Larry Miller (Canadian politician)

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Larry Miller
MP
Larry Miller at Olympic ceremony.jpg
Miller at the Olympic Torch ceremony in Owen Sound
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
Assumed office
June 28, 2004
Preceded by Ovid Jackson
Chair of the Standing Committee on
Agriculture
In office
3 February 2009 – 24 September 2012
Minister Gerry Ritz
Preceded by James Bezan
Succeeded by Merv Tweed
Personal details
Born (1956-07-21) 21 July 1956 (age 59)
Wiarton, Ontario
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Darlene Miller
Residence Georgian Bluffs, Ontario
Profession farmer

Larry Miller, MP (born 21 July 1956[1]) is a Canadian politician. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound for the Conservative Party. Miller is married with three children and three grandchildren.[2]

Early life and career[edit]

Miller was born in Wiarton, Ontario. Before entering federal politics, Miller was a councillor in Keppel Township, Ontario from 1991 to 1993. He progressed to Deputy Reeve in 1994, and in 1996 became the Reeve of Keppel Township. He was briefly a councillor in Grey County between 2000 and 2001, and between 2000 and 2004 he was mayor of Georgian Bluffs.[1] He also owns a beef-farming operation.

Federal politics[edit]

Miller won the Conservative Party nomination for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound in 2004, and defeated three-term Liberal Member of Parliament Ovid Jackson by almost 5,000 votes in that year's federal election.

With many historic Georgian Bay lighthouses in his riding, Miller sponsored the bill that became the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act in the Commons in January 2008.[3]

Bill C-19 Controversy[edit]

On February 7, 2012, during a Parliamentary Debate about Bill C-19, Miller stirred controversy after comparing the long-gun registry to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Regime quoting former Liberal Minister Allan Rock: "I came to Ottawa last year with the firm belief that the only people in Canada who should have firearms are police officers and the military." Miller added afterwards: "Sound familiar? Adolf Hitler. 1939". Later on, he quoted former Liberal Senator Sharon Carstairs who've said "the registering of hunting rifles is the first step in the social re-engineering of Canadians" which Miller added "that is what Adolf Hitler tried to do in the 1930s". Miller later retracted his statements.[4][5]

Controversial comments regarding immigrants[edit]

On March 16, 2015, while appearing on a call-in show on CFOS Radio, Miller commented on the issue of would-be Canadian citizens wearing a niqab at their citizenship ceremony. Miller said, "if you don't like that or don't want to do that, stay the hell where you came from, is the way, and I think most Canadians feel the same... I'm so sick and tired of, of people wanting to come here because they know it's a good country and then they want to change things before they even really officially become a Canadian, so , I have no sympathy for her..."[6] The following day, Miller issued a statement apologizing for the inflammatory part of his comments, but maintained his opinion that one should uncover their face when taking the citizenship oath.[7]

In the 2015 election, Miller was reelected by almost 5,000 votes.[8]

Electoral record[edit]

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Conservative Larry Miller 26,297 46.7 -9.6
Liberal Kimberley Love 21,879 38.8 +22.73
New Democratic David McLaren 6,270 11.1 -6.54
Green Chris Albinati 1,887 3.3 -6.69
Total valid votes/Expense limit 56,333 100.0     $217,686.73
Total rejected ballots 212 0.37 -0.07
Turnout 56,545 68.91 +3.87
Eligible voters 82,056
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]
Canadian federal election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Conservative Larry Miller 28,744 56.30 +8.64
New Democratic Karen Gventer 9,008 17.64 +8.01
Liberal Kimberley Love 8,203 16.07 +1.77
Green Emma Jane Hogbin 5,099 9.99 -17.18
Total valid votes 51,054 100.00
Total rejected ballots 227 0.44 +0.02
Turnout 51,281 65.04 +3.68
Eligible voters 78,848
Canadian federal election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Conservative Larry Miller 22,975 47.66 -0.52 $83,330
Green Dick Hibma 13,095 27.17 +14.26 $63,875
Liberal Thomas Noble 6,892 14.30 -13.26 $39,399
New Democratic Jill McIllwraith 4,640 9.63 -1.71 $9,434
Christian Heritage Joel Kidd 599 1.24 * $1,377
Total valid votes/Expense limit 48,201 100.00 $84,478
Total rejected ballots 204 0.42
Turnout 48,405 61.36
Canadian federal election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Conservative Larry Miller 25,133 48.18 +3.2 $72,117
Liberal Verona Jackson 14,378 27.56 -8.2 $52,377
Green Shane Jolley 6,735 12.91 +8.7 $17,349
New Democratic Jill McIllwraith 5,918 11.34 -1.7 $11,210
Total valid votes/Expense limit 52,164 100.00
Canadian federal election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ∆%
Conservative Larry Miller 22,411 45.0 -6.0
Liberal Ovid Jackson 17,824 35.8 -8.4
New Democratic Sebastian Ostertag 6,516 13.1 +8.2
Green Alex Drossos 2,076 4.2
Christian Heritage Steven J. Taylor 982 2.0
Total valid votes 49,809 100.0

Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.

References[edit]

External links[edit]