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Patrick Boyer (born March 4, 1945 in Bracebridge, Ontario) is a university professor and a former Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (1984-1993).

Before entering politics, Boyer was a writer, journalist and a partner in Fraser & Beatty's law firm in Toronto. He gained a law degree and a Master's in Canadian history from the University of Toronto and studied economics and political science at Carleton University prior to that.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1984, representing Toronto's Etobicoke—Lakeshore riding in the government of Brian Mulroney. As a Member of Parliament, he chaired committees on election law reform, equality rights and on the status of disabled persons. In 1989, he was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Minister of External Affairs, and in 1991 he became parliamentary secretary to the Minister of National Defence. He was a strong advocate of direct democracy, and campaigned for the introduction of referenda in the political process. It was significantly due to Boyer's efforts that the Charlottetown Accord of 1992 was submitted to a public referendum.

In 1993 was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, Science and Technology, to the Deputy Prime Minister, and to the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.

That same year, Boyer ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives following the announcement of Mulroney's retirement. His leadership campaign was fought largely around the issue of referenda and direct democracy. Although he was widely viewed as having some of the strongest ideas in the campaign, the leadership was won by Kim Campbell, who led the party to its historic 1993 defeat. Only two Tory MPs retained their seats in that election, and Boyer was not one of them.

Following his departure from politics, Boyer taught law and political science at the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph. He remains widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in Canadian constitutional law.

In 2001, he unsuccessfully sought the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party provincial nomination in the riding of Parry Sound–Muskoka for a by-election to replace retiring MPP Ernie Eves.

Throughout Boyer's career in and out of elected politics, he has authored a number of books. These include Lawmaking by the People (1981), The People’s Mandate (1992), Direct Democracy In Canada (1993) and Boyer's Ontario Election Law (1996). He also authored the definitive Canadian legal texts on election law, covering all aspects of national, provincial and municipal voting in Canada.

In March of 2007, Boyer was successfully nominated to stand as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in the next federal election.

• http://www.writersunion.ca/b/boyer_p.htm
• http://www.conservativeforum.org/authquot.asp?ID=1167
• http://www.npsnet.com/cdd/boyer.htm
• http://www.empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?SpeechID=256&FT=yes