Chris Friel (born February 26, 1967) is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the mayor of Brantford from 1994 to 2003 and was re-elected to the same position in the 2010 municipal election. He was defeated in the 2018 municipal election by Kevin Davis.
Early life and private career
Friel was born and raised in Brantford. He has an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Waterloo (1989).About Chris , Chris Friel for Brantford (campaign site), accessed 5 November 2010. Before running for office, he was the executive director of a non-profit government agency."Young rookie whips incumbent," Hamilton Spectator, 15 November 1994, B3.
Both of his parents were active in politics. His father, James Friel, was involved in the labour movement and ran for a trustee position on the Brant County Board of Education in 1976."Workers across Ontario observe Labour Day," Cambridge Reporter, 4 September 2001, B8. His mother, Judy Friel, ran for a seat on the Brantford City Council in 2000.Lisa Grace Marr, "Brantford's Mayor Friel wins the job he says he's best at; Rival says he made leadership an issue, but this gave young incumbent an edge," Hamilton Spectator, 14 November 2000, D09.
After his loss in 2003, he worked in business and economic development with the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat.Susan Gamble, "There's life after politics," Brantford Expositor, 23 December 2004, A3.
Mayor of Brantford
Friel was first elected as mayor of Brantford in the 1994 municipal election, defeating one-term incumbent Bob Taylor. He was only twenty-seven years old at the time.Paula Kulig, "Blight on Main Street," Toronto Star, 19 May 1996, D1. He was re-elected in 1997, defeating right-wing candidate Andy Woodburn by a significant margin. He initially planned to stand down in 2000, but later changed his mind and was re-elected for a third term."Ex-mayor in Brantford race," Hamilton Spectator, 7 April 2000, A11. The article title refers to Dave Neumann, not to Friel.
Friel became mayor during a period of economic difficulties for Brantford; shortly after his election, he described the city as having the worst downtown in Canada.Paula Kulig, "Blight on Main Street Even the mayor says Brantford has the worst downtown in Canada—a victim like so many others of shopping malls," Toronto Star, 19 May 1996, D1. He later presided over a period of economic growth for the city.Richard Beales, "Don't be negative, Friel says: Mayor insists city's growth is no illusion," Brantford Expositor, 4 October 2002, A1; Michael-Allan Marion, Cheryl Bauslaugh and Lori Littleton, "Mayors raring to go: Chris Friel and Ron Eddy confirm intentions to run again," Brantford Expositor, 7 January 2003, A3.
Friel initially opposed the Brantford Charity Casino, describing it as a "scam" designed to shift money from the city to the province. He was quoted as saying, "What bothers me is that the government used to do these capital projects to build a country. . . . Now the government is doing work that is building gaming. It's like they've given up, there's no creativity."Moira Welsh and Kevin Donovan, untitled article, Toronto Star 15 March 1998, A1. He later accepted the casino's presence and tried to ensure it would provide some benefits to his community, though he still described it as an economic mistake.Ken Kilpatrick, "Casino foes plan last-ditch rally," Toronto Star, 4 May 1998, A8.
He helped establish Laurier Brantford, a local division of Wilfrid Laurier University.Luisa D'Amato, "WLU launches unique campus in Brantford," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 30 June 1998, A1; Luisa D'Amato, "$500 off at new WLU campus," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 18 March 1999, A2. He was also mayor when the Brantford Eaton's closed and took part in overseeing the site's transformation into a call centre.John Goddard, "Brantford fights back," Toronto Star, 8 November 1999, p. 1. During his second term, he spoke in favour of keeping the Brantford Hydro-Electric Commission as a public utility.Ross Marowits, "Brantford Hydro won't go on block: Council decides utility should stay public—for now," Brantford Expositor, 7 April 1999, A1.
Friel encouraged merger discussions between Brantford and neighbouring Brant County in 2000. At one stage, he said that he would ask the province to impose a decision on restructuring if the county declined talks. Brant County Mayor Ron Eddy strongly opposed this position, and Friel later acknowledged that producing a local agreement would be impossible.Carol Parafenko, "Brant mayor slams threat by Brantford over merger," Hamilton Spectator, 6 January 2000, A6; Ross Marowits, "Friel backs off on talks of city-county amalgamation," Brantford Expositor, 18 January 2000, A3; Ross Marowits and Michael-Allan Marion, "Brant frosty to Friel plan: `My forehead is bloody from beating on a brick wall'—Friel," Brantford Expositor, 16 February 2000, A1. During the same period, Friel argued that the Six Nations people have a legitimate claim to the land surrounding the Grand River, six miles in each direction.John Zronik, "Friel backs native land claims," Brantford Expositor, 28 August 2000, A1. Generally, Friel was known for having good relations with local indigenous groups.Susan Gamble, "Native voters could sway Brant riding," Brantford Expositor, 12 June 2004, A1.
Friel strongly supported Brantford's anti-smoking by-law, citing his own father's death from lung cancer at a relatively young age.Chris Brennan, "Mayor's personal history drives fight against smoking," Brantford Expositor, 16 October 2002, A10. He himself took a three-month leave of absence in 2002 due to serious health issues.Michael-Allan Marion, "Friel gets leave," Brantford Expositor, 7 May 2002, A1.
Friel was defeated in the 2003 mayoral election, losing to Mike Hancock by only fifteen votes.Natalie Alcoba, "Recounts seen for Oakville, Brantford mayors," Hamilton Spectator, 11 November 2003, A04. He chose not to seek a recount."Brantford's mayor won't seek vote recount," Hamilton Spectator, 21 November 2003, A06. He challenged Hancock again in the 2006 election and lost by 165 votes. When Hancock did not seek re-election in 2010, Friel ran for mayor again and won by a significant margin.
A newspaper article from 2000 described his political style as "flamboyant, sometimes truculent."Lisa Grace Marr, "Brantford mayor has change of heart; Friel decides to run for mayor after all," Hamilton Spectator, 6 October 2000, A03. When running for re-election in 2003, he acknowledged that he had been an unorthodox mayor.Michael-Allan Marion, "Mayoral candidates offer study in contrast," Brantford Expositor, 1 November 2003, A1.
Federal and provincial politics
Friel was a political ally of Brant Member of Parliament (MP) Jane Stewart, who served as a cabinet minister in Jean Chrétien's government."Stewart's riding gets $30M in grants," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 11 February 2000, A03. He strongly criticized provincial premier Mike Harris at a 2001 Labour Day rally,"Workers across Ontario observe Labour Day," Cambridge Reporter, 4 September 2001, B8; Michael-Allan Marion, "Friel blasts him," Brantford Expositor, 4 September 2001, A1. although he was more complimentary toward Chris Hodgson, Harris's municipal affairs minister.Michael-Allan Marion, "Mixed reaction to Eves cabinet," Brantford Expositor, 16 April 2002, A3.
Friel sought the Liberal Party nomination for Brant in the buildup to the 2004 federal election, but lost to Lloyd St. Amand.Michael-Allan Marion, "Grits race to replace Stewart," Brantford Expositor, 17 February 2004, A1; Michael-Allan Marion, "St. Amand gets nod: More than 1,400 attend meeting," Brantford Expositor, 1 April 2004, A1.
Electoral record
See the 2010 Brantford election page for information on defeated candidates other than Turmel.
See the 2003 Brantford election page for information on Tooke.
See the 2000 Brantford election page for information on Raymond and Gallant.
See the 1997 Brantford election page for information on Barlett and Clement.
See the 1994 Brantford election page for information on Lancaster.
References
External links www.chrisfriel.ca