Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidates, 2003 Ontario provincial election

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario is a political party in Ontario, Canada. It governed the province from 1943 to 1985 and from 1995 to 2003, and currently forms the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

The party also governed the province under its previous name, the Conservative Party of Ontario, from 1867 to 1871, 1905 to 1919, and 1923 to 1934.

The party ran a full slate of 103 candidates in the 2003 provincial election. Of these, 24 were elected. Several PC candidates have individual biography pages; information about others may be found here.

Terry McCutcheon (Algoma—Manitoulin)

Lives in Providence Bay, on Manitoulin Island. Graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Science degree (Civil Engineering) in 1983. Also received a diploma from George Brown College in 1987. A member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. Owner of Manitoulin Engineering since 1991, involved in civil engineering and building projects. Federally, McCutcheon is the president of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing riding association for the Conservative Party of Canada. Supports the shipment of Toronto garbage to Kirkland Lake, if environmental damage can be prevented. Supported Frank Klees for the leadership of the Ontario PC party in 2003. Received 5,168 (17.33%) for a third-place finish against Liberal incumbent Mike Brown.

Mark Mullins (Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot)

Not to be confused with a different Mark Mullins, who was a backroom organizer for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives during the Mike Harris years. The candidate Mark Mullins is a businessman living in Dundas. Has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. A Chartered Financial Analyst. Quit a lucrative bank job in 1993 to start Trout Creek Power. Has worked at the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies. A member of the provincial government's small business advisory council. Was a candidate of the Reform Party of Canada in the 1993 federal election. Received 16,549 votes in Hamilton—Wentworth, finishing second to Liberal John Bryden. Worked on Toni Skarica's provincial campaigns in the elections of 1995 and 1999. Supported the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 federal election. Received 18,141 votes (37.42%) in 2003, finishing second again Liberal Ted McMeekin.

Joe Tascona (Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford)

Elected. See his biography page for further details.

Angela Kennedy (Beaches—East York)

A registered nurse, and a founding member of the Ontario Nurses Association Local 115. See biography page for full details.

Raminder Singh Gill (Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale)

Served as a Member of Provincial Parliament from 1999 to 2003. Lost to Kuldip Singh Kular of the Ontario Liberal Party. See his biography page for further details.

Joe Spina (Brampton Centre)

Served as a Member of Provincial Parliament from 1995 to 2003. Lost to Linda Jeffrey of the Ontario Liberal Party. See his biography page for further details.

Tony Clement (Brampton West—Mississauga)

Served as a Member of Provincial Parliament from 1995 to 2003, and was a prominent cabinet minister. Lost to Vic Dhillon of the Ontario Liberal Party. See his biography for further details.

Alayne Sokoloski (Brant)

Chair of Brantwood Residential Development Centre of Brantford. A Progressive Conservative Party organizer in the region, Sokoloski received a "Special Achievement Award" from the party in 2005. Is pro-choice on abortion.

Sokoloski was narrowly defeated in the 1999 provincial election, receiving 20,210 votes (44.86%) against Liberal Dave Levac's 21,116 (46.98%). She again finished second to Levac in 2003, receiving 13,628 votes (30.65%) to his 24,236 (54.55%).

Barry Gordon (Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington)

Gordon is a veteran municipal politician in the Kingston area. He was elected to the council of Pittsburgh Township in 1980 at age twenty, became its deputy reeve five years later, and served as reeve from 1988 until his retirement in 1994. He attended auction school at High Point, North Carolina in 1977, and is now the owner of Gordon's Estate Services in Kingston. He was 43 years old in 2003 (Kingston Whig-Standard, 3 October 2003).

He campaigned for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1993 federal election in Kingston and the Islands for the federal Progressive Conservative Party, and finished second against Liberal incumbent Peter Milliken. In 2003, he finished second against Liberal incumbent Leona Dombrowsky.

Gordon joined the board of directors for the newly formed Kingston and the Islands Conservative Party association in early 2004 (KWS, 19 January 2004).

Electoral record

Election	Division	Party	Votes	%	Place	Winner
Municipal election, 1980	Pittsburgh Township council	-	elected	.	.	himself
Municipal election, 1982	Pittsburgh Township council	-	elected	.	.	himself
Municipal election, 1985	Pittsburgh Township, Deputy Reeve	-	elected	.	.	himself
Municipal election, 1988	Pittsburgh Township, Reeve	-	acclaimed	-	1/1	himself
Municipal election, 1991	Pittsburgh Township, Reeve	-	elected	.	1/3	himself
1993 federal	Kingston and the Islands	P.C.	10,935	19.07	2/7	Peter Milliken, Liberal
2003 provincial	Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington	P.C.	13,709		2/5	Leona Dombrowsky, Liberal

Norm Sterling (Lanark—Carleton)

Elected. See his biography page for further details.

Nina Tangri

Tangri was born in 1965 in Doncaster, United Kingdom. She attained an Advanced Level in Music and Mathematics, as well as studied law for 1 year. In 1984, she immigrated to Canada. She is married to Ashwani Tangri, and they have three sons. Nina Tangri is the CEO of Tangri Insurance and Financial, as well as President of Tangri-BMT Insurance Brokers Limited.

She served on the Credit Valley Board of Directors for 6 years in various positions, including: Chair of Corporate Governance Committee Chair of Human Resources Committee Member of Audit, Quality and Performance, Ethics and Resources Committees.

Nina has shown her philanthropy by sponsoring a Cancer Screening Camp in India in November 2011, for those who unable to afford basic medical check-ups. She also sponsors many sports and cultural clubs to assist in keeping kids off the streets. She also volunteers for many organizations, such as National Indo-Canadian Council where she hosted forums for: Problems facing our Senior Population, Youth Unemployment and Spousal Abuse. Nina also served as a member of the National Policy Advisory Council for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

In the 2000 federal election, Tangri ran as a Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidate in Mississauga Centre, losing to the Liberal Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish. She received 13 percent of the popular vote. She had sought the PC nomination in Mississauga West, but lost to Raminder Gill.

In the 2003 Ontario provincial election, she ran as the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party candidate in the riding, but was defeated by Liberal candidate Bob Delaney receiving 37 percent of the popular vote.

In the 2004 federal election, she was the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in Mississauga—Streetsville. She lost to Liberal candidate Wajid Khan receiving 31 percent of the popular vote.

In the 2007 Ontario General Election she ran as the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party candidate in the riding of Mississauga West, but was defeated by Liberal candidate Bob Delaney receiving 28 percent of the popular vote.

In the 2014 Ontario General Election, she ran as the Ontario Progressive Conservative Candidate in the riding of Mississauga-Streetsville, but was defeated by the Liberal Party of Ontario candidate Bob Delaney, receiving 28 percent of the popular vote.

John Baird (Nepean—Carleton)

Elected. See his biography page for further details.

Joe Varner (Ottawa Centre)

Originally from Nova Scotia. Has worked as a policy consultant to Senator Michael Forrestall, focusing on defense and security matters. Wrote an article entitled "NORAD is Dead and Canada held the Knife" in 2004, blaming the Canadian government for inaction on North American defense. Supported Tony Clement's campaign to lead the Conservative Party of Canada in 2004. Was thirty-six years old at the time of the 2003 election.

Varner received 11,217 votes (22.69%), finishing third against Liberal Richard Patten. The Progressive Conservatives do not have a strong support base in Ottawa Centre, and Varner was generally credited with running a good campaign.

He considered running for the federal Conservative nomination in Ottawa West—Nepean for the 2006 federal election, but withdrew when John Baird contested the position.

He is currently an instructor at American Military University and is married to Lisa MacLeod, the Member of Provincial Parliament for Nepean-Carleton.

Brian Coburn (Ottawa—Orléans)

Served as a Member of Provincial Parliament from 1999 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister. Lost to Phil McNeely of the Ontario Liberal Party. See his biography for further details.

Richard Raymond (Ottawa South)

Not to be confused with a concert pianist of the same name. A successful businessman in Ottawa, Ontario. Former owner of Raymond Steel, and Chief Executive Officer of Raymond Rebar Inc. Has served on the Board of Directors at Ottawa Hydro. Was the intended appointee for vice-chair of the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation board of directors in 2001, though it is not clear if he accepted this position. Was in his mid-60s at the time of the election. Opposes same-sex marriage, supports civil unions for homosexual couples.

Raymond received 16,413 votes (34.43%), finishing second. The winner in Ottawa South was Dalton McGuinty, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Raymond will be the Progressive Conservative candidate once again in the 2007 general election

Maurice Lamirande (Ottawa—Vanier)

Has served as an executive with the Ontario Little League. A member of the Club Optimiste Vanier. Suggested the idea of a Franco-Ontario licence plate, decorated with a trillium and fleur-de-lis, and received the first such plate in 2003. Focused on tax cuts, particularly for seniors, during the 2003 campaign. Supported Frank Klees for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2004.

Lamirande campaigned in Ottawa—Vanier in the 1999 provincial election, and received 12,605 votes (31.81%). The winner was Claudette Boyer of the Ontario Liberal Party. In 2003, his total declined to 10,878 votes (26.24%). The winner was Liberal Madeleine Meilleur.

Lamirande is running in the 2006 municipal election in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward.

Gary Guzzo (Ottawa West—Nepean)

Served as a Member of Provincial Parliament from 1995 to 2003. Lost to Jim Watson of the Ontario Liberal Party. See his biography for further details.

Mark Brickell (St. Catharines)

Brickell is a graduate of Brock University's political science program. He became involved in municipal politics at age twenty, served on the Lincoln County Board of Education for fourteen years as a school trustee, and was a city councillor in St. Catharines for three years. At the time of the election, he was forty years old and a regional councillor for Niagara. He received 12,932 votes (29.34%) in the 2003 election, finished second against Liberal candidate Jim Bradley. Brickell actually outspent Bradley in this campaign, despite losing by a margin of over 28%.

Brickell was named as the Niagara Economic & Tourism Corporation’s (NETC) Smart Growth Expeditor in June 2004.

Mila Wong (Sudbury)

Mila Wong was born in the Philippines, and came to Canada as a registered nurse. She worked in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto before moving to Sudbury, where she served as a city and regional councillor from 1991 to 1994.^[1] She later served as executive director of the Sudbury and District Association for Community Living and City of Greater Sudbury Developmental Services.^[2] Before seeking provincial office for the first time in 1999, she was also involved with organizations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the Premier's Commission on Health, Well-being and Social Justice. The National Post newspaper noted that her credentials were more progressive than those of most other candidates for her party.^[3] In late 1999, she helped organize the annual conference of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women.^[4]

Wong supported one-tier government for Sudbury in 1999. She ran for the amalgamated Greater Sudbury City Council in the 2000 municipal election, and was narrowly defeated for the second seat in Ward Five. Our of her primary issues was municipal water quality.^[5]

In June 2001, Wong expressed hope that Northern Ontario would receive new provincial money earmarked for agencies that look after the developmentally disabled.^[6]

Wong ran for the Progressive Conservative Party a second time in the 2003 provincial election. At her nomination meeting, she described premier Ernie Eves as "a man who listens", and said that her party would not replicate the "strident, straight ahead" approach of Mike Harris's team in the previous election.^[7] She supported four-laning Highway 69 south of Sudbury.^[8] After the election, she said that Eves's decision to focus on negative advertising had hurt all Tory candidates.^[9]

In addition to administering Greater Sudbury Developmental Services, Wong also oversaw Community Living Espanola in the 2000s. Workers at this service went on strike in 2005, alleging that she was unwilling to provide them with the same settlement as other services in Northern Ontario.^[10] At one stage in the dispute, Community Living Espanola accused the strikers of using racist picket signs against Wong (the signs were removed following complaints).^[11] The Canadian Union of Public Employees accused Wong and other directors of paying replacement workers more per hour than regular employees, as well as paying for lodging, transportation, meals and laundry service.^[12] The strike was resolved in July 2005 when the workers ratified a two-year contract.^[13]

Electoral record

Election	Division	Party	Votes	%	Place	Winner
1999 provincial	Sudbury	Progressive Conservative	10,948	21.58	2/6	Rick Bartolucci, Liberal
2000 municipal election	Greater Sudbury Council, Ward Five	n/a	2,958	18.74	3/5	Doug Craig and Austin Davey
2003 provincial	Sudbury	Progressive Conservative	5,068	14.19	2/4	Rick Bartolucci, Liberal

Matt Bufton (Windsor—St. Clair)

The Progressive Conservative Party originally nominated Jim Shaban for this constituency, but he withdrew for personal reasons. Bufton then won the nomination without opposition (Windsor Star, 6 June 2003)

Bufton was 24 years old at the time of the election, and was a marketing co-ordinator for Culligan Water. He was previously the president of the University of Windsor Progressive Conservative Campus Club (Windsor Star, 23 September 2003), and had graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce the previous year (Windsor Star, 6 June and 23 September 2003). He received 4,162 votes (11.61%), finishing third against Liberal candidate Dwight Duncan.

He later served as Communications Manager for Conservative candidate Rick Fuschi in the 2006 federal election.

In 2006, Bufton became a founding director of the Institute for Liberal Studies, a "classical liberal" (i.e. libertarian) organization.

Derek Insley (Windsor West)

Insley was born in Windsor, and has a Master of Arts degree in Political Science (Ottawa Citizen, 25 August 1987).

He first campaigned for the Progressive Conservative Party in the 1987 provincial election, for Ottawa West. He owned a small electronics firm which specialized in electric votive candles for the Roman Catholic Church, and did statistical analysis for Statistics Canada. He defeated Julia Brady for the nomination by a margin of 213 votes to 186, after Marianne Wilkinson dropped out of the contest. In his acceptance speech, Insley spoke out against official bilingualism for Ontario (Ottawa Citizen, 13 August 1987). He lost to Liberal candidate Bob Chiarelli by 6,392 votes, in a seat which had previously been safe for the PC Party (Ottawa Citizen, 11 September 1987).

Insley worked as an executive assistant to Ottawa mayor Jim Jones for three years, and returned to Windsor in 1994 to operate a business in the city. He received 4,187 votes (11.90%) in the 2003 election, finishing third against Liberal incumbent Sandra Pupatello.

While campaigning for the provincial legislature, Insley also filed nomination papers for the fourth ward on Windsor's City Council. He was defeated for this position as well.

Insley supported the creation of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003, as a merger of the federal Progressive Conservative Party with the Canadian Alliance (Windsor Star, 9 December 2003). In 2004, he wrote a public letter endorsing private options in health care. The same letter included words of support for Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Frank Klees that fell just short of an endorsement (Windsor Star, 14 July 2004).

Pina Martino (by-election 2007)

The February 8, 2007 by-election was necessitated by the resignation of former Ontario Liberal Party Member of Provincial Parliament Joe Cordiano, who represented York South—Weston in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from the date it was first established in the 1999 provincial election until his retirement in 2006.

Martino placed third behind Paul Ferreira, trailing him by more than 6,000 votes.

Ontario provincial by-election, February 8, 2007: York South—Weston Resignation of Joseph Cordiano
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	New Democratic	Paul Ferreira	8,146	43.33	+24.04
	Liberal	Laura Albanese	7,831	41.44	−20.12
	Progressive Conservative	Pina Martino	1,917	10.27	−4.96
	Green	Mir Kamal	263	1.39	−1.06
	Independent	Kevin Clarke	220	1.16
	Independent	Mohammed Choudhary	142	0.75
	Family Coalition	Mariangela Sanabria	134	0.74	−0.73
	Libertarian	Nunzio Venuto	101	0.52
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	77	0.41
Total valid votes			18,897	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			146	0.77
Turnout			18,977	28.62
Eligible voters			66,308
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+22.08
Source(s)  Elections Ontario (2007). "By-Election 2007: Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate". Retrieved 24 August 2015.

Alex Yuan (by-election 2007)

Alex Yuan was the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidate for Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the provincial riding of Markham in a February 8, 2007 by-election. He lost to Ontario Liberal Party candidate Michael Chan. He ran in the newly formed riding of Richmond Hill for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the October 2007 election and lost to Liberal Reza Moridi.

Ontario general election, 2007: Richmond Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Reza Moridi	19,456	47.83
	Progressive Conservative	Alex Yuan	14,127	34.73
	New Democratic	Nella Cotrupi	3,565	8.7
	Green	Liz Couture	3,210	7.89
	Family Coalition	Lisa Kidd	318	0.78
Total valid votes			40,676	100.0
Source: Elections Ontario

Ontario provincial by-election, February 8, 2007: Markham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Michael Chan	9,080	49.32%	−2.38
	Progressive Conservative	Alex Yuan	6,420	34.87%	−5.46
	New Democratic	Janice Hagan	1,492	8.10%	+3.02
	Green	Bernadette Manning	999	5.43%	+3.87
	Freedom	Cathy McKeever	159	0.86%	–
	Family Coalition	Patrick Redmond	135	0.73%	−0.59
	Libertarian	Jay Miller	126	0.69%	–
Total valid votes			18,411	100.00
	Liberal hold		Swing		+1.25

Footnotes

1. Laura Stradiotto, "Mila Wong, PC", Sudbury Star, 16 September 2003, A5.
2. Harold Carmichael, "Holiday food drive expands: Organizers aim to collect seven tons of food", Sudbury Star, 18 November 1999, A3; Liane Beam, "Name change causes confusion", Sudbury Star, 13 December 2000, A5; Kevin O'Brien, "Jarrett Value 2 store a resounding success", Sudbury Star, 11 December 2001, B2.
3. "Campaign literature", National Post, 12 May 1999, A7.
4. "Annual women's conference coming North", Sudbury Star, 10 October 1999, A2.
5. Chris Polehoykie, "Residents grill candidates on south-end water woes", Sudbury Star, 2 November 2000, A1. See "Election Forum", Sudbury Star, 11 November 2000, C1.
6. Bob Vaillancourt, "Wong hopes `extra' money will flow to Northern Ontario", Sudbury Star, 5 June 2001, A3.
7. Bob Vaillancourt, "Mila Wong to carry PC colours in Sudbury", Sudbury Star, 26 February 2003, A3. Wong won the nomination without opposition.
8. Laura Stradiotto, "Four-laning could influence local vote", Sudbury Star, 8 September 2003, A1.
9. Laura Stradiotto, "Wong hopes Liberals 'deliver'", Sudbury Star, 3 October 2003, A3.
10. Denis St. Pierre, "Strikers want same deal as Sudbury counterparts", Sudbury Star, 6 June 2005, A3.
11. Rob O'Flanagan, "Strikers accused of using racist picket signs", Sudbury Star, 7 June 2005, A2.
12. Wyman Mackinnon, "What is Espanola strike really costing?", Sudbury Star, 22 June 2005, A11.
13. Laura Stradiotto, "Vote brings end to bitter strike", Sudbury Star, 22 July 2005, A4.