Professor, politician
1939-
Parliamentarian from 1993-present
Background information
Peter Adams is the Member of Parliament for Peterborough,
Ontario. He is a member of the
Liberal Party of Canada and is currently the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of
Human Resources and Skills Development. He is a member of
the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and as such his official title is "The
Honourable Peter Adams, P.C."
Adams was born in the United Kingdom (neither his parliamentary biography nor the biography on his official website specify a location within the U.K.) on April 17th, 1936. He emigrated to Canada and received his graduate degrees from McGill University in Montreal. He is married, has four children and eight grandchildren. He worked as a university professor at McGill and Trent University. According to his official website, he is also a snow and ice research specialist and has written several papers and one book on the subject.
Political beginnings
Adams was originally a
Member of Provincial Parliament for Peterborough before he turned to federal politics. During his time as the MPP for Peterborough, he was a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment. He retired from provincial politics in 1990 and was elected as the Member of Parliament for his federal riding in 1993.
To date, Adams has been elected as the MP for Peterborough four times. He was apopointed parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons after the 1997 federal election, and he held this post until 1999. After the 2004 Canadian federal election, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills.
Peter Adams in today's parliament
Adams belongs to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of
Persons with Disabilities. He also belongs to the government's
rural caucus. He currently sits in the third row of the Liberal caucus in the House of Commons, and is seated next to
Gurbax Malhi, another MP from Ontario.
The key issues with which Adams tends to deal seem to be of an agricultural and rural nature. He is also involved with the government's committees and groups which deal wtih post-secondary education.
Adams' website offers much of the same kind of information offered by those of his colleagues; it includes information about the riding, recounts of his political experience, a limited amount of personal information, and Adams' annual report. Like most other MPs, Adams writes a report every year informing his constituents of his work in the House of Commons on the riding's behalf throughout that year. His website, however, gives the report its own section and emphasizes it more than most other MP websites do.
Resource:
Peter Adams M.P., Peterborough http://www.peteradams.org/index.htm 17 December 2004
Federal Political Experience - ADAMS, PETER http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=5&s=M 17 December 2004