I’m honoured to rise in the House today to pay tribute to the former Liberal MPP, the late Barbara Sullivan. Barbara served her constituents in the riding of Halton Centre for two terms, from 1987 to 1995.

She grew up in rural Oakville, and she was an active member of the local 4-H club. She won many awards for showing the family’s sheep and Holstein cattle. This was indicative of her future career; she started early.

Barbara studied journalism at Carleton University, where she edited the student newspaper and was active in the Canadian University Press. Her first job as a reporter was at the Toronto Telegram, where she covered community life and local events.

Barbara moved on from journalism to become a public affairs consultant and communications specialist. She developed skills that she would use very effectively in politics. Barbara served as the principal secretary and the chief of staff for Ontario Treasurer Robert Nixon in the early 1980s, and it was that experience that led to her successful campaign to become the Liberal MPP for the riding of Halton Centre. She was a very savvy campaign strategist. In fact, Robert Nixon called Barbara “the best campaign manager” he knew.

As MPP, she chaired the government caucus and the Select Committee on Energy, and was the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour.

During the Bob Rae government, when Barbara was a member of the official opposition, she was the critic for the environment and later the critic for health. During one heated exchange in this Legislature, the indomitable and, dare I say, feisty Barbara Sullivan had to be escorted out of the Legislature by the Sergeant-at-Arms.

She was a force to be reckoned with, and this quality was widely recognized. Former Premier David Peterson called Sullivan “a powerhouse of the Liberal Party.” Her daughter Sandra described her mother as a “five-foot ball of energy.” Everything Barbara did, she did with passion.

Barbara’s husband, Jordan, was a farmer in Oakville, and one season while he was exhibiting sheep at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, he fell ill. As the story goes, Barbara rushed down to the exhibition grounds from Queen’s Park. She pulled on a pair of boots while wearing a red power suit, of course—so they went very well together—and stepped in for her husband. She stepped right in there for him and won a prize. That’s the kind of woman she was. She was diligent and determined, and she didn’t let anything deter her.

Barbara was immersed in politics. She was the Ontario campaign manager for Jean Chrétien in his bid for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party. She managed the successful leadership campaign for Dr. Stuart Smith for the Ontario Liberal Party. And she was also a senior strategist on Paul Martin’s campaign.

She loved politics, but she also had a lot of outside interests. In 2011, Barbara and her husband, Jordan, moved to the city of Hamilton. Barbara Sullivan was a remarkable lady. She was a strong and tireless advocate for access to quality health care. For eight years, she served on the board of directors of Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. and then became its chair. She was the chair of the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council, which conducted extensive research and advised the Minister of Health on matters related to the regulation of health professions in Ontario. She was also a director of the Bay Area Health Trustee Corp. and a director of Ontario’s Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority.

Barbara served on numerous boards over the years. She was clearly dedicated to public service, and she had been recognized for her work with several national and international citations and awards.

Barbara was also an avid gardener. She was a recipient of the Trillium Award from the city of Hamilton for the manner in which she beautified her own home garden.

She was very creative. She also was a talented miniaturist who designed intricate dollhouses.

Barbara loved to have fun and entertain her grandchildren, and she was blessed with six grandchildren.

Barbara passed away on January 24, 2021, on her 78th birthday, but her life was truly full, and it was a life well lived.

I want to welcome the family. Thank you to Barbara’s husband, Jordan; her daughters, Michele, Sandra and Elspeth; her son, Jordan; her daughter-in-law, Alex; her granddaughter Annie; and her long-time friend Vivienne Jones, as well as former Speaker David Warner.

I want to thank all of the family for sharing Barbara with us. She was truly an indomitable spirit whom we remember fondly, and we are all grateful for her service to Ontario. Thank you.

It’s an honour today for me to rise to recognize Barbara Sullivan. I want to start out by thanking her family who are here today: her husband, Jordan G. Sullivan; her daughters, Michele Thompson, Sandra Sullivan, Elspeth Gibson; her son, Jordan D. Sullivan; daughter-in-law, Alex Sullivan; granddaughter Annie Keely; her friend Vivienne Jones; and the 35th Speaker of this Legislature, Mr. David Warner.

Barbara grew up near Oakville and attended Munn’s one-room schoolhouse. This was a rural area. She raised sheep and Holstein cattle, and she won many top awards at showings. She was an active member in many community groups, including 4-H, and the Sheridan College musical theatre program. She was the chair of the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. She was a member of Heritage Canada, the Ontario Historical Society, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Canadian Club, and she was a board member of Parks Canada.

Barbara studied journalism at Carleton and worked as a journalist at the Toronto Telegram. She later worked as a public affairs consultant. And in politics, she first worked as the principal secretary and chief of staff to the treasurer of Ontario, Robert Nixon.

Before campaigning herself, I discovered that she worked as a campaign manager in the campaigns of Robert Nixon, Stuart Smith, Art Eggleton, Jean Chrétien and John Turner. It amazed me that all of these successful politicians had the same woman behind them. Mr. Nixon even referred to her as “the best campaign manager I know.” I don’t doubt that.

Barbara Sullivan was elected to this House in 1987 and re-elected in 1990 in the riding of Halton Centre. She served for two terms, from 1987 to 1995. During that time, she was appointed official opposition critic for the environment, and she served as a member of many bodies: the Board of Internal Economy, the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly, the government caucus chair, the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour, and she chaired the Select Committee on Energy. So she had a lot to do with the functioning of this body.

After her time as MPP, she became a member of the board of directors of the Hamilton Health Sciences Corp., which she later chaired. She was also the chair of the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council.

More recently, she was a vice-chair and director of Ontario’s Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority. She was a governor of Mohawk College. She was a director of the Bay Area Health Trustee Corp. and director and treasurer of the Ontario Association of Former Parliamentarians. She has really contributed and left a substantial legacy on Ontario’s political and social landscape.

I want to close by thanking her family, her loved ones for allowing her to serve the people of Ontario, for making the sacrifice so that she could serve here in this House and elsewhere in society. She has left behind such a legacy, and we’re very thankful for her service. It’s an honour today to rise and recognize that.

Applause.

Good afternoon to the family and friends of former member of provincial Parliament Barbara Ann Pickard Sullivan. Today, we have the privilege of the presence of some of Barbara’s loved ones, as she had many: Mr. Jordan G. Sullivan, Barbara’s husband; her daughters, Michele Thompson, Sandra Sullivan and Elspeth Gibson; her son, Jordan D. Sullivan; her daughter-in-law, Alex Sullivan; her granddaughter Annie Keeley; and her dear friend Vivienne Jones.

Barbara’s family and friends are also joined by Mr. David Warner, who presided as the Speaker of the Legislature during the 35th Parliament.

I welcome you all on behalf of the Ontario NDP official opposition. We thank you deeply for sharing your beloved Barbara with the hard-working people of Halton Centre and Ontario.

Barbara was born on January 24, 1943, in Calgary, Alberta. Her family soon moved to Oakville.

She graduated from Carleton University school of journalism in 1964, and before politics, she worked as a journalist and later as a public affairs consultant at the Toronto Telegram, if I’m not mistaken.

Barbara came to Queen’s Park having defeated her PC opponent in Halton Centre by a whopping 6,000 votes amid a landslide Liberal majority at the provincial level. She served as a Liberal MPP in the 34th Parliament and in the 35th Parliament under Premier David Peterson and Premier Bob Rae, respectively. She valiantly represented her community and earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues across party lines.

Frankly, there isn’t enough time today to highlight all of the leadership roles Barbara excelled in, spanning across her terms in 1987 to 1995, but here are just a few:

She served as Chair of a Select Committee on Energy, as deputy whip, as her party’s environment critic and health critic, as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour and to the women’s issues minister, as the commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy. And that’s when she wasn’t flying out of Queen’s Park in her “little red power suit,” as her daughter recalled, saving the day for her dad, a farmer who had taken ill. Barbara flew out of Queen’s Park in style to replace him, exhibiting sheep at the royal winter fair, and as Barbara did, she won. Barbara’s daughter Sandra called her mother, yes, a “five-foot ball of energy.”

Outside of Queen’s Park, Barbara loved cooking, sewing and gardening. She created dollhouses that her daughter said could be displayed in any museum, and apparently she loved world travel.

Former Liberal Premier David Peterson said, “She was plugged in and a dynamo of fire. There were just sparks that came off of her. She had so much energy!”

Barbara, I hear, had an incredible laugh, was confident, and had a collaborative leadership style—and a leader she was, having managed many political campaigns before becoming an MPP herself. She managed the campaigns of former Liberal leader Dr. Stuart Smith and Art Eggleton’s successful runs for Toronto mayor in 1980 and 1982. She was also the campaign manager for Jean Chrétien’s federal Liberal leadership campaign. Back in 1987, Robert Nixon was quoted as calling Barbara the “best campaign manager he knew.”

Barbara had influence, but her friends often described her as unassuming and maternal, finding time during her hectic Queen’s Park schedule to drive to Oakville to prepare lunch for her then youngest children, Elspeth and Jordan.

Even after politics, Barbara remained devoted to her community. She served as chair of the Hamilton Health Sciences board from 2006-09. Her intent to support seniors led her to the position of vice-chair of the board of directors of the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority during the years 2013 to 2020.

She was a patron of the Sheridan College musical theatre program, the Ontario Historical Society, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and also served as a board member of the Big Sisters Association of Metropolitan Toronto, Huntley Youth Services, Mohawk College, Bird Studies Canada, chair of Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts and commissioner and acting chair of the Commission on Election Finances in Ontario.

Barbara took life by the horns but also knew that life would have its bumps. To quote Barbara during her first campaign, she said, “I’m an ad hoc person. What comes, does, and what doesn’t does not. There will always be a challenge for me.”

Barbara Sullivan’s sun set on her 78th birthday, on January 24, 2021, in Hamilton, Ontario. Those who respected her and admired her tenacity as a politician, a community leader, will remember her as “the cream that rose to the top.”

To Barbara’s family and friends here today, thank you again for sharing her with Ontario.

To her dearest grandchildren, hold on tight to those musical birthday cards she often gave you. May her words and your memories of her live on forever.