James Gillies

For the politician in Manitoba, see James Gillies (Manitoba politician). For the Australian engineer, metallurgist and inventor, see James Hyndes Gillies.

James Gillies
Member of Parliament for Don Valley
In office 20 October 1972 – 21 May 1979
Preceded by	Bob Kaplan
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Personal details
Born	James McPhail Gillies (1924-11-02)2 November 1924 Teeswater, Ontario, Canada
Died	13 December 2015(2015-12-13) (aged 91) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Elizabeth Louise Matson ​ ​ (m. 1953)​
Residence(s)	Toronto, Ontario
Profession	economist, educator
Military service
Allegiance	Canadian
Branch/service	Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service	1944–1945
Rank	Flight crew

James McPhail (Jim) Gillies, CM (2 November 1924 – 13 December 2015) was a politician and economist in Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1972 to 1979, elected in the Toronto, Ontario, riding of Don Valley. He taught economics at the Faculty of Administrative Studies at York University and was sought after for commentary on economic issues.

Background

Gillies attended public and secondary school in Teeswater, Ontario. He then went to London, Ontario to attend University of Western Ontario. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1944 during World War II. In 1945 he continued his education in the United States at Brown University and Indiana University Bloomington.^[1] He joined the faculty of University of California, Los Angeles's Graduate School of Management in 1951 and remained there until his return to Canada in 1965 where he was the first dean of York University's Faculty of Administrative Studies, now named the Schulich School of Business.^[2]

Gillies was chair of the Ontario Economic Council in 1971 and 1972.^[1]

Politics

Gillies ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1972 federal election. He was elected in the riding of Don Valley defeating Liberal incumbent Robert Kaplan by 6,135 votes.^[3] He was re-elected in 1974 and left federal office after completing his term in the 30th Canadian Parliament.^[4] In 1976, Gillies was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, placing 9th out of 11 candidates and withdrawing after the first ballot. He was a senior policy advisor to Prime Minister Joe Clark in the brief PC government of 1979-80.^[5]

Later life

He was named a professor emeritus of the Schulich School of Business and continued to provide commentary on economic matters.^[6] He died on 13 December 2015, aged 91.^[7]

Works

• Gillies, James M. (2010). From vision to reality: the founding of the Faculty of Administrative Studies at York University, 1965-1972. ISBN 9780978482725
• Gillies, James M. (1981). Where business fails. IRPP. ISBN 978-0-920380-53-6.

Archives

There is a James McPhail Gillies fonds at Library and Archives Canada.^[8] Archival reference number is R3294.

References

1. Normandin, Pierre G. (1973). Canadian Parliamentary Guide.
2. Gillies, James M. (1981). Where business fails. IRPP. p. Back cover. ISBN 978-0-920380-53-6.
3. "How the 1,117 candidates fared across Canada". The Toronto Star. 31 October 1972. p. 15.
4. "How the party candidates fared across the country". The Toronto Star. 9 July 1974. p. A12.
5. Peters, Diane (31 December 2015). "Jim Gillies: Schulich School of Business first dean 'thought big'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
6. Beltrame, Julian (24 December 2009). "Extremely cautious optimism". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
7. "Obituary: James McPhail Gillies". Globe and Mail. 13 December 2015.
8. "Finding aid to James McPhail Gillies fonds, Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 26 May 2020.

External links

• James Gillies – Parliament of Canada biography
• Gillies, James M. (25 October 1973). "Does Government Economic Policy-Making Make a Difference? The Canadian Case". Empire Club of Canada. Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2008.