University of Winnipeg (1973), and a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology (1977). He was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Canada on June 4, 1978, and subsequently became a politician in the social gospel tradition of such figures as J. S. Woodsworth, Tommy Douglas and Stanley Knowles.Blaikie himself delivered the eulogy at Knowles's funeral in 1997. See "Knowles bid fond farewell", Winnipeg Free Press, June 13, 1997, A10. Blaikie explained the linkage between his political and religious views in 2000, writing "As a Christian on the left I would want to argue ... that there is a vast realm called "the economy," and all the values and practices that it explicitly and implicitly reinforces, that should be judged, in the Christian mind, by whether or not it conforms to the teachings of Jesus Christ, whether any false gods, like the market, are worshipped therein, whether the poor and the oppressed are given priority, and whether, environmentally speaking, creation is being looked after." See Bill Blaikie, "Day's politics versus his faith --- Opposition leader argues from conservative, not biblical principles", Toronto Star, December 2, 2000, 1. From 1977 to 1979, he worked as the Minister/Director of North End Community Ministry, an inner-city outreach ministry of the United Church located within the historic Stella Ave. Mission in Winnipeg.Mary Trueman, "Critics call it an excuse for cutbacks", Globe and Mail, November 3, 1979, P1; Dan Lett, "Voice in the wilderness", Winnipeg Free Press, June 9, 1996, B1; Francine Dube, "Esteemed MP strictly left-wing", National Post, June 6, 2002, A11.
Blaikie was appointed the NDP's Social Policy Critic in 1979,Mary Trueman, "Retired judge is appointed to review medicare system", Globe and Mail, September 18, 1979, P1. and was promoted to Health Critic in 1980.Ross Laver, "Restrict MDs' fees, scrap premiums, Ottawa told", Globe and Mail, September 4, 1980, P1. He was instrumental in forcing Minister of Health, Monique Bégin, to enact the Canada Health Act in 1984, to deal with the crisis in medicare due to user fees and physicians' extra-billing.James Rusk, "Report pleases Conservatives, NDP", Globe and Mail, September 4, 1980, P10; "Begin may pressure provinces to cut out MDs' extra-billing", Globe and Mail, March 18, 1981, P1; Charlotte Montgomery, "Begin assails tactics of CMA over new laws for medicare", Globe and Mail, March 18, 1983, P10; Jean Gray, "Begin fears chain reaction on user fees", Globe and Mail, May 12, 1983, P8; Charlotte Montgomery, "Ottawa threatens cutbacks in funds over extra-billing", Globe and Mail, July 26, 1983, P1; Charlotte Montgomery, "NDP plans meeting on medicare issue", Globe and Mail, August 19, 1983, P3; Charlotte Montgomery, "MDs to seek right to strike if extra-billing banned", Globe and Mail, February 17, 1984, P3; Jeff Sallot, "Alberta intimidating patients about premiums, Begin says", Globe and Mail, May 30, 1984, N12. In her memoirs, Bégin wrote that Blaikie waged "guerilla warfare" in the House of Commons over the issue.Monique Bégin, L'Assurance Santé, (Montréal: Boréal, 1987), p. 167. See also Graham Fraser, "Stalwart makes a passionate pitch --- Blaikie says he's the strong leader needed to save medicare", Toronto Star, November 9, 2002, H4. He also served as caucus chair in 1983–84."The Ottawa Scene", Globe and Mail, June 23, 1984, P5; Francine Dube, "Esteemed MP strictly left-wing", National Post, June 6, 2002, A11.As early as 1980, Blaikie also expressed concern about Canada's media becoming concentrated in increasingly fewer hands. When the Southam newspaper chain shut down the Winnipeg Tribune and left the city's newspaper market to the rival Free Press, he commented that Winnipeggers were now being forced to look at the world "through one eye rather than two", and recommended increased government oversight of the industry. See Ross Laver, "Papers should be licenced, inquiry told", Globe and Mail, December 10, 1980, P10. He expressed the same concern in 2000, when Thompson Corp. announced that it would sell off all of its holdings except The Globe and Mail. Blaikie called for limits on the number of newspapers that any chain could own. See Susanne Craig, "Thomson and Globe shift gears: Flagship publication will be centre of information powerhouse", Globe and Mail, February 16, 2000, A1.
Blaikie spoke against a bill that proposed the return of capital punishment in 1987, saying that its passage would mark "a step toward not a less violent society, but a more violent society".Graham Fraser and Hugh Winsor, "Return of death penalty retrograde step, Hnatyshyn says", Globe and Mail, June 26, 1987, A12. The bill was defeated in a free vote. He was also an opponent of Sunday shopping law reform in this period, arguing that it interfered with a community's right to determine common rest times."121 stores charged in Sunday opening", Globe and Mail, December 9, 1986, A19. Blaikie said, "To my mind, Sunday shopping is one of the final victories of capitalism, of Mammon, and the idolatry of commodity fetishism. Our Constitution says that we recognize the supremacy of God. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Sunday shopping, why do we not drop the pretense and rewrite it to read supremacy of the market place?"
He was promoted to External Affairs Critic in September 1987.Graham Fraser, "Jewett replaced by NDP as external affairs critic", Globe and Mail, September 14, 1987, A4. One of his first major policy statements in this portfolio was to call for Canada to stop allowing American cruise missile tests over its territory."Stop testing cruise, opposition MPs urge", Globe and Mail, October 27, 1987, A5. He was also critical of Canada's proposed Free Trade Agreement with the United States, and released a document entitled A Time To Choose Canada, the New Democrats' Trade Option with fellow MP Steven Langdon in February 1988.Peter Cook, "The visionaries of the NDP go backward into the future", Globe and Mail, February 5, 1988, B2. As may be evident from the article title, Cook was critical of the NDP document. He also served as co-chairman of the NDP's international affairs committee, and held consultation meetings on whether or not the party should reaffirm its traditional opposition to Canadian membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.Susan Delacourt, "Few changes expected in NDP's NATO stand after weekend meeting", Globe and Mail, February 1, 1998, A8.
Blaikie considered running for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba in 1988, following the surprise resignation of Howard Pawley. He eventually chose not to run, and did not endorse any other candidate.Ross Howard, "'Courageous' move called best hope", Globe and Mail, March 10, 1988, A1; Richard Cleroux and Geoffrey York, "Doer favored to win Manitoba NDP leadership race", Globe and Mail, March 15, 1988, A4. He was retained as the NDP's External Affairs Critic after the Progressive Conservatives won a second consecutive majority government in the 1988 federal election, and was also chosen as his party's spokesman for federal–provincial relations and the Constitution.Tim Harper, "Ottawa looking at improving links to PLO, Clark says", Toronto Star, March 9, 1989, A1. In this article, Blaikie was quoted as saying, "The sooner Canada catches up on this, the better. Our position is that the PLO should be recognized and anyone who hasn't—Canada, and especially Israel—should come to its senses." See also Susan Delacourt, "Leadership simmers as NDP names critics", Globe and Mail, January 17, 1989, A4. He was an international observer during Namibia's transformation to independence in 1989, and for Lithuania's first multi-party elections in early 1990."Group of MPs to urge aid for free Namibia", Globe and Mail, September 14, 1989, N8; "Rae joins Canadian team to monitor Lithuania's poll", Toronto Star, February 16, 1990, A14; Matthew Fisher, "Europe in Transition", Globe and Mail, February 28, 1990, A4.
There were rumours that Blaikie would seek the federal New Democratic Party leadership after Ed Broadbent's resignation in 1989, but he declined to run and instead supported Simon de Jong, whom he described as having the greatest awareness of environmental issues.Rosemary Speirs, "NDP hopefuls heading for the post", Toronto Star, January 21, 1989, D5; Tim Harpur, "7 hopefuls emerge as contenders for Ed's job", Toronto Star, March 5, 1989, A1. Sources indicate that Blaikie was holding off from declaring his candidacy, pending a decision from fellow MP Nelson Riis. See Tim Harper, "Reluctant Riis reconsiders bid for leadership of NDP", Toronto Star, June 12, 1989, A9. See "Six NDP MPs endorse de Jong for leader", Globe and Mail, October 7, 1989, A5. When de Jong was eliminated on the second ballot at a delegated convention, Blaikie moved to the camp of Audrey McLaughlin, the eventual winner.Alan Freeman, "NDP chooses a leader", Globe and Mail, December 4, 1989, A10.
Blaikie was appointed NDP Taxation Critic in 1990. He opposed the Mulroney government's decision to cut social programs to pay down the deficit, calling instead for a tightening of tax loopholes."Personal tax load higher, study says", Toronto Star, June 20, 1991, B1; "Grasping the deficit nettle", Winnipeg Free Press, April 2, 1993. He was given further responsibilities as Transport Critic, and spoke against proposed job cuts at Canadian National.Brian Pardoe, "Ex-CN chief recommends job cuts", Globe and Mail, August 6, 1992, B5.
In early 1994, Blaikie won unanimous support in the House of Commons for a Private Member's Bill calling for the government to officially recognize Canadians who served in the Dieppe Raid in World War II. He initially proposed that a special medal be struck, but later accepted a Liberal amendment for a "distinctive decoration"."Dieppe vets to get decoration", Globe and Mail, April 12, 1994, A1. He was disappointed with the final result, a simple silver bar with ribbon attachment that was given to all service personnel from 1939 to 1943.Nick Martin, "Dieppe vet insulted as feds water down bid for medals", Winnipeg Free Press, August 13, 1994. Blaikie voted against the Chrétien government's gun registry in 1995, arguing that it did not address the real problems of gun-related violence.Tony Davis, "Gunfight at the Dauphin corral", Winnipeg Free Press, March 15, 1995; Dan Lett, "Outlaw Grits say no to party's gun bill", Winnipeg Free Press, April 6, 1995; Aldo Santin, "Senate seen as final hope", Winnipeg Free Press, June 14, 1995, A9. He strongly opposed the government's decision to sell off CN Rail in the same year. See Linda Quattrin, "Sale of CN Rail lamented", Winnipeg Free Press, May 6, 1995.
There were again rumours that Blaikie would run for the NDP leadership in 1995, but he declined and gave his support to Lorne Nystrom.Susan Delacourt, "NDP plans to redesign the left McLaughlin to give up helm", Globe and Mail, April 19, 1994, A1; "Race to replace McLaughlin off to quiet start", Globe and Mail, April 10, 1995, N9. Some party insiders indicated that Blaikie would have been the preferred choice of Audrey McLaughlin and Glen Clark. See Doug Fischer, "Remember the federal NDP?", Hamilton Spectator, January 17, 1995, A7. When Nystrom was eliminated at the party's convention, Blaikie shifted his support to the winner, Alexa McDonough.Shawn McCarthy, "New Democrats pick McDonough", Toronto Star, October 15, 1995, A1.
The duties of NDP MPs were shuffled after the leadership convention. Blaikie was named as House Leader, while continuing as International Trade Critic and adding the Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio."McDonough's caucus gets marching orders", Winnipeg Free Press, January 12, 1996, A12; Terrence Wills, "Costly election campaign: Running 'paper candidates' in Quebec part of party's national commitment, NDP Leader McDonough says", Kitchener-Waterloo Record, July 4, 1997, A6; "Marchi tries to sell us on treaty", Toronto Star, October 25, 1997, 1; "Voices", Toronto Star, August 21, 1998, A6. He continued to hold these parliamentary roles after the 1997 election, in which the Liberals won a second majority government and the NDP made a partial recovery to 21 seats.
Blaikie was re-elected to a seventh term in 2000, as the Liberals won a third majority government under Chrétien. He retained his position as House Leader and Intergovernment Affairs Critic, and gained additional duties as critic for Parliamentary Reform, Justice and the Solicitor-General.Valerie Lawton, "Small caucus means NDP members face big workload", Toronto Star, January 23, 2001, 1. He played a key role in getting the NDP Caucus to support the Clarity Act in 2000, after securing amendments that were important to First Nations groups in Quebec."Congratulations Canada! Clarity Bill Amended to Include Aboriginal Peoples as Political Actors" press, Canada NewsWire, March 14, 2000, 15:59.He also brought forward a motion in February 2001 to prohibit talking on a cellphone while driving except in cases of emergency, arguing that the use of cellphones by drivers was causing a public safety hazard. See "MP moves to cut off cellphone use in cars", Globe and Mail, February 3, 2001, A7. The government decided not to pursue the initiative in May 2002, arguing that regulation should remain a provincial matter. See Janice Tibbetts, "Ottawa won't ban cellphones in cars: Up to provinces", National Post, May 13, 2002, A5.
Blaikie wrote a 1994 editorial calling for the Bank of Canada to hold a larger portion of the national debt at low interest rates, as it did until the mid-1970s, in order for Canada to reduce its deficit while maintaining its core social programs.Bill Blaikie, "Change monetary policy" editorial, Winnipeg Free Press, October 14, 1994. In 1998, he led a national campaign against proposed mergers for Canada's major banks.Paul Samyn, "NDP hopes to cash in on merger backlash", Winnipeg Free Press, May 24, 1998, B2.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the New Democratic Party members were divided as to the party's position on the Canadian political spectrum. Some wanted to take the party into a more centrist direction, similar to Tony Blair's "Third Way" in Britain, while others sought to move in a radical left-wing direction. Blaikie was not closely affiliated with either camp. He opposed Blair's ideological approach on the grounds that it was too closely aligned with corporate interests.Paul Samyn, "NDP wants change, wants to stay the same", Winnipeg Free Press, August 29, 1999, A7. He participated in anti-globalization protests in Seattle and Quebec City but also criticized the extra-parliamentary left's tactics, saying that protests would never bring economic change without mobilization in the political sphere.Frances Russell, "Best of times is worst of times for NDP", Winnipeg Free Press, July 13, 2001, A10; Bill Blaikie, "NDP must speak from the heart again", Toronto Star, January 15, 2003, A25. He opposed the New Politics Initiative at the NDP's 2001 convention, calling instead for a renewal of the existing party organization.Valerie Lawton, "NDP rejects demands for new left-wing party", Toronto Star, November 25, 2001, A3.
The NDP's 2003 leadership convention was the first to be determined by a partial "one member, one vote" system in which all members of the NDP were eligible to cast ballots. Blaikie finished second to Jack Layton, who appointed him as Deputy Leader after the convention. As Layton did not have a seat in the Commons, Blaikie also served as the NDP's parliamentary leader until the 2004 federal election.Paul Samyn, "Blaikie to lead New Democrats in Parliament", Winnipeg Free Press, January 28, 2003, A7. This led to his being sworn in as a member of the Privy Council. He was also named as the NDP's National Defence Critic,"Layton gives Manitobans new jobs in NDP caucus shuffle", Winnipeg Free Press, February 5, 2003, A8. and was front and centre in pushing the Liberals to not participate in the Iraq War, in opposing Canadian participation in ballistic missile defence, and in asking questions about the rules of engagement and changing role of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.Tonda McCharles, "PM willing to look at missile defence plan", Toronto Star, May 6, 2003, A3; Mike Trickey, "PM refuses opposition demands to rule out role in war without UN", National Post, February 13, 2003, February 18, 2003, A3; Mike Blanchfield, "NDP MP urges guidelines on Afghan prisoner swaps", Ottawa Citizen, September 30, 2005, A5.
Blaikie was a contributor to Northern Lights: An Anthology of Contemporary Christian Writing in Canada, which was published shortly after the 2008 federal election.John Longhurst, "Anthology explores Christianity in Canada", Winnipeg Free Press, November 2, 2008, B8.
As Conservation Minister, Blaikie stewarded the development of five new provincial parks in Manitoba in 2011 and played a significant role in the government's attempts to protect the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. A year later, he was conferred the Crocus Award from Nature Manitoba for his role in creating the five provincial parks.
On July 11, 2011, Blaikie announced that he would not be re-offering at the October 4 provincial election and would be retiring from political life.
Blaikie was appointed to the Order of Canada in November 2020 "for his lifelong contributions to parliamentary service and for his steadfast commitment to progressive change and social activism." Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, he was invested virtually on February 26, 2021.
Blaikie died from kidney cancer at his home in Winnipeg on September 24, 2022, at the age of 71. His funeral was held on 2 October 2022 at a church in the Winnipeg suburb of Transcona, which was attended by family members, close friends, as well as federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, provincial NDP leader Wab Kinew and former Manitoba premier Greg Selinger.
All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. Italicized expenditures from elections after 1997 refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available. Expenditures from 1997 refer to submitted totals. The +/- figures from 1988, 1997 and 2004 are adjusted for redistribution.
Other information
Selected published works
(2025). 9781551341880, United Church Publishing House. ISBN 9781551341880
Electoral record
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Footnotes
External links
Categories: 1951 Births, 2022 Deaths, 20th-century Members Of The House Of Commons Of Canada, 21st-century Members Of The House Of Commons Of Canada, Canadian Christian Socialists, Canadian Methodist Ministers, Canadian Monarchists, Canadian People Of Northern Ireland Descent, Canadian People Of Scottish Descent, Deaths From Cancer In Manitoba, Deaths From Kidney Cancer In Canada, Members Of The Executive Council Of Manitoba, Members Of The House Of Commons Of Canada From Manitoba, Members Of The King's Privy Council For Canada, Ministers Of The United Church Of Canada, New Democratic Party Mps, New Democratic Party Of Manitoba Mlas, Officers Of The Order Of Canada, Politicians From Winnipeg, University Of Toronto Alumni, University Of Winnipeg Alumni, 21st-century Members Of The Legislative Assembly Of Manitoba
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