- Liberal Party candidates, 2003 Ontario provincial election
The
Ontario Liberal Party is a political party in the Canadian province ofOntario .The party governed the province from
1871 to1905 ,1934 to1943 and1985 to1990 . It returned to power in 2003 by winning amajority government in that year's provincial election.The Liberals ran a full state of 103 candidates in the 2003 election, seventy-two of whom were elected. Several candidates have their own biography pages. Information about others may be found here.
Mike Brown (
Algoma—Manitoulin )Elected. See his biography page for further details.
Ted McMeekin (Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot )Elected. See his biography page for further details.
Mike Ramsay (
Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford )A former councillor in Barrie. Elected in
1994 , re-elected in1997 and returned by acclamation in2000 . Has aBachelor of Arts degree in History and aBachelor of Education degree fromYork University . Also has a degree fromGeorgian College in broadcast journalism, and hosts a local program called Mike Ramsay LIVE. He teaches history and politics at Barrie Central Collegiate. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Royal Victoria Hospital of Barrie,2004 -05.Ramsay ran as an independent candidate in
Simcoe Centre in the 1993 federal election, to protestJanice Laking 's appointment as Liberal candidate for the riding. He received 636 votes. Laking was the only Liberal candidate in Ontario to be defeated in this election, losing to Reform candidateEd Harper by 123 votes.Ramsay finished second to Progressive Conservative
Joe Tascona in the 2003 election, receiving 21,998 votes (36.13%) to Tascona's 31,529 (51.78%). He was returned to council in 2006.Monica Purdy (
Beaches—East York )A registered nurse, and a board member of the
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario . Her primary campaign issue was the rights of health workers. Born inGinger Rouge in ruralJamaica , and moved to Canada in1975 . Raised in the Niagara peninsula, and lived for a time in St. Catharines. Received a diploma from the Niagara College of Applied Arts & Technology. Later attended theUniversity of Toronto andRyerson University and earned aBachelor of Science degree in Nursing in1997 , and aMaster of Science degree in2001 . Project manager at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Previously a member of theNew Democratic Party .Purdy finished second to NDP incumbent
Michael Prue , receiving 10,070 votes (24.29%). After the election, she was appointed to the Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal.Marianne Wilkinson (Lanark—Carleton )Former mayor of
Kanata, Ontario . Defeated. See biography page for details.Rod Vanier (
Nepean—Carleton )Vanier was born to a military family in
Edmonton, Alberta ,Alberta , and grew up in a variety of military bases across Canada. He received aBachelor of Laws degree from theUniversity of Ottawa , and was called to the bar in1981 ("Ottawa Citizen", 18 September 2003). He works as a lawyer in Ottawa, working in the field of colloborative family law. [http://www.collaborative-law.ca/Contacts/Rod_Vanier.htm] Vanier was fifty years old in 2003.He is a former chair of the Nepean Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of the Nepean—Carleton
Junior Chamber International Canada in the 1980s. [http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/285355180952303.php] In2001 , he spoke out against a proposed merger of the Greater Nepean Chamber of Commerce with the Ottawa Board of Trade ("Ottawa Citizen", 20 January 2001). As of2005 -06, he serves as vice-chair of theQueensway Carleton Hospital board of directors. [http://www.qch.on.ca/Home.aspx?PageID=38&mid=_ctl0_MainMenu__ctl0-menuItem001-subMenu-menuItem003]Vanier describes himself as a "life-long Liberal", and has worked on campaigns for candidates such as
Lloyd Francis ,Yvonne O'Neill andMarlene Catterall . He received 20,878 votes (35.65%) in 2003, finishing second against Progressive Conservative incumbent John Baird.
=Richard Patten (Ottawa Centre)=Elected. See his biography page for further details.
Phil McNeely (Ottawa—Orléans )Elected. See his biography page for further details.
=Dalton McGuinty (Ottawa South)=Party leader. Elected. See his biography page for further details.
=Madeleine Meilleur (Ottawa—Vanier)=Elected. See her biography page for further details.
Jim Watson (Ottawa West—Nepean )Elected. See his biography page for further details.
Nellie Pedro (
Trinity—Spadina )Pedro was host and producer of the Portuguese-language show Gente da Nossa on
CityTV in the 1990s ("National Post", 9 June 1999). After an unsuccessful campaign in1994 , she was elected to theToronto District School Board in2000 for the Davenport ward and emerged as part of the board's left-leaning faction. In2002 , she was one of the trustees who opposed efforts by the provincial Progressive Conservative government to mandate service cuts in a budget-balancing effort ("Toronto Star", 23 August 2002).She criticized hockey personality Don Cherry for appearing in a beer commercial in
2003 , arguing that role models such as Cherry are forbidden from promoting alcoholic drinks by the provisions of theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ("Halifax Daily News", 8 May 2003). Pedro's comments were criticized by a number of media outlets, and the Liberal-friendly "Toronto Star " described her reaction as "misplaced anger" (10 May 2003).Pedro is an ally of
Paul Martin , and ran a well-organized campaign in 2003 ("Toronto Star", 3 September 2003). She received 12,927 votes (31.88%) to finish second against New Democratic Party incumbentRosario Marchese .[http://www.markfuller.ca Mark Fuller] (
Burlington )A then lecturer in business strategy at McMaster University and at York University. Narrowly defeated by 1,852 votes [http://www2.elections.on.ca/results/2003_results/valid_votes.jsp?e_code=38&rec=0&
] . Has an MBA degree and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from
McMaster University . Has since earned his Ph.D. degree fromYork University in business administration, and is now an assistant professor at St. Francis Xavier University.
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