Federal Politics
The Progressive Conservative Party won a majority government in the 1995 election, and Mahoney was narrowly defeated in Mississauga West by PC candidate Rob Sampson. He switched to federal politics two years later, and easily elected to the Canadian House of Commons for Mississauga West in the 1997 federal election, defeating his nearest opponent by over 21,000 votes. He scored an equally easily victory in the 2000 federal election.
Mahoney supported Paul Martin in the 1990 federal Liberal leadership convention, but subsequently opposed efforts by other Martin supporters to remove Jean Chrétien from the leadership position. During his time in parliament, he was considered a Chrétien loyalist. On April 11, 2003 Chrétien appointed Mahoney Secretary of State for selected Crown Corporations. His primary responsibility was for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and he was generally regarded as minister responsible for affordable housing. Mahoney was demoted to the backbenches again when Paul Martin became Prime Minister of Canada on December 11, 2003.
As a result of redistribution, Mahoney was forced to run against fellow Liberal Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish for the Liberal nomination in Mississauga—Erindale in the 2004 federal election. The nomination battle was extremely polarizing for the party. While Mahoney had been a Chrétien supporter, Parrish was considered (incorrectly, it turned out) as a Paul Martin loyalist. In addition, Parrish was often criticized in the Canadian media for making statements that were interpreted as anti-American, while Mahoney frequently condemned anti-American rhetoric during his time in the Commons. (On February 27, 2003, he ended one spoken-word intervention by yelling "God Bless America".) There was also personal acrimony between the candidates: on one occasion, Mahoney accused Parrish of illegal fundraising and called for criminal charges to be filed.
Parrish defeated Mahoney for the nomination, 2,165 votes to 1,925. After losing the contest, Mahoney told reporters "This woman is so low in the gutter that it's a shame that she's standing to represent the Liberal party". Mahoney did not contest the 2004 election.
Read more about this topic: Steve Mahoney
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