Ian Deans

Ian Deans (born August 16, 1937) is a Canadian politician.

Born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, Deans moved to Canada as a youth and found work as a firefighter. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as an Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the 1967 provincial election representing the Hamilton-area riding of Wentworth. In 1978, he ran in the Ontario NDP leadership convention to succeed Stephen Lewis, but lost by less than 200 votes to Michael Cassidy. Deans resigned from the legislature the next year, and won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons during the 1980 federal election representing Hamilton Mountain.

Deans served as House Leader for the New Democratic Party during the illness of Stanley Knowles, and became official House Leader following the 1984 federal election.

In the fall of 1986, he surprised colleagues by accepting a job from Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as an administrator in the public service sector.

In 2007, Deans returned to politics and was acclaimed as the federal NDP's candidate in Brant. Yet, due to the onset of Parkinson's disease, he dropped out of the race and moved back to Hamilton. In a recent interview with the Hamilton Mountain News, Deans said that he may run in the Hamilton Municipal Election in 2010 if his Parkinson's hasn't progressed any farther [Newman, Mark. "Ian Deans considers comeback." Hamilton Mountain News 11 July 2008: 1+.] .

He has four children. His wife is Diane Deans, an Ottawa City Councilor.

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