View source for Tom Siddon

{{Short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder 
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Tom Siddon 
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image            =
| caption          = 
| riding           = [[Richmond Centre (federal electoral district)|Richmond]]<br /><small>[[Richmond—South Delta]] (1979-1988)</small><br /><small>[[Burnaby—Richmond—Delta]] (1978-1979)</small>
| parliament       = Canadian
| term_start       = October 16, 1978
| term_end         = October 25, 1993
| predecessor      = [[John Reynolds (Canadian politician)|John Reynolds]]
| successor        = [[Raymond Chan (politician)|Raymond Chan]]
| office1 = [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Minister of National Defence]]
| term_start1 = June 25, 1993
| term_end1 = November 4, 1993
| primeminister1 = [[Kim Campbell]]
| predecessor1 = Kim Campbell 
| successor1 = [[David Collenette]]
| office2          = [[Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)|Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]]
| term_start2      = February 23, 1990
| term_end2        = June 24, 1993
| primeminister2   = [[Brian Mulroney]]
| predecessor2     = [[Pierre Cadieux]]
| successor2       = [[Pauline Browes]]
| office3          = [[Ministers of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard|Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]]
| term_start3      = November 21, 1985
| term_end3        = February 23, 1990
| primeminister3   = [[Brian Mulroney]]
| predecessor3     = [[Erik Nielsen]]
| successor3       = [[Bernard Valcourt]]
| birth_name       = Thomas Edward Siddon
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1941|11|9|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Drumheller]], [[Alberta]], Canada
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| profession       = Businessman<br>Professor
| party            = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] 
}}
'''Thomas Edward Siddon''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (born November 9, 1941) is a Canadian aerospace engineer and politician.

==Early life and education==
Born in [[Drumheller]], [[Alberta]], Siddon pursued engineering, graduating from the University of Alberta in 1963, followed by earning his Masters and Doctorate in [[aeroacoustics]] from the University of Toronto, Institute of Aerospace. He became a professor at the [[University of British Columbia]] and founded an aero-acoustics firm, Siddon-Harford & Associates.

Siddon married Patricia Yackimetz in 1962, with whom he has 5 children. Yackimetz is the niece of Canadian-American psychologist [[Albert Bandura]].

==Political career==
After serving as City Councillor in Richmond, British Columbia, for two years, he was first elected to parliament in a 1978 by-election as a [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) to represent the [[British Columbia]] [[electoral district (Canada)|riding]] of [[Burnaby—Richmond—Delta]]. He was successively elected in five federal elections between 1978 and 1993, and worked under several prime ministers.

When [[Brian Mulroney]] became leader of the PC Party, Siddon was appointed the party's science critic in the [[shadow cabinet]]. After the Tories won the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]], he was given the post of [[Secretary of State for Science and Technology (Canada)|Secretary of State for Science and Technology]]. During his time in this role, he established the foundation for the Canadian Space Agency and signed the International Space Station Agreement with the United States in 1984.

Siddon was promoted to the [[Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada)|Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]] position in 1985, in the wake of the [[tunagate]] scandal that had forced the resignation of previous minister, [[John Allen Fraser|John Fraser]].

Siddon remained in the Fisheries post for five years, until February 23, 1990. In response to overfishing and its consequences on fish stocks, Siddon attempted to impose stiff quotas on the catch. In 1991, a complete moratorium on [[cod]] fishing had to be imposed.

In 1990, Siddon moved to the [[Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)|Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]] position. Shortly after his swearing-in, Siddon worked alongside his provincial counterpart [[John Ciaccia]], to address the [[Oka Crisis]].

As Minister of Indian Affairs, Siddon helped conclude the agreement in 1992 to create the new territory of [[Nunavut]], the signing of the Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement, the signing of the [[Yukon Land Claims|Yukon Umbrella Final Agreement]], and the establishment of the [[British Columbia Treaty Process]].

When fellow British Columbian and ally [[Kim Campbell]] became PC leader and prime minister in 1993, Siddon was promoted to the senior cabinet, becoming [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Minister of National Defence]] on June 25, 1993. In this role, he was responsible for ordering new EH-101 navy helicopters to replace the aging [[Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King|Sea King]] helicopters. The deal was finalized, but during the next election, the opposition [[Liberal Party of Canada]] argued that the helicopters were too expensive.

Siddon entered the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 election]] and ended up finishing third behind [[Raymond Chan (politician)|Raymond Chan]] of the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] and [[Nick Loenen]] of Reform.

==After federal politics==
Siddon returned to the private sector, but remained active in Tory politics. He supported [[Peter MacKay]]'s leadership bid in 2003, and later became an early advocate of union between the Tories and [[Canadian Alliance]].

Following his federal political career, Siddon remained active as a consultant, lecturer and corporate board member. He speaks frequently on the political challenges of combating global climate change and the long range implications for water supply management. Siddon was the founding chair of the Okanagan Water Stewardship Council, and a member of the RBC Blue Water Advisory Panel. In 2007, he was awarded a [[Doctor of Laws|Doctorate of Laws]] from the University of British Columbia | Okanagan, received the University of Alberta Honour Award in 2009, the 2010 UBC Alumni Award of Distinction, and was the 2017 recipient of the University of Toronto Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction Award.

Siddon made a return to politics when he was elected to the Board of Education in [[Penticton, British Columbia|Penticton, BC]] in November 2008. His campaign was based on more openness by the board with fewer in-camera meetings. Siddon was also a strong vocal opponent to the board's decision to tear down a historic auditorium and gymnasium in the local high school. Following a successful three years on the School Board, in 2011 Siddon decided not to seek re-election, but rather ran for the position of Area 'D' Director for the [[Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen|Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.keremeosreview.com/news/tom-siddon-declares-candidacy-for-area-d/|title=Tom Siddon declares candidacy for Area "D"|work=Keremeos Review|date=September 7, 2011|access-date=2023-02-21}}</ref> Siddon defeated his two contenders,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/siddon-among-new-faces-at-regional-district/|title=Siddon among new faces at regional district|work=Penticton Western News|date=November 22, 2011|access-date=2023-02-21}}</ref> receiving 50.5% support in ballots cast. In 2014 he was re-elected as Area 'D' Director.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/election-2014-brydon-and-siddon-reclaim-seats/|title=Election 2014: Brydon and Siddon reclaim seats|work=Penticton Western News|date=November 15, 2014|access-date=2023-02-21}}</ref>

In February 2018, Siddon announced that he would be retiring from politics, and that he would not be seeking re-election in October 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pentictonherald.ca/news/article_bc0889c4-0c83-11e8-b8de-f3d6a7ef3547.html|title=Siddon not seeking re-election after lifetime in politics|work=Penticton Herald|date=February 7, 2018|access-date=2023-02-21}}</ref>

==Lawsuit==
Siddon was successful in settling out of court after suing radio commentator Rafe Mair for defamation in January 1995. Mair publicly apologized for comments made towards Siddon and settled the claims out of court.<ref>[https://www.straight.com/news/978631/former-cabinet-minister-broadcaster-environmentalist-and-author-rafe-mair-dies#Former cabinet minister, broadcaster, environmentalist, and author Rafe Mair dies] The Georgia Straight</ref><ref>[https://rrj.ca/the-fastest-gums-in-the-west/ The Fastest Gums in the West] Review of Journalism</ref>

== Electoral history ==
{{1993 Canadian federal election/Richmond Centre}}
{{1988 Canadian federal election/Richmond Centre}}
{{CANelec/top|CA|1984|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|Tom Siddon|38,168|57.06|+5.08}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Ron Dickson|16,377|24.48|+0.25}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Rod Drennan|13,340|19.94|-3.45}}
{{CANelec|CA|Green|Geraldine Stevens|433|0.65|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|Independent|Ursula Graf|301|0.45|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|CoR|Rob Sinclaire|273|0.41|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec/total|Total valid votes|66,892|100.0 &nbsp;}}
{{CANelec/hold|CA|PC|+2.42}}
{{end}}

{{CANelec/top|CA|1980|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|Tom Siddon|29,192|51.98|-2.06}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Mercia Stickney|13,606|24.23|+0.08}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Glen MacRae|13,134|23.39|+1.96}}
{{CANelec|CA|Communist|Homer Stevens|170|0.30|+0.01}}
{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Elaine Johannson|61|0.11|+0.02}}
{{CANelec/total|Total valid votes|56,163|100.0 &nbsp;}}
{{CANelec/hold|CA|PC|-1.07}}
{{end}}

{{CANelec/top|CA|1979|percent=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|Tom Siddon|30,262|54.04}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Mercia Stickney|13,524|24.15}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Glen Gordon MacRae|12,003|21.43}}
{{CANelec|CA|Communist|Homer Stevens|164|0.29}}
{{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Allen H. Soroka|45|0.09}}
{{CANelec/total|Total valid votes|55,998|100.0 &nbsp;}}
{{CANelec/note|<small>This riding was created from parts of [[Burnaby—Richmond—Delta]], where Progressive Conservative Tom Siddon was the incumbent.</small>}}

{{CANelec/top|CA|16 October 1978|by=yes|reason=On the resignation of [[John Reynolds (Canadian politician)|John Reynolds]], 5 September 1977|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|Tom Siddon|30,395|63.48|+8.67}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Mercia Stickney|11,308|23.62|+7.34}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Tony Schmand|4,713|9.84|-18.47}}
{{CANelec|CA|Independent|Ernie Lecours|1,128|2.36|&ndash;}}
{{CANelec|CA|Communist|Homer Stevens|339|0.71|+0.23}}
{{CANelec/total|Total valid votes|47,883|100.0 &nbsp;}}
{{CANelec/hold|CA|PC|+0.66}}
{{end}}

{{end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=14254}}

{{CA-Ministers of Defence}}
{{CA-Ministers of Fisheries}}
{{Kim Campbell Ministry}}
{{Mulroney Ministry}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddon, Tom}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British Columbia school board members]]
[[Category:Canadian aerospace engineers]]
[[Category:Canadian academics in engineering]]
[[Category:Canadian Anglicans]]
[[Category:Ministers of Crown–Indigenous relations]]
[[Category:Canadian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Ministers of national defence of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the 25th Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:People from Drumheller]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Richmond, British Columbia city councillors]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of British Columbia]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]