He was a New Democratic Party (NDP) member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1995 who represented the west Toronto riding of Etobicoke.
[1] He worked as an adult educator and management consultant before entering politics, and was a coordinator of leadership training with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
He recommended greater privileges for multinational pharmaceutical companies while in government, and rejected a global warming strategy while in the Transportation portfolio.
The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election and Philip lost the riding of Etobicoke-Rexdale to Progressive Conservative John Hastings by fewer than 900 votes.
[13] This was considered a major upset, and Philip was regarded as a favoured candidate for re-election when he ran in the redistributed seat of Etobicoke North in the 1999 provincial election.