Phil Gillies

Background

Gillies was educated at Queenborough in Kent, England. After moving to Ontario, he completed his education at the University of Western Ontario and worked as an advertising executive.

Politics

He ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial election, but lost to New Democratic Party candidate Mac Makarchuk in the riding of Brantford. In 1977 and 1978, Gillies worked as research assistant to Ontario Premier Bill Davis. He ran again in the 1981 election, and defeated Makarchuk by over 3,000 votes.

Gillies served as a backbench supporter of the Davis government, and endorsed Larry Grossman for the party leadership in January 1985; Grossman, however, would lose the leadership contest to Frank Miller. When Miller became the Premier of Ontario on February 8, 1985, he named Gillies as a minister without portfolio.

The Progressive Conservative Party was reduced to a tenuous minority government following the 1985 provincial election. Gillies himself was narrowly re-elected in Brantford, defeating NDP candidate Jack Tubman by 1,141 votes. He was promoted to Minister of Skills Development on May 17, 1985 but accomplished little before the Tories were defeated in a non-confidence motion in the house two months later.

In opposition, Gillies served as his party's critic for skills development, labour and the environment. Gillies took an interest in labour and human rights issues, and was one of the first PC MPPs to work for LGBT rights in Ontario. He was defeated in the 1987 provincial election, finishing third against Liberal candidate Dave Neumann.

Gillies ran communications and advertising for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives in the 1990 provincial election in support of new party leader Mike Harris.

Later life

After leaving politics, Gillies became a vice-president of the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton. He later worked as a consultant for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the Royal Bank of Canada and other corporations and non-profit organizations, and came out as gay. He has served as a director of Orchestra London, the Brant Social Development Council, the Brantford Symphony Orchestra, and the Enos Foundation, and serves on the advisory council of Proud Politics. Gillies has also served on committees for Autism Speaks Canada and TV Ontario.

Gillies worked on endangered species issues for the WildAid Conservation Society in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 and 2014, he provided consulting services to the Patey Law Group, Accident Resolution Group, Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, the Carpenters Union, Clean Prosperity and Toronto Expo 2025.

In 2011, Gillies helped spearhead a national campaign to have shark fin banned in Canada. He led his hometown of Brantford to become the first municipality in North America to ban the trade and possession of shark fin through a by-law passed on May 24, 2011. This led to the introduction of similar legislation in Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga and other Canadian cities.

Gillies ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Brant in the 2014 election, but was not re-elected to the legislature. In the summer of 2014, Gillies became Associate Director of Policy on the campaign of Toronto mayoralty candidate John Tory.

In January 2015, Toronto mayor John Tory named Gillies as secretary of the Mayor's Task Force on Toronto Community Housing, under the chairmanship of Senator Art Eggleton. He also sits on the government relations committee of Enactus Canada.

In 2016 at the annual convention of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Gillies was presented with a special achievement award by leader Patrick Brown for his decades of service to the party.