63 Facts About Bill Blaikie

Bill Blaikie was a member of the King's Privy Council for Canada.

Bill Blaikie was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2008.

Bill Blaikie was born to a working-class family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on June 19,1951.

Bill Blaikie had two brothers, Bobby and Donnie, and a sister, Kim.

Bill Blaikie's maternal grandfather, Alexander Taylor, was an emigrant from County Antrim in Northern Ireland who served as the police and fire chief and, in the last years of his life, justice of the peace for Transcona, during which time it was an independent community.

Bill Blaikie's father was employed by Canadian National for over forty years, at first as a machinist and later in management.

Bill Blaikie served in The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada from 1967 to 1972, and was a labourer on and off with the Canadian National Railway from 1969 to 1974 while attending university.

Bill Blaikie was a member of the Young Progressive Conservatives in high school, and joined the NDP in 1971.

Bill Blaikie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and religious studies from the University of Winnipeg, and a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology.

The New Democratic Party has never formed the national government in Canada, and Bill Blaikie served in Ottawa for 29 years as an opposition MP.

Bill Blaikie held many important critic portfolios, and was respected by members of all parties for his personal integrity and conviction.

Bill Blaikie was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1979 federal election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative MP Dean Whiteway.

Bill Blaikie was appointed the NDP's Social Policy Critic in 1979, and was promoted to Health Critic in 1980.

Bill Blaikie was instrumental in forcing Minister of Health, Monique Begin, to enact the Canada Health Act in 1984, to deal with the crisis in medicare due to user fees and physicians' extra-billing.

Bill Blaikie was again returned for his riding, and was appointed NDP Environment Critic in the new parliament.

Bill Blaikie was an opponent of Sunday shopping law reform in this period, arguing that it interfered with a community's right to determine common rest times.

Bill Blaikie was promoted to External Affairs Critic in September 1987.

Bill Blaikie was 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.

Bill Blaikie 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.

Bill Blaikie considered running for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba in 1988, following the surprise resignation of Howard Pawley.

Bill Blaikie eventually chose not to run, and did not endorse any other candidate.

Bill Blaikie was an international observer during Namibia's transformation to independence in 1989, and for Lithuania's first multi-party elections in early 1990.

When de Jong was eliminated on the second ballot at a delegated convention, Bill Blaikie moved to the camp of Audrey McLaughlin, the eventual winner.

Bill Blaikie opposed the Mulroney government's decision to cut social programs to pay down the deficit, calling instead for a tightening of tax loopholes.

Bill Blaikie was given further responsibilities as Transport Critic, and spoke against proposed job cuts at Canadian National.

Between 1993 and 1997, Bill Blaikie was the only New Democratic Party MP to represent a riding east of Saskatchewan.

Bill Blaikie was appointed NDP Critic for Foreign Affairs and Trade after the election, and served another term as caucus chairman from 1993 to 1996.

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.

Bill Blaikie initially proposed that a special medal be struck, but later accepted a Liberal amendment for a "distinctive decoration".

Bill Blaikie was disappointed with the final result, a simple silver bar with ribbon attachment that was given to all service personnel from 1939 to 1943.

Bill Blaikie voted against the Chretien government's gun registry in 1995, arguing that it did not address the real problems of gun-related violence.

When Nystrom was eliminated at the party's convention, Bill Blaikie shifted his support to the winner, Alexa McDonough.

Bill Blaikie was named as House Leader, while continuing as International Trade Critic and adding the Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio.

Bill Blaikie 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.

Bill Blaikie was re-elected to a seventh term in 2000, as the Liberals won a third majority government under Chretien.

Bill Blaikie retained his position as House Leader and Intergovernment Affairs Critic, and gained additional duties as critic for Parliamentary Reform, Justice and the Solicitor-General.

Bill Blaikie 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.

Bill Blaikie emerged as a prominent critic of economic globalization during the mid-1990s.

Bill Blaikie expressed similar concerns about the Multilateral Agreement on Investment two years later, arguing that it put the rights of investors ahead of workers, environments, societies, and cultures.

Bill Blaikie wrote the NDP Minority Report on the MAI, which was published in Dismantling Democracy.

Bill 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 opposed Blair's ideological approach on the grounds that it was too closely aligned with corporate interests.

Bill Blaikie participated in anti-globalization protests in Seattle and Quebec City but criticized the extra-parliamentary left's tactics, saying that protests would never bring economic change without mobilization in the political sphere.

Bill Blaikie opposed the New Politics Initiative at the NDP's 2001 convention, calling instead for a renewal of the existing party organization.

Bill Blaikie was the first declared candidate in the 2003 leadership election.

Bill Blaikie called for a renewed focus on health care, natural resources and labour standards.

Bill Blaikie was seen as a representative of the party's moderate left, fitting ideologically between the centrist Lorne Nystrom and the more left-wing Jack Layton.

Bill Blaikie finished second to Jack Layton, who appointed him as Deputy Leader after the convention.

Bill Blaikie was named as the NDP's National Defence Critic, 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.

Bill Blaikie continued as Deputy Leader and Defence Critic, and was named as Health Critic.

Notwithstanding their disagreement over the Clarity Act, Bill Blaikie said that he enjoyed a good working relationship with Layton in parliament.

Bill Blaikie was an advocate for the reform of parliamentary institutions throughout his time in parliament.

Bill Blaikie served as second vice-chairman of an all-party committee on parliamentary reform in 1985, which among other things made it easier for private member's bills to come to a vote.

Bill Blaikie took part in another such committee in 1992, which issued a thirty-page report calling for more free votes, reforms to the parliamentary Question Period, and a streamlined process for passing legislation.

Bill Blaikie participated in a third such committee in 2001, although he indicated that he was disappointed with its results.

On March 15,2007, Bill Blaikie announced that he would not be a candidate in the next federal election.

Bill Blaikie accepted a position as adjunct professor of Theology and Politics at the University of Winnipeg, and announced plans to write a book on the relationship between faith and politics.

Bill Blaikie was a contributor to Northern Lights: An Anthology of Contemporary Christian Writing in Canada, which was published shortly after the 2008 federal election.

Bill Blaikie won the nomination unopposed, after two previously declared candidates withdrew to support him.

Bill Blaikie was elected without difficulty in late March 2009, and formally joined the legislature the following month.

On November 3,2009, Bill Blaikie was appointed to the cabinet of Premier Greg Selinger as the Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader.

On July 11,2011, Bill Blaikie announced that he would not be re-offering at the October 4 provincial election and would be retiring from political life.

Bill Blaikie died from kidney cancer at his home in Winnipeg on September 24,2022, at the age of 71.