- Tim Hudak
Timothy Hudak is a
politician inOntario ,Canada . He is currently a member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario , representing the riding ofNiagara West-Glanbrook for the Progressive Conservative Party.Hudak was born in
Fort Erie, Ontario . He received abachelor of arts degree in economics from theUniversity of Western Ontario in 1990. He attended theUniversity of Washington in Seattle on an academic scholarship where he received amaster's degree in economics in 1993. Prior to being elected, Hudak worked in economic and tourism development with the Economic Development and Tourism Corporation in Fort Erie. Hudak had been previously employed as aCanada Customs border inspector from 1988 to 1993, and in 1994, was hired as an assistant manager byWal-Mart to help with the transition of formerWoolco stores into Wal-Marts.In the provincial election of 1995, Hudak defeated Liberal
Aubrey Foley by 1,081 votes in the riding ofNiagara South . The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government underMike Harris , although Hudak was not appointed tocabinet during his first term in office. He did serve asparliamentary secretary to Minister of Health,Elizabeth Witmer .He was re-elected with a 5,878 vote margin in the redistributed riding of Erie—Lincoln in the 1999 provincial election, and was named Minister of Northern Development and Mines on
June 17 ,1999 (Erie—Lincoln is actually in the southern part of Ontario, but the Tories had few MPPs in northern Ontario at the time.)On
February 8 ,2001 , he was named Minister of Culture, Tourism and Recreation. He supportedJim Flaherty 's unsuccessful bid to become party leader in 2002. OnApril 15 ,2002 , newPremier Ernie Eves appointed him Minister of Consumer and Business Services.The Tories lost the provincial election of 2003, although Hudak was easily re-elected by a margin of 4,058 votes. He again supported
Jim Flaherty in the latter's second unsuccessful bid for party leader in 2004. Hudak served as caucus chair from 2003-2004. He served as critic for Municipal Affairs and Infrastructure from 2004-2005, and was named finance criticAugust 24 ,2005 .On
October 1 ,2006 , Hudak was given the additional responsibilities of critic forMinistry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (Ontario) andMinister of Research and Innovation (Ontario) .Although the Tories lost the 2007 Ontario election, Hudak won his riding with a 10,022 vote margin, gaining 51% of the popular vote.
Hudak is a
Blue Tory on the right-wing of the provincial party, and falls more in line with the ideals of former Premier Mike Harris than its current leader,John Tory . OnApril 12 ,2003 , he was a featured speaker at a "Canadians for Bush" rally organized by Presbyterian ministerTristan Emmanuel , in support of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.In opposition, Hudak introduced a bill to create a new retail system for Ontario
Vintners Quality Alliance wines in competition to the provincial distribution system. He has also proposed a bill to restrict residential property assessment increases modelled on similar acts in Florida, Michigan, and Nova Scotia.External links
* [http://www.timhudak.ca Tim Hudak Niagara-West Glanbrook Riding Association]
* [http://www.timhudakmpp.com Tim Hudak MPP]
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