Eric Cunningham

Eric Gordon Cunningham (April 14, 1949 – January 1, 2015) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1984.

This article is about the Canada Politician. For the American football player, see Eric Cunningham (American football).
Eric Cunningham
Ontario MPP
In office
1975–1984
Preceded byDon Ewen
Succeeded byAnn Sloat
ConstituencyWentworth North
Personal details
Born
Eric Gordon Cunningham

(1949-04-14)April 14, 1949
Hamilton, Ontario
DiedJanuary 1, 2015(2015-01-01) (aged 65)
Huntsville, Ontario
Political partyLiberal
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
McMaster University
OccupationAdvertising executive

Background

Cunningham was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and educated at the University of Western Ontario and McMaster University. He worked as an advertising executive, was a founder of the Ontario New Liberal Association, and received a provincial recognition award in 1968.

Politics

He campaigned for the House of Commons of Canada in the 1974 federal election as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada, and lost to Progressive Conservative Bill Kempling by 668 votes in Halton—Wentworth.[1] He was elected to the Ontario legislature in a provincial election the following year, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Don Ewen by 1,977 votes in Wentworth North.[2] He was re-elected by an increased majority in the 1977 election,[3] and defeated Progressive Conservative challenger Ann Sloat in 1981.[4] He supported Jim Breithaupt for the Liberal Party leadership in 1982, and resigned from the legislature in 1984 to run federally a second time.

Cunningham was defeated in the 1984 federal election, losing to Progressive Conservative candidate Geoff Scott by over 10,000 votes amid Brian Mulroney's landslide victory across the country.[5]

Later life

Cunningham joined United Water Canada in 1999, as vice-president of business development responsible for Canada.[6] In 2002, he told an interviewer that his company was investigating possibilities with several Canadian municipalities for private sector expansion in water treatment.

Cunningham also remained active in the Liberal Party. In 2004, he supported Tony Valeri over Sheila Copps for the federal party's contested nomination in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.

Cunningham died at the age of 65 on January 1, 2015.[7][8]

References
  1. "How the party candidates fared across the country". The Toronto Star. July 9, 1974. p. A12.
  2. "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  3. "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  4. Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  5. "How Canada voted". The Globe and Mail. September 5, 1984. pp. 14–15. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  6. "North American French Industrial Club" (PDF). June 6–8, 2001. p. 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2004.
  7. "Eric Cunningham, former MPP, dead at 65". Hamilton Spectator. January 1, 2015. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  8. Gallant, Jacques (January 2, 2015). "Former Hamilton MPP Eric Cunningham dies in his sleep at 65". Hamilton Spectator.
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