The Honourable
Diane Finley
PC
Finley in May 2017
Minister of Public Works and Government Services
In office
July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byRona Ambrose
Succeeded byJudy Foote
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development[lower-alpha 1]
In office
October 30, 2008 – July 14, 2013
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byMonte Solberg
Succeeded byJason Kenney
In office
February 2, 2006 – January 3, 2007
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byBelinda Stronach
Succeeded byMonte Solberg
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
In office
January 4, 2007 – October 29, 2008
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byMonte Solberg
Succeeded byJason Kenney
Conservative Party Caucus Liaison
In office
September 25, 2017 – September 2, 2020
LeaderAndrew Scheer
Erin O'Toole
Succeeded byTim Uppal
Member of Parliament
for Haldimand—Norfolk
In office
June 28, 2004 – May 11, 2021
Preceded byBob Speller
Succeeded byLeslyn Lewis
Personal details
Born (1957-10-03) October 3, 1957
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Political partyConservative
Spouse
​
(died 2013)​
Residence(s)Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
ProfessionBusinesswoman, corporate executive, management consultant, school administrator
Websitedianefinley.ca

Diane Finley PC (born October 3, 1957) is a former Canadian politician. From 2006 through 2015, she served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Her ministerial portfolios included Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. She was a member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk for the Conservative Party from 2004 to 2021. In August 2020, she announced that she would not be running in the 2021 Canadian federal election.[1] She resigned from office on May 11, 2021.

Personal life

Diane Finley was raised in Port Dover and Charlotteville in Norfolk County, Ontario, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. After graduation, she became the administrator of Western's French Immersion School. She then worked in a series of private and public sector jobs, in a variety of fields. She was named "one of Canada's future leaders" by the Governor-General's Study Conference 2000. As a child, she participated in Girl Guides of Canada youth programs.[2]

Her husband was Doug Finley, a Senator from Ontario and former campaign manager and director of political operations for the Conservative Party of Canada.[3] The pair met while Diane was working as a summer hire at Rolls-Royce where Doug was an executive.[4]

In 2006, Finley announced that she has Graves' disease, a non-life-threatening thyroid condition that causes increased sensitivity to bright lights and forces her to wear tinted glasses.[5]

Political career

Long involved in politics of the Conservative Party and its predecessors, Finley first ran for public office in the 2004 federal election in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk. She defeated Bob Speller, a Liberal cabinet minister, by 1,645 votes. After being re-elected in the 2006 election, she was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. An Order in Council transferred authority for Social Development Canada to her as well, and accordingly, she served under the style Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. She was shuffled from the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada portfolio on January 4, 2007. The following year, Finley allegedly received threats from sex industry officials in relation to her support of Bill C-17, which sought to allow immigration officers to deny temporary visas to prospective strippers if they were suspected to be sex trafficking victims. Tim Lambrinos of the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada (AEAC) said that "it's not plausible" that any of the AEAC strip clubs were responsible for the threats.[6]

Finley was re-elected in the 2008 election and resumed her former post as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.[7] She was re-elected in the 2011 election with 50.9% of the vote in her riding.

In March 2015, a parliamentary ethics report on an affair linked to disgraced prime ministerial aide Nigel Wright found that Finley had breached conflict of interest rules in her capacity as minister by diverting funding to a favoured project in Markham whose promoter had close ties to the Conservative Party.[8]

After winning her seat once more in the 2015 federal election, Finley announced that she would be running for the position of interim leader of the Conservative Party, after Stephen Harper's resignation from the post.[9] She was passed over for interim leader and subsequently placed in Rona Ambrose's shadow cabinet.

She was re-elected in the 2019 federal election. On August 23, 2020, she announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2021 federal election. She resigned from the House of Commons on May 11, 2021.[10] Leslyn Lewis was the Conservative candidate elected to succeed Finley the 2021 federal election.[11]

Political views

Finley has promoted increased private-sector involvement in health services. She was the founder of Canada's largest publicly funded ambulance service company, Canadian Medical Response, and has been active in the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Haldimand—Norfolk
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeDiane Finley28,01846.75+2.7$71,248.92
LiberalKim Huffman14,70424.54-12.1$47,529.88
New DemocraticAdrienne Roberts9,19215.34+1.7$2,660.65
GreenBrooke Martin4,8788.14+4.8none listed
People'sBob Forbes1,2342.06-$2,959.97
Veterans CoalitionHarold Stewart1,0831.81-none listed
Christian HeritageLily Eggink8171.36-0.2none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 59,92699.28
Total rejected ballots 4360.72
Turnout 60,36265.93
Eligible voters 91,557
Conservative hold Swing +7.4
Source: Elections Canada[12][13]
2015 Canadian federal election: Haldimand—Norfolk
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeDiane Finley24,71444.14-6.80$127,788.19
LiberalJoan Mouland20,48736.59+11.67$72,346.01
New DemocraticJohn Harris7,62513.62-6.36$3,656.59
GreenWayne Ettinger1,8573.32+0.01$12,277.23
Christian HeritageDavid Bylsma8841.58+0.72$7,252.58
IndependentDustin Wakeford2720.49–$12,267.19
IndependentLeslie Bory1510.27–$1,616.53
Total valid votes/expense limit 55,990100.00 $219,180.63
Total rejected ballots 3120.55
Turnout 56,30268.14
Eligible voters 82,621
Conservative hold Swing -9.24
Source: Elections Canada[14][15]
2011 Canadian federal election: Haldimand—Norfolk (federal electoral district)
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeDiane Finley25,65550.94+10.11–
LiberalBob Speller12,54924.92-7.43–
New DemocraticIan Nichols10,06219.98+8.45–
GreenAnne Faulkner1,6653.31-0.93–
Christian HeritageSteven Elgersma4350.86-0.18–
Total valid votes/expense limit 50,366100.04.1
Total rejected ballots 2560.51–
Turnout 50,62263.49
Eligible voters 79,729 ––

Source:

2008 Canadian federal election: Haldimand—Norfolk
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeDiane Finley19,65740.83-7.5$67,583
LiberalEric Hoskins15,57732.35-1.9$72,913
New DemocraticIan Nichols5,54911.53-1.3$5,509
IndependentGary McHale4,82110.01–$22,798
GreenStephana Johnston2,0414.24+0.7$2,581
Christian HeritageSteven Elgersma5011.040.0
Total valid votes/expense limit 48,146100$85,391
Majority 4,0808.48
Total rejected ballots 2480.51
Turnout 48,394
2006 Canadian federal election: Haldimand—Norfolk
Party Candidate Votes%±%
ConservativeDiane Finley25,88548.33+6.1
LiberalBob Speller18,36334.29-4.5
New DemocraticValya Roberts6,85812.80-1.6
GreenCarolyn Van Nort1,8943.54+0.1
Christian HeritageSteven Elgersma5591.04-0.2
Turnout 53,559
Conservative hold Swing +5.3
2004 Canadian federal election: Haldimand—Norfolk
Party Candidate Votes%±%
ConservativeDiane Finley20,98142.2-6.2
LiberalBob Speller19,33638.8-7.2
New DemocraticCarrie Sinkowski7,14314.4+9.8
GreenColin Jones1,7033.4
Christian HeritageSteven Elgersma6171.2
Majority 1,6453.3
Turnout 49,78063.3
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +1.0

References

  1. ↑ "Longtime Conservative MP Diane Finley says she's not running in the next election". Global News. Canadian Press. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Girl Guides hit the Hill – Macleans.ca". Macleans.ca. March 19, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  3. ↑ Linda Diebel (September 6, 2008). "Harper's 'political pit bull'". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 9, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Senator Doug Finley dies from cancer at age 66".
  5. ↑ Immigration file a revolving door Toronto Star 2007-01-05, Phinjo Gombu
  6. ↑ "Immigration minister threatened over strippers legislation". Postmedia News. April 24, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  7. ↑ About Diane Finley Archived January 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, official page. Accessed January 19, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Ethics report finds Tory minister Diane Finley broke conflict-of-interest rules".
  9. ↑ The Canadian Press (October 22, 2015). "Diane Finley intends to run for interim Conservative leader". CTV News. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Resignation of Member" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Canada: House of Commons of Canada. May 11, 2021. p. 7071.
  11. ↑ "MP Diane Finley resigns from House of Commons". simcoereformer. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  12. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Haldimand—Norfolk, 30 September 2015
  15. ↑ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
  1. ↑ Office became known as "Minister of Human Resources and Social Development" from 2006 to 2007.
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