41 Facts About David Peterson

David Peterson was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.

David Peterson's father was born to Norwegian immigrant farmers who had previously homesteaded in North Dakota.

David Peterson was elected to city council as an alderman in the early 1950s and joined the Ontario Liberal Party, running as its candidate in the 1955 Ontario general election in London North, losing to future premier John Robarts, and ran again as a federal Liberal candidate in 1963 in London.

David Peterson grew up in London and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in political science and philosophy and his law degree from the University of Toronto.

David Peterson was made a Queen's Counsel in 1980 and later was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada in 1992 by Brian Mulroney.

David Peterson holds four Honorary degrees including a doctor of laws from the University of Western Ontario and is a knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour of France and a member of the Order of La Pleiade.

David Peterson married actress Shelley Matthews in 1974 and they have since raised three children.

David Peterson is the younger brother of Jim Peterson, formerly a federal Liberal MP and cabinet minister.

David Peterson was elected as the Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament for London Centre in the 1975 provincial election.

Smith presented an image of an articulate intellectual who some delegates said reminded them of Pierre Trudeau while David Peterson came across as similar to then Premier Bill Davis.

David Peterson was re-elected in the provincial elections of 1977 and 1981.

David Peterson ran again for the Liberal leadership in 1982, after Smith resigned.

David Peterson worked to pay off the party's debt from the 1981 election and accomplished that by the end of the year and was working on long-term debt.

David Peterson performed well as opposition leader and was popular in the press.

David Peterson's fortunes improved when Davis retired as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in early 1985.

David Peterson frequently campaigned in his red jogging suit and projected the image of a younger urban leader, contrasting with Miller who was increasingly seen as too old and rural.

Rae and David Peterson signed a "Liberal-NDP Accord" in which the NDP agreed to support a Liberal government in office for two years.

Rae wanted to have a coalition with representation in cabinet but David Peterson indicated that he would not accept a coalition.

David Peterson's government brought in pension reform, expanded housing construction, and resolved a long-standing provincial controversy by honouring the Davis Tories promise to extend full funding to Catholic secondary schools.

David Peterson was a vocal opponent of free trade with the United States in 1988.

David Peterson's administration was less activist in its later years, though it still introduced progressive measures on environmental protection, eliminated health insurance premiums, and brought in no-fault automobile insurance for the province.

David Peterson's continued support for the accord, in the face of increased opposition, damaged his personal popularity in Ontario.

On June 24,1989, David Peterson ordered a judicial inquiry be set up to investigate the matter.

The David Peterson administration developed a reputation for fiscal prudence, under the management of Treasurer Robert Nixon.

David Peterson justified the early writ claiming "especially after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, Ontario faced 'profound changes in this country and the world' and that he needed to protect the province in the event of a national-unity crisis", while denying "that he was being an opportunist and trying to capitalize on polling results that put Liberal support at 50 per cent".

David Peterson sat in front of the room full of reporters, awkwardly silent and clearly uncomfortable.

David Peterson felt that the Liberals' fading poll numbers "reflected greater anxieties about the world and that the party had failed to successfully communicate his government's accomplishments"; by contrast the NDP's hastily assembled platform called "Agenda for People" managed to escape heavy scrutiny due to their underdog status.

David Peterson lost his own seat, having been resoundingly defeated by NDP candidate Marion Boyd in London Centre by over 8,200 votes.

David Peterson announced his resignation as Liberal leader on the night of the election.

David Peterson has continued to organize and fund-raise for the federal and Ontario provincial Liberals.

David Peterson then backed Michael Ignatieff, criticizing former political opponent Bob Rae's entry into the race due to the latter's record as provincial premier.

David Peterson insisted he did not hold a personal grudge against Rae.

In 2003, David Peterson was contracted by the federal government to be its chief negotiator in talks with the government of the Northwest Territories and aboriginal leaders to transfer federal powers over lands and resources.

David Peterson served as Chancellor of the University of Toronto for two terms from July 1,2006, until June 30,2012.

In September 2013, David Peterson was appointed chair of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games Organizing Committee.

David Peterson was the founding chairman of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, and was a member of Toronto's Olympics Bid Committee.

David Peterson is or has been a member on several corporate boards, being particularly associated with Rogers Communications where he has been a director since 1991.

In 2006, David Peterson was named to the board of Shoppers Drug Mart at the time of the firm's acquisition by Loblaws.

In 1999, David Peterson was at the centre of controversy due to his membership on the board of YBM Magnex, a firm which was discovered to have links to the Russian mafia.

David Peterson maintained that he was unaware of illegal activities at the company, and referred to the accusations against him as "guilt by association".

David Peterson took a senior advisory role at the Toronto Star as vice-chair of the Torstar board of directors and as of 2024 is chair of Torstar, the publisher of the Toronto Star.