John Crosbie was known for his wit and straightforward talk
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — John Crosbie had a tart tongue, a dry wit and what many have described as an unflinching devotion to Newfoundland and Labrador.
The former federal cabinet minister often made headlines with his off-colour quips and stinging barbs, but as news of his death spread Friday, he was hailed as a national builder and a tireless advocate for his province.
“He relished the cut and thrust of politics throughout his life, not for sport, but for people, whose best interests he embraced as his own,” his family said in a statement confirming his death Friday morning at the age of 88.
As an outspoken fisheries minister under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Crosbie faced his biggest political challenge as Newfoundland and Labrador struggled with the collapse of the northern cod stocks, for centuries the backbone of the province’s economy.
Crosbie shut down the fishery in July 1992, eliminating the jobs of more than 19,000 of the province’s 25,000 fishermen, plant workers and trawlermen.
Defending himself in a crowd of enraged fishermen, shortly before he announced the moratorium, Crosbie shouted: ’’I didn’t take the fish from the God damned water!”
Mulroney issued a statement Friday praising his former colleague as “one of the giants of our generation,” saying Crosbie would be remembered for his courage, humour and passion.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Tory warhorse was “a true force of nature.”
“Mr. Crosbie made lasting contributions to his province and country,” Trudeau said in a statement.
When Crosbie was born is 1931, Newfoundland and Labrador had yet to join Confederation. At a young age, he was steeped in politics.
His father, Chesley Crosbie, was a prominent St. John’s businessman and politician. He formed the Party for Economic Union with the United States in 1948, but his plans were dashed when Newfoundland joined Confederation the following year.
As a young man, John Crosbie was an outstanding student, graduating with honours from Queen’s University in Kingston and the Dalhousie Law School in Halifax.
A practising lawyer, he entered politics in 1965 as a city councillor in St. John’s. Within a year, he was appointed to the cabinet of Liberal Premier Joey Smallwood.
After a dispute with Smallwood over leadership in 1969, Crosbie crossed the floor to join the Opposition Progressive Conservatives led by Frank Moores. The Tories were elected to govern in 1972, and Crosbie held a number of cabinet positions before deciding to run federally in 1976.
As finance minister in the short-lived minority government of Prime Minister Joe Clark, he tabled a tough budget in 1979 that included tax increases. Clark’s government fell on a motion of non-confidence after less than nine months in office. “Long enough to conceive, just not long enough to deliver,” Crosbie quipped.
He ran for the party’s leadership in 1983 but, hobbled by his inability to speak French, he lost to Mulroney.
Mulroney became prime minister in 1984 and Crosbie was appointed justice minister — the first of six cabinet posts. In an exchange in the House of Commons in 1985, Crosbie told Liberal MP Sheila Copps to “Just quiet down, baby,” prompting Copps to reply, “I’m nobody’s baby.”
He riled the Hamilton politician again in 1990 saying Copps made him think of the song lyrics: “Pass the tequila, Sheila, and lie down and love me again.” The sexist quip sparked an uproar. Crosbie acknowledged it was “ill-considered.”
He said he and Copps played up their squabbles for mutual gain. “She’s a professional politician, and I was as well,” he said in 2011.
Copps tweeted that she was sad to hear of the passing “of our dear friend John Crosbie. A great Newfoundlander, and a great Canadian!”