Politics
Allen was first elected to the Ontario legislature in a by-election held on June 17, 1982, replacing former Liberal leader Stuart Smith as the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Hamilton West. He was re-elected over Liberal Paul Hanover by 450 votes in the 1985 provincial election, and defeated Liberal Mary Kiss by 1,096 votes in the provincial election of 1987.
In 1983, Allen introduced a private member's bill which would have made Ontario a nuclear-free zone. A member of l'Association interparlementaire de langue francaise, Allen was also a vocal supporter of the Meech Lake Accord, and criticized Elijah Harper for his role in the Accord's 1990 defeat.
The NDP won the provincial election of 1990. Given his academic background, Allen was appointed Minister of Colleges and Universities and Minister of Skills Development on October 1, 1990. He did not play a major role in cabinet, and was demoted to minister without portfolio responsible for Economic Development and International Trade on February 3, 1993. On August 22, 1994, he was re-appointed to a full cabinet position as Minister of Housing.
The NDP were defeated in the provincial election of 1995, and Allen lost the Hamilton West riding to Progressive Conservative Lillian Ross by over 4,000 votes.
In 2002-2003, Allen supported Bill Blaikie for the leadership of the federal New Democratic Party.
Read more about this topic: Richard Allen (politician)
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