1. John Crosbie was best known for his outspoken, blunt, and controversial rhetoric.
42 Facts About John Crosbie
1. 2.
John Crosbie advocated for gay and lesbian rights and was pro-choice regarding abortion as far back as when he was federal Minister of Justice.
3.
John Crosbie ran unsuccessfully for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1969, losing to Smallwood, and was a candidate in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada's 1983 leadership election, placing third.
4.
John Crosbie's father was leader of the Economic Union Party in the 1940s and a leading opponent of the campaign for Newfoundland to join Canadian Confederation.
5.
John Crosbie went on to study political science and economics at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, where he graduated with first-class honours and won the University Medal in political science.
6.
John Crosbie went on to study law at Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia graduating in 1956 as the University Medalist in Law.
7.
John Crosbie was awarded the Viscount Bennett Scholarship by the Canadian Bar Association as the outstanding law student for that year.
8.
John Crosbie was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree by Dalhousie University in May 1984.
9.
John Crosbie served on council until he was appointed to the provincial cabinet of Liberal Premier Joey Smallwood in 1966.
10.
John Crosbie was sworn in as Minister of Municipal and Housing, and soon after won a seat in the House of Assembly.
11.
In 1967, John Crosbie became Minister of Health and was instrumental in creating the Newfoundland Medicare Commission and the framework for the Newfoundland Medicare Plan.
12.
However, when John Crosbie, who had resigned from caucus, became the apparent front runner to succeed him as leader Smallwood decided to run for the leadership of the party.
13.
Smallwood won the leadership race and John Crosbie crossed the floor to join the opposition Progressive Conservative Party, led by Frank Moores.
14.
The Progressive Conservatives were now seen as a viable alternative to the Liberal Party, and in 1972 John Crosbie helped the Tories defeat Smallwood and come to power.
15.
In Moore's government John Crosbie held the portfolios of Minister of Finance, President of the Treasury Board, and Minister of Economic Development; Minister of Fisheries and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs; Minister of Mines and Energy; and Government House Leader.
16.
John Crosbie left provincial politics in 1976 to enter federal politics.
17.
When Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives formed a minority government after the 1979 general election, John Crosbie was appointed Minister of Finance.
18.
John Crosbie was named Minister of Justice in Mulroney's first cabinet.
19.
John Crosbie became Minister for International Trade in 1988, shortly after the free trade agreement was negotiated.
20.
John Crosbie actively promoted the agreement in that year's federal election, which was primarily fought on the issue.
21.
John Crosbie was a supporter of redress for Japanese Canadians interned during World War Two - in September 1988 the Mulroney government made its historic apology in the House of Commons and compensated each surviving internee with $18,000.
22.
In 1990, John Crosbie proposed the creation of the World Trade Organization.
23.
John Crosbie was proud of his baby; in his autobiography he writes:.
24.
At a fundraising dinner in Victoria, British Columbia in 1990, John Crosbie took another dig at Sheila Copps by saying that she made him think of the song lyrics, "Pass the Tequila, Sheila, and lay down and love me again," a comment he subsequently acknowledged was ill-considered.
25.
John Crosbie later said he and Copps played up their squabbles for mutual gain.
26.
In contrast to his often politically incorrect comments, John Crosbie was often a social liberal in practice.
27.
John Crosbie was pro-abortion on the issue of abortion and as Minister of Justice, liberalized divorce laws, and appointed a larger percentage of women to the bench than his predecessors.
28.
John Crosbie was forced to withdraw the legislation due to the opposition of the Conservative caucus.
29.
On July 1,1992 John Crosbie visited Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador to celebrate Canada Day.
30.
John Crosbie was greeted by an angry throng of Newfoundlanders concerned about rumours of a proposed moratorium on the Atlantic northwest cod fishery.
31.
John Crosbie oversaw the decision to close the cod fishery industry in Atlantic Canada due to the collapse of cod stocks.
32.
John Crosbie called this decision, which put some 35,000 Newfoundlanders out of work, the hardest political moment of his life.
33.
When Brian Mulroney announced his resignation as party leader, John Crosbie did not stand as a candidate at the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention but supported Jean Charest's candidacy instead.
34.
John Crosbie declined an offer to serve in the cabinet of Mulroney's successor, Kim Campbell, when she became prime minister and did not run for re-election in the 1993 federal election, retiring from federal politics.
35.
John Crosbie had devoted an entire chapter in his autobiography to his confrontations with Copps.
36.
John Crosbie remained in the Progressive Conservative Party until its dissolution in 2003.
37.
John Crosbie then accused the federal Conservatives of squashing his son's candidacy because he was too independent and because Newfoundland senator David Wells wanted to keep his control over Newfoundland patronage appointments, an accusation that Wells denied.
38.
John Crosbie married Jane Ellen Furneaux on September 8,1952, and they remained married for the rest of his life.
39.
John Crosbie's eldest son, Ches Crosbie, is a lawyer and former politician.
40.
John Crosbie's younger son, Michael Crosbie, is a lawyer with McInnis Cooper in St John's.
41.
John Crosbie's daughter, Beth Crosbie, is a former real estate agent, and was a candidate in the 2015 and 2019 provincial elections.
42.
John Crosbie has received many honorary degrees for his service to Canada.