Crosbie, John C. 1931-

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CROSBIE, John C. 1931-

PERSONAL: Born January 30, 1931, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada; son of Chesley Arthur and Jessie Elizabeth (Carnell) Crosbie; married Jane Ellen Audrey Furneaux, September 8, 1952; children: Chesley Furneaux, Michael John, Beth. Education: Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, B.A. (with honors), 1953; Dalhousie University, LL.B., 1956; University of London, graduate study. Politics: Conservative. Religion: United Church. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, tennis, fishing.

ADDRESSES: Home—Box 23119, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1B 4J9. Office—Patterson Palmer, Scotia Centre, Box 610, 235 Water St., St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5L3; fax: 709-570-5757. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Called to Bar of Newfoundland, Canada, 1957, appointed Queen's Counsel; City of St. John's, Newfoundland, member of city council, 1965, deputy mayor, 1966, minister of municipal affairs and housing, 1966; District of St. John's West, St. John's, elected official, 1966; Province of Newfoundland, St. John's, minister of finance and president of treasury board, 1972–74, minister of fisheries, minister of intergovernmental affairs, and house leader, 1972–75, minister of mines and energy and minister of intergovernmental affairs, 1975; District of St. John's West, member of Parliament, 1976–88, minister of finance, appointed 1979; Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, minister, 1991–1993; Patterson, Palmer (law firm), St. John's, counsel, 1994–. Minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 1984, minister of transport, 1986, minister for international trade, 1988, minister of fisheries and oceans, 1991–93.

MEMBER: Newfoundland Law Society.

AWARDS, HONORS: Member, Order of Canada.

WRITINGS:

Building for the New Newfoundland: Priorities for Progress, [St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada], 1969.

No Holds Barred: My Life in Politics, McClelland & Stewart (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1997.

Columnist for Atlantic Business and Toronto Sun. Contributor to newspapers.

SIDELIGHTS: Now retired from his career in politics, John C. Crosbie began his rise to the upper levels of Canadian government in the 1960s. Born into a prominent and wealthy family—Crosbie's grandfather was Newfoundland's minister of finance from 1924 to 1928—Crosbie had a head start on other political aspirants. However, the Crosbie family was not without its problems: they suffered through occasional financial misfortune and the alcoholism of Crosbie's father, older sister, and younger brother.

Crosbie worked hard in school and won a fellowship to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London. In 1965, a few years after earning his license to practice law, Crosbie ran for the position of deputy mayor in St. John's, Newfoundland, and won. Just a few months later Joey Smallwood, premier of Newfoundland, appointed Crosbie to his cabinet.

After the cabinet appointment, Crosbie's political career took off, and he continued to work in government for the next thirty-odd years. However, his two-year tenure under Smallwood left him repulsed by the Newfoundland premier and "his legions of Liberal brothel-creepers," as he would later note in his autobiography, No Holds Barred: My Life in Politics. Crosbie eventually became so disenchanted by Smallwood and his cronies that he left the liberal party in Canada for the conservative Tories.

In No Holds Barred Crosbie describes his political comeback as a Conservative in Canada. In the 1970s he served in Prime Minister Frank Moore's administration, gleefully cleaning up the mess left by Smallwood. The problems were so bad that Moore could have had Smallwood prosecuted, but, wrote Crosbie, "Frank didn't have the stomach for putting a living legend behind bars."

Crosbie eventually became disenchanted with Prime Minister Joe Clark, too, who he felt seemed more concerned with political bumper stickers and buttons than actual governmental policies. Crosbie also served under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Throughout his service, Crosbie displayed a penchant for straight talk and became popular with the general public and journalists for his colorful quotes.

Crosbie's affinity for notable quotes is evident in No Holds Barred. He gives his honest opinion about various figures in Canadian politics. When one politician was late for a debate, Crosbie informed the audience that she had been "delayed because of a mechanical breakdown in her broom." Another female party official was late to a meeting with a top party official because she'd "been necking" with her Russian boyfriend, according to Crosbie. Regarding former boss Moores, Crosbie reveals that "he loved travel, fine restaurants, salmon fishing, partridge hunting, women, booze, late nights, and as little work as possible." Commenting on the overall tone of No Holds Barred, Maclean's contributor Allan Fotheringham commented that Crosbie "lets his intellectual pants down, as it were, and tells all."

Crosbie once told CA: "I very much enjoyed my career in politics both in the legislature of Newfoundland and in the House of Commons of Canada. I personally have a very high opinion of politicians and the service they perform and regret that they are now not regarded very highly by the public. Their life is a tough one, the hours spent astonishing in length but the work rewarding and fulfilling and giving a chance to influence public affairs and public policy both for the area you represent and for the country as a whole. I regretted leaving active politics at the end of June 1993, but the time had come to try other activities before it was too late, including the writing of my political autobiography No Holds Barred, which took me almost two years to complete. I am not attempting to be maudlin or trite, but I can testify that life as a politician is only possible in a satisfactory way when your spouse participates fully with you and your family understands what you are trying to do and is not too sensitive about the abuse that you take. I was very pleased with the reception my book received and have placed with the Archives of Canada my first draft which my publishers, alas, found to be too long! Alexander Dumas would certainly not find a publisher in the 20th century."

Crosbie later added: "As far as my present activities are concerned, I write opinion pieces or articles for newspapers from time to time in connection with such Newfoundland issues as negotiations between the Government of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador on the Atlantic Accord, the position with respect to the development of the Hydro Power resources of the Lower Churchill River System in Labrador, and other public policy issues of interest in Atlantic Canada. I also do what I can to assist the Conservative Party when requested."