Ronald Stewart


Ronald Alexander Stewart was a Progressive Conservative party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was a wholesale distributor and independent businessman by career.

Member of Parliament

Born in Beeton, Ontario, Stewart was first elected to represent the district of Simcoe South electoral district in the 1979 federal election. He served as a backbencher in the short-lived government of Joe Clark, serving as a government member on a number of committees. He was re-elected in 1980 and 1983 with large majorities, and was made critic for small business by Brian Mulroney.
Re-elected to a third term in 1984 federal elections, Stewart was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and, following a 1986 cabinet shuffle, was made Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply and Services until his retirement from politics in 1988.

Ideology

Stewart was a fiscally responsible, socially conscientious, and strongly principled member of the PC caucus. He was committed to patriotic, practical, entrepreneurial, and conservative viewpoints in House of Commons debates. He strove to represent the tone and tenor of his constituency as determined from his regular communications and polling via his "Householder" communique. He was central to the formal adoption of the words to "O Canada". He served in various capacities with defense, Parks, and public facility portfolios. Stewart actively represented the wishes of his riding, the values of his conscience, and the general thrusts of the Progressive Conservative party. During a 1986 debate regarding Burnaby MP Svend Robinson's motion to allow gay and lesbian Canadians to work in the RCMP and Armed Forces, Stewart vigorously opposed the motion. Stewart also thought that federally provided bilingual services were appropriate where numbers warranted.
In 1988, Stewart and fellow Progressive Conservative member Jack Scowen openly disagreed with their party leader, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, when the government was supporting efforts to translate Saskatchewan provincial legislation into French. Scowen and Stewart believed such efforts for the province's 23,000 Fransaskois would be expensive and unnecessary.