In her own quiet, unfussy, good-natured, down-to-earth, friendly, respectable way, Julia Munro made history. Her death this week strikes a blow and marks the end of an era of a different kind of simpler, kinder politics.
A teacher who entered Progressive Conservative politics when I was a child, she went on to humbly represent our region at Queen’s Park for over twenty-three years, becoming the longest-serving female MPP in Ontario’s history.
For that accomplishment, her portrait hangs on a wall in the east wing of the Legislature, part of an exhibit called A Remarkable Assembly honouring the women of Queen’s Park. I remember the day it was hung, she joked that I would make a good Tory staffer because I naturally gravitated to taking photos of her and her colleagues.
I used to joke that she was the longest-serving female MPP but I worked for the longest-serving female Premier. We were close, in our own way, despite being from different parties. Her husband, John, cracks me up; he’s dry, funny and great to stand next to and quietly chirp at events that drag a little too long as the politicians promise “I’ll be brief” but are anything but.
Mrs. Munro and I would oftentimes talk about politics at home when we’d run into each other at the Legislature; so much so, that one colleague joked that she must be my grandma.
In the final years of her time as MPP, she saw a lot happen. She fended off three or four ambitious men, including two of her former leaders, who wanted her to step down and give them her seat. She’d worried about the impact on then-teenage Sam Oosterhoff when Patrick Brown was caught up in a sex scandal. But mostly she spoke about home, and how things were going. The day the Bradford Times closed, we bumped into each other in the hall and she showed me a copy of the tribute she’d deliver in the Legislature a few minutes later.
She cared about our community and loved being at Queen’s Park.
Whenever I’d see her, I’d think of that moment getting my diploma and awards at Bradford High’s graduation and Mrs. Munro giving me a hug and saying “well done”; that’s something she’s no doubt done for thousands of students in her career.
Not a loud orator or a showboater, not someone who had a Private Member’s Bill on every subject that caught her interest, she was far more content, it seemed from afar, to be a mentor within Conservative politics. She was Deputy Speaker of the Legislature and held a variety of junior roles in government before taking on critic roles in Opposition, but her real love, it seemed, was in representing her community. She was a fixture at ribbon cuttings and church suppers, always a friendly person ready to have a chat. She kept a copy of Magna Carta in her office.
In all honesty, Julia - or “Lady Munro” as her Conservative seat mates called her - was like something out of another time, a more home-spun, simpler time. That suited her just fine, I imagine, with her family, her dogs and their place by Lake Simcoe.
She’ll be missed.
Jonathan Scott is a public affairs consultant and writer, who has managed election campaigns for several politicians around Ontario.
