Rob Sampson

Rob Sampson (born October 27, 1955 in Kingston, Ontario) is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris.

Sampson has a Bachelor of Arts degree and an MBA from Queen's University. Sampson worked at the Toronto branch of the Toronto Dominion Bank from 1980 to 1987, and at the Toronto branch of Chase Manhattan from 1987 to 1995. He also worked for Brays Lane Consulting in 1995, and is a Fellow in the Institute of Canadian Bankers. In 1992-93, he was an Executive Member of the Planning Advisory Committee for the City of Toronto.

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating Liberal Steve Mahoney (later a federal cabinet minister under Jean Chrétien) by about 3,000 votes in the riding of Mississauga West. This was considered an upset; the Tories performed extremely well in Mississauga in this election, but most observers expected that Mahoney would retain his seat. He was named a Minister without Portfolio in Mike Harris's government on August 16, 1996, with responsibility for Privatization.

Sampson was re-elected in the new riding of Mississauga Centre in the provincial election of 1999, defeating Liberal George Winter by over 4,000 votes. He was promoted to Minister of Correctional Services on June 17, 1999. He stepped down from this position on December 4, 2000 to demonstrate ministerial responsibility after a backbench Tory named Doug Galt listed the names of several young offenders in the legislature; he was returned to his position on May 8, 2001.

Sampson is a committed fiscal conservative (or neo-liberal), and supported numerous right-wing economic policy initiatives during his time in government, including the controversial privatization of Highway 407. As Correctional Services minister, he promoted the privatization of Ontario's prison system despite warnings that this could result in decreased safety. Sampson was dropped from cabinet when Ernie Eves succeeded Mike Harris as party leader in 2002.

In the provincial election of 2003, he was defeated by Liberal Harinder Jeet Singh Takhar by fewer than 3,000 votes, amid a general decline in support for the Tories in Mississauga.