Manley, John

John Manley, (born January 5, 1950, Ottawa, Canada), Canadian politician who held various ministerial positions in the Liberal governments of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and served as deputy prime minister (2002–03).

Manley was educated at Carleton University (B.A., 1971) and the University of Ottawa, where he earned a degree in law in 1976. He entered Parliament in 1988. Five years later, when the Liberals came to power, Manley was appointed minister of industry. In that capacity he worked to promote the adoption of new technology and innovation in Canadian industry to meet global competition. He was also responsible for strengthening economic development in regions of Canada with special problems, such as the Atlantic provinces, the four Western provinces, and Quebec. His performance in this post was unspectacular but gave him a solid grounding in Canadian economic and social affairs that would serve him well later.

Appointed minister of foreign affairs in 2000, Manley gained stature through his decisive response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. He immediately tightened controls on Canada’s long land border with the United States and, working with U.S. Homeland Security officials, explored the concept of a North American security perimeter. He piloted antiterrorist legislation through the Canadian Parliament and took an active part in the decision in January 2002 to send a Canadian combat mission to Afghanistan to operate beside U.S. forces there.

Also in January 2002, Manley was appointed deputy prime minister. In that capacity he presided over the cabinet when Chrétien was out of the country and served as chair of the two most important cabinet committees—those dealing with economic and social policy. He also was given supervision over a long list of crown (public) corporations and agencies. Moreover, he was named political minister for Ontario, which enabled him to control federal grants and appointments in Canada’s most populous province. In June, when he replaced longtime finance minister Paul Martin, Manley retained his other duties to become in effect the chief operating officer of the Chrétien administration. As Chrétien’s right-hand man, Manley was seen by many as the prime minister’s logical successor. However, Manley chose to withdraw from the leadership race that followed Chrétien’s retirement in 2003 when it became clear that Martin had an insurmountable lead. Later that year Manley announced his retirement from politics.

In 2004 Manley became counsel for a private law firm. He was appointed in 2007 to head a panel reviewing Canada’s future involvement in Afghanistan. The following year the five-member panel released a report in which it recommended that the country’s troops remain in Afghanistan beyond the withdrawal date of February 2009, while calling for more soldiers and equipment. Most of the suggestions were adopted. Manley held several directorships, including those of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and the Canadian Pacific Railway. From 2010 to 2018 he served as president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, a not-for-profit organization that represents business leaders.