Garth Turner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hon. John Garth Turner

Incumbent
Riding	Halton—Peel (1988-1993); Halton (2006-present)
In office since	2006 election
Preceded by	Gary Carr
Born	March 14, 1949 (age 58) Woodstock, Ontario
Residence	Campbellville
Political party	Liberal
Profession(s)	Author, columnist, journalist, teacher
Spouse	Dorothy Turner
In office
1988 election – 1993 election
Preceded by	New district
Succeeded by	Julian Reed

John Garth Turner, PC, MP, BA (born March 14, 1949) is a Canadian business journalist, broadcaster, and politician. A former member of the Progressive Conservative caucus, he returned to political life as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election, beating Liberal Gary Carr in the riding of Halton, Ontario. On October 18, 2006, the Conservative Party suspended him from the Conservative caucus and he sat as an Independent MP until February 6, 2007, when he joined the Liberal Party of Canada.^[1]

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Progressive Conservative MP 3 Investment guru 4 Conservative MP 5 Transition to Liberal MP 6 Footnotes 7 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Turner was born in Woodstock, Ontario, and educated at the University of Toronto Schools, the University of Toronto, and the University of Western Ontario. His great-grandfather, Ebenezer Vining Bodwell, was also a Member of Parliament.^[2]

Before entering a career in politics, Turner was a business columnist at the Toronto Sun.

[edit] Progressive Conservative MP

Turner was elected as the Progressive Conservative (PC) MP for Halton—Peel in the 1988 election. A Red Tory, he became chairman of the consumer and corporate affairs committee. He became a candidate for the leadership of the PC Party in 1993, placing a distant fourth on the first ballot, with 76 votes. In the short-lived cabinet of Kim Campbell he was appointed Minister of National Revenue, but lost his seat in the 1993 election when his party was reduced to just two seats.

[edit] Investment guru

After his election loss, Turner returned to journalism, becoming business editor for Baton Broadcasting and authoring a series of books on real estate and personal finance. He became a popular public speaker on financial issues.

After parting with Baton, he formed the television production company Millennium Media Television. In 2002, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television investigative newsmagazine Disclosure aired a report, "Paying for Time", alleging his Millennium Media Television programs sometimes broadcast unattributed quasi-infomercials.

Also during this period, Turner accepted work as a paid presenter to prospective clients for a variety of investment companies, which attracted the attention of the Ontario Securities Commission – Turner was never a registered investment advisor. The OSC launched an informal investigation of his activities.

Turner is also founder and CEO of The Credit River Company, a Caledon-based destination and ecotourism company that is noted for the restoration of heritage buildings in the area. Turner served as national director of the Vancouver-based Sierra Legal Defence Fund, an organization dedicated to upholding environmental laws, resigning after his return to the House of Commons.

[edit] Conservative MP

Turner returned to politics with his election as a Conservative MP for Halton, which included most of the territory he had represented in his previous term, in the general election in 2006. Local political organizer Esther Shaye acted as his campaign manager.

Turner was very critical of former Liberal cabinet minister David Emerson's floor-crossing to the Conservatives. Emerson represents a left-leaning Vancouver riding, and crossed the floor from the Liberals to the Conservatives shortly after the 2006 election. Turner called for Emerson to resign from Parliament and try to regain his seat in a by-election, saying that "anyone who crosses the floor ultimately should go back to the people for ratification and I stick by it and hopefully in this case that will happen...." [2]

[edit] Transition to Liberal MP

On 18 October 2006, the Conservative caucus voted to suspend Turner. On 19 October 2006, the Toronto Star reported that Turner was being courted to become the first ever Green Party of Canada member of Parliament. Turner praised Green leader Elizabeth May on his blog and campaigned for her in her bid to win a seat in the London By-Election. In November, Turner resigned from the Conservative Party.^[3] Turner polled constituents in several open meetings, asking for their thoughts on the options available to him. According to Turner's blog, constituents suggested that he remain an independent, reconcile with his former party, or join the Green Party. No constituents at these town hall sessions asked Turner to become a Liberal MP.

Turner spent four months sitting as an independent. After consultations with Liberal officials, including newly elected party leader Stéphane Dion, Turner became a Liberal MP.

Turner offered to resign his seat after announcing he was joining the Liberal caucus, offering in the House to do so if the prime minister would set a specific election date and also call elections in ridings held by MPs David Emerson and Wajid Khan.

[edit] Footnotes