Conservative Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election

The Conservative Party of Canada ran a full slate of 308 candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. Some of these candidates have separate biography pages; relevant information about other candidates may be found here.

The candidates are listed by province and riding name.

British Columbia

=Robin Baird (Victoria)=

Robin Baird (b. 1964, Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Crown prosecutor and private lawyer in Victoria, British Columbia. He is authorized to practice law in French. He has graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.A. in 1986, Queen’s University with an LL.B in 1989 and London School of Economics with an LL.M in 1999.He has served on the Glenlyon Norfolk School Alumni Board (B.C.), the Mayor of Victoria’s Advisory Committee on Construction of A Multiplex Facility and the St. Michaels University School Alumni Association.

Phil Eidsvik (Newton—North Delta)

Eidsvik is a commercial fisher. He has served as an executive director of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition. He is a [http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/001062.html fishing activist] .

David Matta (Surrey North)

Matta is an instructor at Stenberg College. He was born in Egypt but earned a master's degree in psychology at Trinity Western University. He has lived in Surrey since 1995.

=Darrel Reid (Richmond)=

Reid is a 48 year old vice-president of Current Corporation making night-vision systems for the maritime and security industry. He served as president of Focus on the Family Canada between 1998-2004. He has also worked as a political staffer for the Reform Party of Canada.

askatchewan

Brad Farquhar (Wascana)

Farquhar was born in Toronto and raised in the Newmarket area in Ontario. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Providence College, studied political science at Carleton University, and completed a Master of Public Administration degree from Griffith University in Australia, specializing in electoral systems and administration. He worked as a Special Assistant to Elwin Hermanson, the House Leader of the Reform Party in Ottawa, and then as Executive Assistant to Hermanson, when the latter became the leader of the Saskatchewan Party and Leader of the Opposition in Saskatchewan. When Hermanson stepped down from the leadership in 2004, Farquhar became Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Party. He then worked as a consultant to political parties in Tajikistan. After returning, Farquhar won the Conservative Party nomination in Wascana. He is president of Farquhar & Associates Consulting, a business and public affairs consultancy based in Regina. He and his wife have three children. He received almost 12,000 votes, but placed second to Liberal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.

Manitoba

=Nazir Ahmad (Churchill)=

Ahmad received a Bachelor of Science degree in Pakistan, and holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Reading in England. He did postgraduate work at the University of Manitoba, received Chartered Accountant certification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Manitoba, and is an accountant in private life. He was the mayor of Flin Flon for several years, and campaigned for the Progressive Conservative Party in the 1988 federal election.

Ahmad attended the national Progressive Conservative leadership convention of 1993 as an unpledged delegate, and was listed as 51 years old in a newspaper report ("Winnipeg Free Press", 11 June 1993). He chaired Flin Flon's economic development commission in the late 1990s, and worked to diversify the local economy from its traditional reliance on smelting ("WFP", 28 February 1998). In 1998, he was elected to the Red Cross council for northeast Manitoba ("WFP", 27 May 1998).

He sought re-election as Mayor of Flin Flon in the 1998 municipal elections, but was defeated ("WFP", 29 October 1998). As of 2006, he is a city councillor in Flin Flon and is chair of Flin Flon Housing Co. Ltd. (Seniors’ Housing). [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:tiqoi9tuzOEJ:www.conservative.ca/?section_id=1051&linkTo=true&districtId=1663+"Nazir+Ahmad"&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=1] He finished fourth in the 2006 election.

In 2005, Ahmad announced his support for the federal government's program to cultivate cannabis in an abandoned mine near Flin Flon (the harvested plants are used for medicinal purposes). [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:-POtb3mvGo0J:www.humanhemphealth.ca/The_Reminder_112305.html+"Nazir+Ahmad"+"Flin+Flon"&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=35] Conservative Health Critic Steven Fletcher had previously called for the program to be shut down.

Ontario

Ian West (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing)

West entered political life as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was 25 years old when he first campaigned for the PCs in the 2000 election. A graduate of the University of Windsor, he had recently completed a work term with DaimlerChrysler in Germany ("Windsor Star", 31 October 2000). His campaign focused on environmental concerns, and highlighted his party's plan to eliminate Canada's debt in twenty-five years ("Windsor Star", 25 November 2000). Although credited by the local media for running a solid campaign, he finished a distant fourth against longtime Liberal incumbent Herb Gray in Windsor West.

West campaigned for the Progressive Conservatives again in a 2002 by-election, after Gray retired from the House of Commons. He emphasized the environment and cross-border trade with America ("Windsor Star", 17 April 2002), and again finished fourth against New Democrat Brian Masse. West later joined the Conservative Party of Canada, and was the party's candidate for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing in the 2006 federal election. As of 2005, he is in his last year of studies at the law school at the University of Ottawa ("Sudbury Star", 12 December 2005).

Peter Conroy (Beaches—East York)

Conroy was born and raised in Beaches-East York, where he attended St. Denis elementary school and Cardinal Newman Secondary School. In 1988, he led an unsuccessful attempt to stop the Newman board from mandating school uniforms ("Toronto Star", 7 June 1988). After completing an Honours degree in History and Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, he worked in Ottawa for four years as an executive and legislative assistant to Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Tom Wappel in Ottawa. [http://www.parl.gc.ca/committees/jula/evidence/178_95-10-24/jula178_blk101.html] He then returned to Beaches-East York to start a family and pursue a career in business. Conroy and his wife Shelley have three children: twin daughters Alexandra and Elizabeth and son Jacob. They are homeowners in the Upper Beach area.

Conroy is a founder and executive of CollectiveBid Systems Inc, through which he has launched a fixed income exchange designed to eliminate the inefficiencies in the Canadian Bond Market. He currently works for the Montreal Exchange. He is an active member of the Beaches Lions Club where he has helped to raise funds in support of local causes including Kew Play and Community Centre 55’s Hamper program. Along with three friends, he has promoted a community-based business, The Christmas Tree Company, since 1992. This venture has also raised money for the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada.

Conroy was thirty-six years old in the 2006 campaign ("Toronto Star", 16 July 2006). He received 9,238 votes (18.04%) in the 2006 election, finishing third against Liberal incumbent Maria Minna.

John Carmichael (Don Valley West)

John Carmichael was the Conservative Party's candidate in Don Valley West in the 2006 federal election and is running again in the 2008 General Election.

John Carmichael is a results-driven community and business leader dedicated to contributing in many capacities to ensure the strength and health of his community. A resident of Toronto all his life, John and his wife Kerry are the proud parents of three grown children, Christin, Michael and Julie, and grandparents to John and Mackenzie. John is a graduate of Upper Canada College and the University of Western Ontario.

As the Chairman and CEO of City Buick Pontiac Cadillac GMC Ltd, a long standing, family owned and operated business that has been a part of the Toronto community for over 50 years John has also served as president of a national leasing company. He brings policy development experience from his role as Past Chairman of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association and from his appointment as founding chairman of the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council. In both these roles John has been a leader in promoting consumer protection and raising standards in the automobile industry.

Outside his business life, John is a strong advocate for strengthening community and family. His commitment is evident in his many years as a volunteer and fundraiser focusing on championing the causes of health care, education and sport. He is a member of North York General Hospital Foundation Board and has served on the Wellesley Hospital Foundation Board. John is an avid golfer and has been a competitive rower for many years. He is also the Past President of Rowing Canada Aviron and a Director of the Canadian Olympic Committee. John’s broad range of business experience and community service has equipped him with the tools and the determination to bring responsibility, consensus-building, and sound management to government. John Carmichael was a candidate for the Conservative Party in the 2006 Federal Election, and understands how politics and governance should work. He is eager to bring his experience to government and to be a strong new voice for Toronto in Ottawa as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley West.

* [http://www.johncarmichael.ca/ Campaign website] [http://www.johncarmichael.ca/page.asp?bio]

Peter Coy (Eglinton—Lawrence)

Coy was born on the Isle of Wight, England in 1951. He was a flight sergeant in the British Air Training Force at age sixteen, and flew in RAF jet trainers over Germany and England. [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/127/#PeterCoy] A Business Studies graduate from Crawley College, he entered the data processing profession and studied computer programming and system design. He moved to Canada in 1974. Since 1991, he has been president of Prodigm Inc., creating system designs and software for customer sales and service systems. Coy has served as president of the Toronto Operetta Theatre, chair of the outreach and social concern committee of Grace Church on-the-Hill, vice-president of the Eglinton-Lawrence Conservative EDA, and previously vice-president of the Eglinton-Lawrence Progressive Conservative riding association. He received 14,897 votes (30.25%), finishing second against Liberal incumbent Joseph Volpe.
* [http://www.petercoy.org/ Campaign website]

John Capobianco (Etobicoke—Lakeshore)

John Capobianco (born 1965) is a Canadian corporate executive and activist. He has twice been a political candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Capobianco's parents immigrated from Italy in 1960. He was born and raised in Etobicoke and has undertaken a career as a consultant, rising to the position of Senior Vice President Public Affairs with Edelman Canada, one of the largest integrated communications firms.

In his political life, Capobianco has been president of the Ontario PC Youth Association. During the government of Mike Harris he worked as an advisor to then-Minister of Education David Johnson.

Capobianco ran for Parliament as a Conservative in the 2004 election, losing to Jean Augustine in Etobicoke—Lakeshore by almost 10,000 votes. He was again the Tory standard-bearer in Etobicoke—Lakeshore after defeating Morley Kells for his party's nomination and lost to Liberal candidate Michael Ignatieff in the 2006 federal election, losing by less than 5,000 votes. Both times Capobianco received the most votes of any Conservative candidate in Toronto. He is married with one child.

Eliot Lewis Hill (Hamilton Centre)

Hill is a police officer, with experience in Hamilton and Toronto. He has been also active with Habitat For Humanity, and received the Alan Ladkin Memorial trophy for community involvement in 1993. Hill worked in Toronto at the time of the election, but resided in Hamilton. He was thirty-one years old ("Hamilton Spectator", 13 January 2006).

He defeated former candidate Leon Patrick O'Connor for the Conservative nomination in Hamilton Centre ("Hamilton Spectator", 13 May 2005), and focused his campaign on "law and order" issues ("Hamilton Spectator", 19 September 2005). He received 9,696 votes (20.29%), finishing third against New Democratic Party incumbent David Christopherson.

Lou Grimshaw (Kingston and the Islands)

Grimshaw was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political and Economic Science and a Master of Arts degree in War Studies, both from Royal Military College of Canada. He was a professional army officer for thirty-nine years before retiring in 1996] , and received training as a paratrooper ("Kingston Whig-Standard", 5 January 2006). Grimshaw saw action with NATO forces in Germany as a member of the British army, and served with the United Nations detachment in Cyprus.

He was a defense management consultant and the owner of Louis E. Grimshaw Military Antiques during the 2006 election. He has also written on military topics. In 2005, he received the Province of Ontario Volunteer Service Award. [http://www.lougrimshaw.ca/about.asp]

Grimshaw was a Progressive Conservative for many years, and became president of the party's federal Kingston and the Islands association in 2002] . He supported Scott Brison's bid for the party leadership in 2003 ("KWS", 2 June 2003). He later endorsed the party's merger with the Canadian Alliance in 2003-04, and was the founding association president of the resulting Conservative Party of Canada ("KWS", 22 March 2004). Grimshaw has also been a church warden and member of the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Ontario. [http://www.ctv.ca/mini/election2006/candidates/35036_CON.html]

He won the Conservative Party nomination in May 2005, defeating Connie Wilkins and Keith Bilow ("KWS", 16 May 2005). He received 16,230 votes (26.07%), finishing second against Liberal incumbent Peter Milliken.

teven Cage (Kitchener Centre)

Steven Cage was educated at York University, receiving both his Bachelor of Business Administration and his Master of Business Administration. He is a member of the business community with more than 20 years of financial management experience and is a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers.

Mr. Cage is a public representative on the Provincial Appeals Committee of the [http://www.hrpao.org Human Resource Professionals Association of Ontario] , a director of the [http://www.confederationclub.ca Confederation Club of Waterloo Region] and an active member of several local business organizations. He has been a business news reader on 570AM Kitchener radio and is an occasional guest lecturer at the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Cage was very active in development of the Conservative Party's [http://www.conservative.ca/EN/policy_declaration policy declaration] , passed in Montreal in March of 2005.

John Mazzilli (London North Centre)

* [http://www.johnmazzilli.ca/ Campaign website]

Vincent Veerasuntharam (Scarborough Southwest)

Veerasuntharam moved to Canada from Sri Lanka in 1983. He is president of Suvara Travels Canada Inc., and a director on the Sri Lanka Business Council. Veerasuntharam is a member of St. Bonaventure's Catholic parish in Toronto.

He drew attention to Toronto's gun violence in the 2006 campaign, and highlighted his family and religious convictions ("Toronto Star", 24 January 2006). His campaign was criticized by the Lifesite, a socially conservative news service which suggested that his campaign intimidated leafletters from their organization. [http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jan/06012310.html] The leafletters were handing out documents in support of Tom Wappel, Veerasuntharam's Liberal opponent. [http://www.pej.org/html/print.php?sid=4110]

He received 10,017 votes (24.04%), finishing second against Wappel.

=Kevin Serviss (Sudbury)=

Kevin Serviss was born in Iroquois, Ontario, and raised in Guilletville near Sudbury. He moved to Hamilton as a young adult, and joined its Metropolitan Police Force in 1976. He returned to Sudbury in 1978 and worked in that city's police force until 1999, when he became a pastor at the city's Pentecostal Glad Tidings Tabernacle. [Carol Mulligan, "From the pulpit to politics", "Sudbury Star", 17 January 2006, A3.] He has also hosted a radio program on CJTK-FM, Sudbury's Christian station, and was a founder of the Elgin Street Mission and the Pregnancy Care Crisis Centre. He helped to organize a rally against same-sex marriage in 2005, and indicated that his belief in "traditional values" was a catalyst for his decision to run for office. [Bob Vaillancourt, "Tradition-bound: Rally promotes heterosexual marriages", "Sudbury Star", 16 May 2005, A1.]

Serviss won the Conservative Party nomination in May 2005, at a meeting that was marked by some controversy. [Serviss defeated Al Gorman and David Deloye on the first ballot. See Carol Mulligan, "From the pulpit to politics for Tory", "Sudbury Star", 18 May 2005, A3.] Former Conservative Party candidate Stephen L. Butcher later asserted that most of Serviss's supporters had not been members of the Conservative Party until shortly before the meeting, and that many were members of Serviss's church. He also described Serviss as a special-interest candidate, who should not have been allowed to contest the nomination. ["Former candidate turns on party: Stephen Butcher to run for the Progressive Canadian Party", "Sudbury Star", 2 December 2005, A4. Al Gorman also agreed with this assessment. See Al Gorman, "Local Conservatives are still divided", "Sudbury Star", 29 December 2005, C7. Carol Mulligan's "From the pulpit to politics" indicates that Serviss's supporters repeatedly yelled "Amen!" and "That's right!" during his victory speech.]

When the Canadian House of Commons granted legal sanction to same-sex marriage in June 2005, Serviss said that it marked a "sad and regrettable day in Canadian history". [Carol Mulligan, "Same-sex debate not over: Serviss", "Sudbury Star", 30 June 2005, A2.] Later, however, he indicated that he would vote "against his conscience" in support of same-sex marriage if his constituents directed him to do so. [Carol Mulligan, "Serviss would follow voters' wishes in gay marriage", "Sudbury Star", 11 January 2006, A2.]

He received 10,332 votes (21.68%), finishing third against Liberal incumbent Diane Marleau.

=Anthony Reale (Thornhill)=

Reale is a real estate agent by profession, and works for RE/MAX. Reale originally lost the Conservative nomination on the first ballot to former Canadian Alliance EDA President Dan Samson, but was appointed after Mr. Samson resigned the nomination in the Fall of 2005 for personal reasons ("Vaughan Weekly", January 11, 2006. pg 2). Reale was city councillor in Vaughan from 1985 to 1988. He ran for mayor in 1988, and was defeated by the then incumbent mayor Lorna Jackson. Reale has served as the returning officer for the 1999 and 2003 provincial elections in the riding of Thornhill.

Anthony Reale ran against Liberal incumbent Susan Kadis, the New Democratic Party candidate Simon Strelchik, the Green Party of Canada candidate Lloyd Helferty, and the Progressive Canadian Party candidate Mark Abramowitz. Reale came second to Kadis, who won by 10,929 votes.

Lewis Reford (Toronto Centre)

Born in 1960 in Ottawa, Reford spent his early childhood in Australia and Egypt where his scientist father was posted. Moving back to Canada in time to start kindergarten, he spent the rest of his childhood at his family home on a farm in Quebec’s Ottawa Valley, where he became fluently bilingual.

To further his CEGEP college education, Reford attended the Colorado School of Mines, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science honours degree in geophysical engineering. A summer job with Exxon led to his first career, posting in frontier oil exploration in Perth, Western Australia, where he worked for close to two years. After that stint, he returned to the academic world to undertake post-graduate work in geology at the University of Cambridge in England.

From Cambridge, Reford embarked on a new career path in global finance, first in London with Citicorp Investment Bank, and then in Paris with energy multinational Total S.A. He met his Canadian wife, Susan, in Paris and their eldest son was born there. While based in Europe, his work took him to Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

He returned to Canada and resided in Toronto Centre in 1993, where he worked in investment banking for Smith Barney and J.P. Morgan out of offices in Toronto and New York respectively.
* [http://www.cpc-torontocentre.ca/lewis_reford.htm Campaign Website]

am Goldstein (Trinity-Spadina)

Goldstein is a lawyer, a former playwright who was born in Ottawa and received his Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University before earning a Master of Arts in Political Theory from McMaster University. He then obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calgary and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1997. He is currently practicing as a defence attorney and was previously an Assistant Crown Attorney. Goldstein has been a resident of Trinity-Spadina since 1996. He is on the Board of Directors of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre and the Downtown Jewish Community School. He was awarded the Canadian Jewish Playwrighting Award in 1991.

He received 5,625 votes (9.00%), finishing third against New Democratic Party incumbent Brian Masse.

=Richard Majkot (Vaughan)=

Richard Majkot ran against Liberal incumbent Maurizio Bevilacqua in the 2006 federal election and was defeated.

Alphonso Teshuba (Windsor West)

Teshuba (born March 23, 1968 in Windsor) holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Windsor. [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/209/] He is a Security Brokers Dealer, manages a communications and marketing business, and has been co-owner of the Nine Ball Heaven billiards and arcade club with his sister ("Windsor Star", 13 June 1989). Teshuba sits on the Windsor Jewish Community Centre board of directors and strategic planning committee, and was Jordan Katz's campaign manager in the 2004 election. He was thirty-seven years old in 2006 ("Windsor Star", 10 January 2006).

He received 9,592 votes (20.11%), finishing third against New Democratic Party's Olivia Chow.

Michael Mostyn (York Centre)

Mostyn is currently serving as the Director of Government Relations for B'nai Brith Canada.

In 1996, Mostyn received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario. During his time as an undergraduate, Mostyn was a member of the Dean's Honour List, as well as a recipient of the Honour W Award. Graduated from the University of Western Ontario Law School in 1999, Mostyn was awarded the Douglas May Memorial Award, and delivered a paper at the 14th BILETA Conference: "Cyberspace 1999: Crime, Criminal Justice, and the Internet" at the College of Ripon and York St John, York, England while in his third year of law school.

Called to the Bar in the Province of Ontario in 2001, he practiced law at Mostyn & Mostyn, Barristers and Solicitors in the areas of civil litigation, entertainment law, criminal law, family law, and wills and estates.

He was defeated both times by Liberal Party of Canada candidate Ken Dryden, but had increased previous Conservative vote totals in both elections, receiving 30% of the popular vote in 2006.

Quebec

Gilles Poirier (Hull—Aylmer)

Poirier is a teacher at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, and is a former vice-president of the New Democratic Party in the riding. He nevertheless chose to run for the Conservatives in the 2006 election, during which he improved his party's showing by 9% and moved up to 3rd place in a traditionally left-wing and federalist riding. Liberal incumbent Marcel Proulx retained his seat.

=Andrea Paine (Lac-Saint-Louis)=

A graduate from Concordia University with a double major in journalism and political science, she also studied civil law at Université Laval.

Prior to the 2006 election, she worked as a Legislative Assistant to the Opposition House Leader on Parliament Hill. In addition, she was the party's official spokesperson for Montreal's West Island.

She has been active in both the Conservative Party of Canada and the Quebec Liberal Party, and worked as a political aid to provincial MNAs on the West Island, as advisor or press secretary to provincial cabinet ministers of Fisheries, Education, and Transport, and as media representative during provincial referendums. She also held a position in communications for the Jean Charest leadership campaign for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Paine was Publicity Director on the West Island Women’s Centre Board of Directors, and serves on the Board of Directors for both the West Island Community Resource Centre and Kuper Academy.

Footnotes