Reform Party of Canada candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election
The Reform Party of Canada fielded candidates in every Canadian province except Quebec in the 1993 federal election. Fifty-two candidates were elected. Many of the party's candidates have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here. Ontario Lincoln: Andy Sweck Andy Sweck was born in Hamilton, and is of Polish and Ukrainian background. He has a Bachelor's Degree from McMaster University, and joined Stelco as a graduate trustee in 1978. At the time of his political career, he was a senior supervisor for the company. He joined the Reform Party in 1991, and was a founding member of its Hamilton Mountain constituency association. He ran for the party in Lincoln in the 1993 federal election, and finished second against Liberal Tony Valeri. Sweck ran against prominent national politician Sheila Copps in a 1996 by-election. His campaign was marked by controversy: one day after he was chosen as a candidate, Sweck fired Terry Ott as his campaign manager. Ott later claimed that he was dismissed at the behest of the party's national executive, who were seeking to take over the local campaign. Sweck rejected this explanation, and said that he simply did not believe Ott was the most qualified person for the position. Ott also said that the nomination meeting had been rigged in Sweck's favour; both Sweck and the defeated candidate denied this. Sweck sought to focus attention on Copps's record, and particularly her party's broken promise on eliminating Canada's Goods and Services Tax. He also called for reforms to the Young Offenders Act, such that persons as young as ten could be charged with committing violent crimes. He finished fourth, in what was considered a disappointing result for the party, and returned to private life. Nickel Belt: Janice Weitzel Janice Weitzel was a supply teacher. She received 5,604 votes (12.70%), finishing third against Liberal candidate Ray Bonin. Her campaign was generally regarded to have taken votes from the second-place New Democratic Party, and to have indirectly helped the Liberals. Ottawa—Vanier: Sam Dancey Dancey holds a Master of Arts degree (1981) from the Occidental Institute of Chinese Studies in Miami, Florida. He was thirty-nine years old during the election, and operated a foster home for emotionally disturbed children (Ottawa Citizen, 7 October 1993). He promoted fast expansion of Highway 16 and improved air links with the United States, and rejected suggestions that the Reform Party's plans to reduce the national civil service would cause significant unemployment rises in Ottawa Citizen, 7 October 1993). He received 3,830 votes (7.89%), finishing third against Liberal incumbent Jean-Robert Gauthier. He campaigned for the party's nomination in a 1995 by-election in Ottawa—Vanier, but lost to Kevin Gaudet (Ottawa Citizen, 7 January 1995). Dancey wrote opinion-editorials on behalf of the Reform Party during the 1990s, arguing in support of "territorial bilingualism" (Montreal Gazette, 18 July 1994) and criticizing affirmative action programs as discriminatory (Ottawa Citizen, 23 July 1995). During the 1999 provincial election, he accused the labour movement of promoting violence at Queen's