Ross McClellan
| Ross A. McClellan | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
|
In office 1975–1987 |
|
| Preceded by | John Yaremko |
| Succeeded by | Riding abolished |
| Constituency | Bellwoods |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 8, 1942 Toronto, Ontario |
| Political party | New Democrat |
| Occupation | Social worker |
Ross A. McClellan (born October 8, 1942) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1987 as a member of the New Democratic Party.
McClellan was educated at St. Michael's College and the school of Social Work at the University of Toronto. A social worker, he served as vice-president of the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto in 1975-76.
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, defeating Liberal Millie Caccia by 496 votes in the Toronto constituency of Bellwoods. Along with Tony Lupusella and Odoardo Di Santo, McClellan helped to increase the NDP's popularity in the Italian areas of the city. McClellan's mother is Italian.
He was easily re-elected in the 1977 election, and fended off more serious challenges from Liberal Walter Bardyn in 1981 and 1985. He supported Richard Johnston for the party leadership in 1982.
The Progressive Conservative Party, which had governed Ontario since 1943, was reduced to a precarious minority government in the 1985 election. McClellan, influenced in part by his mother's European socialist background, wanted the NDP to form a coalition government with the Liberals. This proposal was rejected. McClellan was instead appointed chief negotiator for talks with both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives, in which the NDP agreed to provide support to another party without actually joining government. These talks led to a two-year accord with the Liberal Party, which promised to introduce progressive reforms in return for NDP support in the legislature. After a motion of no confidence in which the Liberals and NDP defeated the Conservative's budget bill, Liberal leader David Peterson was sworn in as Premier of Ontario on June 26, 1985.
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