Belinda Stronach
Belinda Stronach (born May 2, 1966 in Newmarket, Ontario) is a Canadian businessperson and member of parliament.
The former President and CEO of Magna International, a major automotive supplier based in Aurora, Ontario, in 2004 she entered the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, losing to Stephen Harper. In the 2004 federal election she was elected MP for the riding of Newmarket-Aurora.
Background
Stronach is the daughter of the founder of Magna, Frank Stronach. She studied at York University business school for a year before dropping out. In February 2001 she was appointed CEO of Magna, and in January 2002 became its president.
She is twice divorced and has two children, Frank and Nikki. She speaks English and German fluently, and is proficient in French.
She has been named the most powerful woman in Canadian business and the second most powerful woman in international business. Belinda created 3000 jobs for Magna in Canada, and 1000 of those jobs are in Newmarket-Aurora. Belinda is Honourary Chair of the Southlake Regional Health Centre fundraising campaign, which has raised over $15 million for health care needs. She was also the Honourary Chair of Howdown fundraising campaign. In 2003 she received one of Canada's oldest and most distinguished awards, the Beth Shalom Humanitarian Award. The award is presented to individuals in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of humanitarian service. She is also reputedly a close friend of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and former Ontario Premier Mike Harris.
Conservative leadership race
Throughout the summer and into the fall of 2003, talks were undertaken by officials of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance party with respect to a merger of those parties. Meetings between the parties were overseen by a facilitator, who was later revealed to have been Stronach. She was among many who had called for PC leader Peter MacKay and Alliance leader Stephen Harper to undertake the merger talks in the first place.
As a candidate for leadership of the new party, she drew a great deal of publicity to the race. Some felt that this has more to do with her being an attractive female than being a strong contender.
At her campaign launch, Stronach surprised many with her opposition to free trade and her support of grass-root politics, lowering tuition fees and make tuition tax-deductible, gun control, same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and public Medicare (positions opposed by most Conservative caucus members). It is unlikely her caucus would follow a lead to support any equality-based legislation. Indeed, she distanced herself from this position by expressing support for a free vote of MPs, cast individually and not along party lines, on these issues. She also supports organized labour, a position that also is opposed by most Conservative caucus members. As a President and CEO of Magna International she did not oppose a trade union (UAW) local being established in the Detroit Magna plant. Stronach believes that trade unions are a human right. Then she heard that Daimler-Chrysler was going to cut 1000 jobs. She went to the Daimler-Chrysler plant in Ontario and stopped the job cuts retaining the jobs. Such statements and actions may well have helped her chances in Ontario. They are also indicative that her politics tend to be to the left of most of the Conservatives. She has stated that she is against the decriminalization of marijuana for now, though she admitted to smoking it in high school. However, she added that she will research the matter to see if marijuana is safe.
Many in the media saw her first foray into politics as sophomoric, flubbing obviously-practiced lines, and approaching the podium well before the teleprompter was ready. Stronach stood before the microphone mute for several minutes before the prompter began. Critics also accused her of being a "manufactured candidate," dependent on a high-priced network of professional campaign staff and Magna associates. Insinuations about her paid membership organizers in the province of Quebec hit particularly hard, recalling to some Tom Long's controversial 2000 Canadian Alliance leadership campaign. Supporters defended her "style," and touted her prospective ability to win new and swing voters, especially moderate, socially progressive and social democratic voters in the province of Ontario.
On February 11, 2004, she stayed away from a debate between the Conservative party candidates, leaving Tony Clement and Stephen Harper to debate each other on the CBC broadcast. She later also avoided a March 14 debate on the Global Television Network. She argued that she ought only participate in party sponsored debates rather than picking and choosing among those organized by outside sponsors.
In her major speech at the leadership convention on March 19, 2004, she promised to serve only two terms if she became Prime Minister, and to draw no salary. She made a major gesture of 'throwing away the script,' but then undercut this somewhat when she was seen referring to cue cards. On March 20, 2004 she finished second to Harper with 35% of the vote. In the 2004 Canadian Federal Election she was elected as a member of parliament in Ontario, representing the riding of Newmarket-Aurora and is the International Trade critic in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.