David James McFadden
| David McFadden | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
|
In office 1985–1987 | |
| Preceded by | Roy McMurtry |
| Succeeded by | Dianne Poole |
| Constituency | Eglinton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 7, 1945 Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
| Profession | Lawyer |
David James McFadden, QC (born December 7, 1945) is a lawyer and former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1987 who represented the midtown Toronto riding of Eglinton.
Background
McFadden was born in Thunder Bay. He was educated at the University of Toronto, and at the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. After graduation, he became a partner in the Toronto law firm of McFadden, Marrocco and Parker. He served as vice-president of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Association from 1968 to 1980, and as president from 1980 to 1986. He helped to rebuild the party's grassroots organization in the mid-1970s, and chaired both of the party's leadership conventions in 1985.
Politics
McFadden was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election defeating Liberal candidate Dianne Poole by 914 votes in Eglinton.[1] The Progressive Conservatives won a minority government in this election, and McFadden briefly served as a backbench supporter of Frank Miller's administration before it was defeated in the house. In opposition, he served as his party's critic for Colleges and Universities, Technology and Trade. He lost to Dianne Poole in the 1987 election by 695 votes.[2] In the 1995 provincial election, McFadden co-chaired the party’s legal services and was a member of the Campaign Strategy Committee. During that election, McFadden also chaired the campaign for Bill Saunderson who ran in the riding of Eglinton, and defeated Liberal incumbent Dianne Poole. From 2000-2004, McFadden was chair of the Ontario Government’s Advisory Committee on the Ontario Centres of Excellence. He became Chair of the Board of OCE Inc. in 2004, and launched the new Centre of Excellence for Energy in 2005.
Later life
McFadden served as a director of the Toronto Board of Trade from 1993 to 2001, and chaired the Board from 1999-2000 when he helped to create its Infrastructure Task Force. He is now counsel in the law firm Gowling WLG and chair of the firm's National Energy and Infrastructure Industry Group. In 2003, he was appointed by the Government of Canada to serve as a member of the Electric System Working Group, which examined the causes of a major power blackout in the Northeastern United States and Canada. In 2006, McFadden was asked by the Government of Jamaica to co-lead an investigation into its island-wide blackout. In 2012, McFadden was appointed by Ontario’s Minister of Energy to sit on the Ontario Distribution Sector Review Panel. Also in 2012, he was granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws by York University and was appointed to York's Board of Governors in 2013. McFadden chairs the Board of Directors at the Ontario Energy Association and was named Leader of the Year by the organization in 2013. In 2016, he was appointed as a member of the Board at Toronto Hydro. McFadden has also served in numerous other positions in the Toronto business community, including as Chair of the Canadian and International Infrastructure Advisory Board at Fengate Capital Management.