Kathleen Wynne
| Hon. Kathleen Wynne | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| MPP for Don Valley West | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 2, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | David Turnbull |
| Minister of Transportation | |
| In office January 18, 2010 – October 20, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Jim Bradley |
| Succeeded by | Bob Chiarelli |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Rounthwaite |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
Kathleen O. Wynne is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Don Valley West for the Liberal Party. She is currently Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Aboriginal Affairs
Contents |
[edit] Background
Wynne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University, a Master of Arts degree in linguistics from the University of Toronto (1980) and a Master of Education degree in adult education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She has also completed a course in mediation training at Harvard University. She was a member of the discipline committee of the Ontario Society of Psychotherapists from 1997 to 2000.
Wynne served as president of the Toronto Institute of Human Relations. In 1996, she helped found Citizens for Local Democracy, which opposed the efforts of Ontario's Progressive Conservative government to amalgamate the City of Toronto. She also founded the Metro Parent Network (now the Toronto Parent Network) which supports improvements in the province's public education system, and has participated in numerous other community endeavours. Wynne helped found MAD for Dancing, a community fundraising group that has donated over $50,000 to organizations that support gay and lesbian youth.
Prior to her coming out at age 37 she was married to her husband Phil with whom she had three children.[1] She now lives with her partner Jane Rounthwaite. She has been a resident of Toronto for over 25 years.[2]
[edit] School trustee
Wynne first ran for trustee in 1994 in ward 12 but was defeated by Ann Vanstone.[3] In 2000, she ran again and was elected as a public school trustee in Toronto's ward 8. During the campaign she was labelled an "extremist lesbian" in literature distributed by the "Concerned Citizens of North York and North Toronto". This was a ratepayer group that also supported Karen Stintz in her campaign against local councillor Anne Johnston.[4] She strongly opposed cuts to public education mandated by the Conservative government. In 2001, she helped pass a measure encouraging public schools to purchase teaching materials reflecting the presence of gay and lesbian parents in modern society.[5] In December 2001, Wynne ran for chair of the school board but was defeated by Donna Cansfield in a 12-10 vote.[6]
[edit] Provincial politics
Wynne was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 2003 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative cabinet minister David Turnbull by over 5,000 votes. The Liberals won the election, and Wynne was appointed parliamentary assistant to Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Mary Anne Chambers in October 2003. In October 2004, she was appointed parliamentary assistant to Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy.
On September 18, 2006, she was promoted to Ontario Minister of Education in a cabinet shuffle occasioned by the resignation of Joe Cordiano from the Legislature. She is the province's first openly lesbian cabinet minister, and only the second openly LGBT cabinet minister after cabinet colleague George Smitherman.[7] On January 18, 2010 she was moved to Ontario Minister of Transportation.
In the 2007 provincial election, Wynne ran for re-election against PC leader John Tory. Tory, who was elected to Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey (former PC leader Ernie Eves' riding) in a by-election, was seeking a seat in a Toronto-area riding. Though projected to be a close race, Wynne was re-elected with 50.4 percent of the popular vote, defeating Tory by just under 5,000 votes.
| Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty | ||
| Cabinet Posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Jim Bradley | Ontario Minister of Transportation 2010–present |
incumbent |
| Sandra Pupatello | Ontario Minister of Education 2006–2010 |
Leona Dombrowsky |
[edit] Electoral record
| Ontario general election, 2007 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Kathleen Wynne | 23,059 | 50.4 | -2.19% | |
| Progressive Conservative | John Tory | 18,136 | 39.7 | +0.75% | |
| Green | Adrian Walker | 2,202 | 4.8 | +2.03% | |
| New Democrat | Mike Kenny | 2,135 | 4.7 | -0.99% | |
| Family Coalition | Daniel Kidd | 183 | 0.4 | ||
| Ontario general election, 2003 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Kathleen Wynne | 23,488 | 52.59 | +8.97 | |
| Progressive Conservative | David Turnbull | 17,394 | 38.95 | -11.57 | |
| New Democrat | Ali Naqvi | 2,540 | 5.69 | +1.00 | |
| Green | Philip Hawkins | 1,239 | 2.77 | ||
[edit] References
- ^ Ontario appoints lesbian Minister of Education. Catholic Insight. November 2006. Pg. 24
- ^ Kathleen Wynne MPP, http://www.kathleenwynne.onmpp.ca/pages.aspx?id=biography, retrieved 2008-09-21
- ^ 1994 Toronto General Election Results (Former Metropolitan Toronto). [1]
- ^ Ethnic pitch all Greek to Tzekas ; Council rivals seeking support from all sides. Toronto Star. November 11, 2000. Pg. 3
- ^ Heather Capannelli. Union vote on gay texts angers parents' groups ; 'Flabbergasted' they weren't consulted before decision. Toronto Star. August 17, 2001. Pg. A8
- ^ Kristin Rushowy. Cansfield to chair school board ; Rookie trustee wins vice-chair job. Toronto Star. December 6, 2001. Pg B5
- ^ School equity costs money, Wynne told. Xtra! Pink Triangle Press. September 28, 2006. [2]
[edit] External links
- Kathleen Wynne's official MPP Site
- Kathleen Wynne's Ontario Liberal Party biography
- Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History
|
||||||||||||||
