Jenny Carter (born December 26, 1931) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.

Jenny Carter
Succeeded byGary Stewart
ConstituencyPeterborough
Personal details
Born (1931-12-26) December 26, 1931 (age 92)
Worcester Park, Surrey, England
Political partyNew Democrat
Spouse(s)Cyril Carter (died 1993), Ken Ranney
Children3
ResidencePeterborough, Ontario
OccupationTeacher

Background

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Carter obtained a degree in French from the University of London and degrees in English and Canadian Studies from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, and a post-graduate certificate from the Institute of Education.[1] She worked as a secondary school teacher before entering political life.[2]

Carter's husband Cyril, who once ran for the federal New Democratic Party, died in 1993. As of 2017, Trent University offers Cyril and Jenny Carter Scholarships in Environmental Studies and Mathematics.[3]

Politics

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In the 1990 provincial election she ran as the NDP candidate in the riding of Peterborough. She defeated Liberal incumbent Peter Adams by 134 votes.[4][5]

She was appointed to Rae's first cabinet on October 1, 1990, as the provincial Minister of Energy.[6] A self-confessed novice, she said that her husband knew more about the energy sector then she did.[1] Shortly after her appointment her husband who was a member of the Peterborough Utilities Commission resigned his post. He said, "Legally, I have no conflict but I recognize the public perception of conflict of interest is wider than the strict legal definition of a specific pecuniary interest."[7]

In November 1990, Carter announced that the government was putting a freeze on the construction of nuclear plants. She told Ontario Hydro to divert $240 million earmarked for site preparation for new nuclear plants to instead be used for energy conservation efforts. Carter who earlier said in a speech to the house that she was an anti-nuclear activist declared, "We cannot afford to keep building power stations at $25 billion each." She promised to give priority to new hydroelectric and natural gas projects.[8] Rather than a total ban, she said that she would await the outcome of a study of Ontario's energy needs for the next 25 years.[9]

In March 1991, Carter announced that the government would switch heating in public housing projects to gas from electricity. She said, "installing gas heating in new non-profit homes will save 100 megawatts."[10]

In July 1991, Carter was dropped from cabinet. Critics said that she failed to establish herself as energy minister. She was replaced by Will Ferguson.[11] For the remainder of her term, she served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Citizenship.

In 1995 Carter lost to Progressive Conservative Gary Stewart in her bid for re-election.[12]

Cabinet positions

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Ontario provincial government of Bob Rae
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Lyn McLeod Minister of Energy
1990–1991
Will Ferguson

After politics

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Since leaving politics, Carter has contributed occasional articles to the Peterborough Collective and has served on the Peterborough NDP riding association executive. She married climate change activist Ken Ranney, co-founder of the Stop Climate Change political party.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Starting from scratch: Energy minister faces tough job without knowing 'technical things'". The Ottawa Citizen. November 13, 1990. p. A5.
  2. ^ Stephens, Laurie (October 2, 1990). "Rookie MPPs face trial by fire in Ontario's first NDP government". Kitchener - Waterloo Record. p. A4.
  3. ^ "Scholarships, Prizes, Bursaries & Awards" (PDF). Trent University. p. 3. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Kenny, Eoin (May 25, 1995). "Some MPs weigh in on provincial election". Kingston Whig - Standard. p. 6.
  5. ^ "Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results". The Globe and Mail. September 7, 1990. p. A12.
  6. ^ "Ontario cabinet". The Windsor Star. October 1, 1990. p. A4.
  7. ^ "Energy minister's spouse quits post". Toronto Star. October 20, 1990. p. A8.
  8. ^ "NDP softens tough anti-nuke stand". The Windsor Star. November 30, 1990. p. A11.
  9. ^ Bueckert, Dennis (March 5, 1991). "Ontario freeze on nuke plants irks Jake Epp". Toronto Star. p. B7.
  10. ^ "Public units switch to gas for heating". The Ottawa Citizen. March 13, 1991. p. A5.
  11. ^ Maychak, Matt; Moloney, Paul (July 31, 1991). "Rae dumps 3 ministers, shuffles in 3 rookies". Toronto Star. p. A1.
  12. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014.
  13. ^ "Stop Climate Change party fielding 88-year-old candidate in Peterborough-Kawartha riding". thepeterboroughexaminer.com. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
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