Beginnings
Eves was born into a working-class family in Windsor, Ontario, in 1946, the son of Julie (née Hawrelechko) and Harry Louis Eves, a factory worker. His maternal grandparents were Ukrainian. As a teenager, Eves moved with his family to the northern Ontario town of Parry Sound. Eves went to Osgoode Hall Law School, was called to the bar in 1972, and practiced with the firm of Green and Eves. In 1981, he ran for provincial parliament in the riding of Parry Sound. He defeated Liberal candidate Richard Thomas by only six votes (leading to the nickname "Landslide Ernie") but went on to keep the seat for twenty years.
Eves was a cabinet minister in the short-lived government of Frank Miller, serving as Provincial Secretary for Resources Development from February 8 to March 22, 1985, Minister of Skills Development from March 22 to May 17, 1985, and Minister of Community and Social Services from May 17 to June 26, 1985. As Minister of Skills Development, Eves was also the minister responsible for Native Affairs. In this capacity, he made history in 1985 by proclaiming Ontario as favouring native self-government. He left cabinet on the defeat of the Miller ministry in the legislature, and served as an opposition Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) until the Progressive Conservatives returned to power in 1995.
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