32 Facts About Alan Pope

Alan Pope was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1990, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Bill Davis and Frank Miller.

Alan Pope served as an alderman for Timmins City Council from 1973 to 1974.

Alan Pope ran again in the 1977 provincial election, this time defeating Ferrier by 2,276 votes.

Alan Pope was appointed a parliamentary assistant in Davis's government in 1978, and was promoted to Minister without portfolio on August 30,1979.

Alan Pope faced a minor controversy in 1979, when Ed Deibel, the leader of the small Northern Ontario Heritage Party, publicly claimed that Pope had promised to cross the floor to join the party, which Pope denied.

Alan Pope was promoted to Minister of Natural Resources on April 10,1981.

Alan Pope served in that position for the remainder of the Davis administration's time in office.

In 1982, after a dispute over wild rice harvesting on Mud Lake, Alan Pope ruled that traditional native harvesting rights would be upheld and that the ministry would not allow commercial harvesting to proceed.

Alan Pope supported the interventionist policies of the Davis government and was sometimes considered to be on the progressive wing of the party.

Alan Pope was rather a populist, who sought greater power for the party's neglected local branches in northern, eastern, and southwestern Ontario.

In 1985, Alan Pope was a prominent figure behind Frank Miller's campaign to succeed Davis as party leader.

Alan Pope nonetheless proved an effective campaigner for Miller by compiling much-needed polling data and devising strategies for Miller's supporters at the party convention.

Miller narrowly defeated Grossman on the third ballot to become party leader, and Alan Pope was promoted to Minister of Health on February 8,1985.

Alan Pope was named Attorney General of Ontario in a post-election shuffle on May 17,1985, but did little of significance before Miller's government was defeated on a motion of non-confidence in the house by the Liberals and the NDP.

Alan Pope resigned his portfolio on June 26,1985, and moved into the opposition benches.

Alan Pope ran to succeed Miller as leader in the November 1985 Progressive Conservative leadership convention.

Alan Pope's campaign was weaker than expected as many considered Miller's rightward shift a key factor in the party losing power.

Furthermore, one of his campaign staff was caught polling party members as to whether religion would make a difference in the leadership race, which was seen by some as a reference to Larry Grossman's Jewish background, and Alan Pope made a public apology.

Alan Pope broke with John Thompson, his first campaign manager, fairly early in the race.

Many expected that Alan Pope would have given Timbrell a second-ballot victory by endorsing him, but Alan Pope surprisingly remained silent and allowed Grossman to defeat Timbrell by a mere 19 votes.

Alan Pope had a poor relationship with Grossman, was not given a critic's portfolio after the convention.

Alan Pope resumed his law practice in Timmins while still an MPP, and he spent two days a week away from the legislature.

Alan Pope nonetheless ran for re-election in the 1987 provincial election and retained his seat.

Alan Pope was not given a critic's portfolio in this parliament and did not play a prominent role in the party's affairs.

Alan Pope decided not to run for the leadership again in 1990 and endorsed Dianne Cunningham for the position.

Alan Pope did not campaign in the 1990 provincial election.

In 1997, Alan Pope made headlines when he publicly criticized Premier Harris and accused the government of demonizing teachers and supporting the teachers' strike against Harris's Bill 160, which removed the ability of collective bargaining agreements to regulate working conditions for teachers, introduced teacher testing, and allowed the government to increase class sizes and reduce preparation time.

In 2004, Alan Pope chaired a committee looking into Timmins's involvement in the 2006 Ontario Games.

Alan Pope wrote a series of articles on the 2004 federal election for the Sudbury Star newspaper, arguing that no party was adequately focused on issues of concern to Northern Ontario.

In 2006, Alan Pope wrote a report on the Kashechewan Crisis, recommending that residents of the community be relocated to a new reserve site near Timmins.

Alan Pope was married to Linda Fillion-Pope and they have one son, David and his wife Kirstin Danielson have two children Beatrice and Theodore Pope.

Alan Pope died on July 8,2022, in Calgary, Alberta following heart surgery.