Frank Miller (politician) - Premier

Premier

When Davis retired, Miller defeated Larry Grossman, Roy McMurtry and Dennis Timbrell for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in its January 1985 leadership convention. His supporters included Bette Stephenson, Philip Andrewes, George Ashe, Margaret Scrivener, Claude Bennett, Bud Gregory, Nicholas Leluk, Alan Pope, George McCague and Mike Harris.

Davis and his predecessor John Robarts were considered Red Tories and ran relatively progressive administrations that increased public investment and expanded the public sector. Under their watch, the Ontario Tories were often seen, however ironically, to be running left of the Liberals. Miller, on the other hand, was more typical of the party's base of social conservatives from Ontario's rural areas. When Davis officially stepped down on February 8, 1985, Miller became Premier.

Miller's victory created some divisions in the Progressive Conservative Party, and he had difficulty keeping order among senior party staff. He was sometimes criticized for speaking in an overly candid manner to reporters, once claiming that he would prefer to eliminate the minimum wage but could not do so for pragmatic reasons. Miller's appearance also became a political issue, as there were still memories of the tartan-jacket incident of two years earlier.