Davis in 1979 (Nationaal Archief, Amsterdam)
Former Ontario Premier Bill Davis died yesterday at home in Brampton, the community he represented in the legislature for more than 25 years. He was 92. “Brampton Billy” was one of the last of the “Red Tory” politicians who combined Bay Street business acumen with a commitment to social spending.
A stalwart of the Progressive Conservative political machine that dominated Ontario politics for decades, he was the party’s fifth leader in a row to reach the premiership. As education minister under his predecessor John Robarts, Davis oversaw the creation of several new universities, the province’s community college system, the forerunner of TV Ontario, public French school boards, and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He continued his commitment to education in the premier’s office, extending public funding for Ontario’s Catholic schools through grade 13.
Never a flashy politician, he once quipped: “Bland works. The only time a politician gets in trouble is when he opens his mouth.”
