Frances Lankin

Frances Lankin, (born April 16, 1954), is a Canadian senator, former president and CEO of United Way Toronto, and a former Ontario MPP and cabinet minister in the NDP government of Bob Rae between 1990 and 1995.

In 1985, Lankin tried to gain the nomination as the NDP candidate in the riding of Riverdale.

She lost to David Reville who went on to win the seat.

Lankin was elected Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Toronto riding of Beaches—Woodbine in the 1990 provincial election, succeeding Marion Bryden who retired from politics.

The NDP under Bob Rae won its first-ever majority government in this election, and Lankin, then thirty-six years old, was appointed to cabinet on October 1, 1990, as Minister of Government Services and Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet.

She announced that same-sex spouses of civil servants would be eligible for insurance and medical benefits.

Lankin was promoted to Minister of Health on April 22, 1991.

She soon developed a reputation as one of the most proficient ministers in Rae's government, and won praise for her attention to administrative detail.

She managed to bring the $17 billion health budget under control by reducing out-of-province charges to OHIP and reducing costs for the province's drug benefit plan.

She also increased funding for AIDS initiatives and made it easier for Ontario residents to receive treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

She also became one of Rae's most trusted ministers, and a part of his "inner circle".

On February 3, 1993, Lankin was shifted to the position of Minister of Economic Development and Trade.

The Rae government was defeated in the provincial election of 1995, although Lankin was re-elected in Beaches-Woodbine by about 3,000 votes over her nearest opponent.

After the election she was named finance critic and party whip.

When Rae resigned as NDP leader in 1996, Lankin declared herself a candidate to succeed him.

She was regarded as the frontrunner in this race, and was strongly supported by senior members of the Rae government and the party establishment.

However, this identification actually damaged her popularity among party delegates who were disappointed by the rightward shifts of the Rae government.

Rival candidate Peter Kormos accused her in the leadership debate of bearing responsibility for the "social contract" — which forced open collective bargaining agreements with public sector unions and was deeply unpopular with labour — and for the Rae government's abandonment of a promise to institute a publicly run auto insurance system.

Lankin's actual position in relation to the "social contract" was somewhat complicated.

She initially opposed the Rae government's plans to revisit existing labour contracts, and personally warned Rae of the fallout that would result from organized labour.

She later considered resigning from cabinet over the issue on two separate occasions, but ultimately chose to remain because (she argued) it would give her the opportunity to moderate the legislation.

She did, in fact, replace Rae's initial plans for outright wage rollbacks with requirements that workers above a certain income level take unpaid leave days.

Even in this moderated form, however, the legislation was highly unpopular and strained the NDP's relations with the labour movement.

As a result of criticisms from Kormos and others, many of Lankin's potential supporters went to rival candidate Howard Hampton, who had also been a cabinet minister in the Rae government, but was not part of Rae's inner circle.

Hampton defeated Lankin on the third ballot by fewer than 200 votes.

While in opposition, she wrote and submitted a private-members' bill banning the use of restraints on elderly patients.

From 2009 to 2016, she was a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee.

From 2010 to 2012, she co-chaired a government commission review of social assistance in Ontario.

Lankin was appointed to the Senate on March 18, 2016, on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

She sat with the Independent Senators Group until 2024 when she was appointed Government Liaison in the upper chamber and changed her designation to non-affiliated.

Lankin was born in London, Ontario.

She started her career as the executive director of a childcare centre before attending the University of Toronto to study criminology.

Due to a provincial government hiring freeze, Lankin was unable to get a position in her desired field working in probation and parole, so she accepted a position as a correctional officer.

Lankin was one of the first women correctional officers to work at the Don Jail, an all-male institution.

After four years, Lankin became a probation and parole officer before taking a position with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

Lankin was a very active member of OPSEU, where she focused on many issues of concern to women workers.

She took a position as Equal Opportunity Coordinator with the union, working on such issues as paid maternity leave, pay equity and childcare.

While at OPSEU, Lankin helped found the Ontario Coalition for Better Childcare and was provincial spokesperson for the Equal Pay Coalition.

She eventually became an economic researcher and finally a full-time negotiator for the union.

During her time at OPSEU, Lankin was appointed by the provincial government to the Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal for a 3-year term.