Early Life and Political Career
Miller was born in Toronto, and received a degree in engineering from McGill University in Montreal. He had a successful career as a professional engineer, car dealer and resort operator before entering politics in 1967 as a member of the Bracebridge town council, serving until 1970. In the 1971 Ontario provincial election, he ran for election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Muskoka as a Progressive Conservative, and was elected. He was re-elected in the 1975, 1977 and 1981 and 1985 elections.
He joined the cabinet of Premier William Davis on February 26, 1974 as Minister of Health. He planned to close a number of small hospitals and consolidate urban services after the 1975 election, but withdrew in the face of cabinet opposition. He suffered a heart attack during this period, perhaps as a result of work-related stress.
Miller became Minister of Natural Resources following a cabinet shuffle on February 3, 1977. On August 16, 1978, he was promoted to Treasurer and Minister of Economics. He also served as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs from August 16, 1978 to August 30, 1979. As Treasurer, he opposed the Davis government's Suncor purchase in 1981 and considered resigning over the issue. After another shuffle on July 6, 1983, he was named Minister of Industry and Trade. In 1983, he gained infamy for wearing a loud tartan jacket to the 1983 budget ceremony. He was caricatured by some reporters as a symbol of Ontario's rural past, and seemed out of step with generational and demographic changes in the province. Senior party organizer Hugh Segal later acknowledged that the jacket probably alienated many new voters.
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