The Patti Starr affair contributed to the fall of Ontario's Liberal government in 1990 and set a legal precedent for judicial inquiries through the Supreme Court ruling in Starr v. Houlden.
Key Facts
- Illegal contributions total
- $160,000
- Inquiry led by
- Justice Lloyd Houlden
- Supreme Court ruling
- Inquiry ruled unconstitutional (Starr v. Houlden)
- Starr's sentence
- 6 months jail, paroled after 2 months
- Conviction year
- 1991
- Duration of scandal
- 1989–1990
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Patti Starr, a Liberal fundraiser and head of the Toronto Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, channelled approximately $160,000 in illegal political contributions to federal, provincial, and municipal politicians, including Liberal candidates during the 1987 Ontario provincial election and senior cabinet ministers.
When the scheme was exposed in 1989, Premier David Peterson appointed Justice Lloyd Houlden to lead a judicial inquiry. Starr challenged the inquiry in court, and the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately ruled it unconstitutional in Starr v. Houlden, finding it would impair defendants' due process rights available in a criminal trial.
The scandal contributed directly to the defeat of Ontario's Liberal government in the 1990 provincial election. In 1991 Starr was convicted of election fraud and breach of trust, sentenced to six months in jail. The Supreme Court ruling established a precedent affecting later inquiries, including those into the Westray Mine disaster (1992) and the Algo Centre Mall collapse (2012).