Ted McMeekin

Ted McMeekin MPP
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot (2000-2007)
Incumbent
Assumed office September 7, 2000
Preceded by	Toni Skarica
Personal details
Born	1948 (age 67–68)
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Waterdown, Ontario

Ted McMeekin (born c. 1948) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in a by-election in 2000. He represents the riding of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty and in the government of Kathleen Wynne.

Background

McMeekin completed his bachelor's degree in Social Work at McMaster University and his Master's Degree in social work from Wilfrid Laurier University. He has served as executive director of the Burlington Social Planning Council, and was for a time the chair of part-time studies at Mohawk College (where he also taught courses). He has also worked on social justice issues for the United Church of Canada, and was the owner and operator of a small bookstore for eight years.

Municipal politics

Before entering provincial politics, McMeekin was a member of the Hamilton, Ontario City Council representing Ward 7 (Hamilton Mountain). After retiring from Council, he moved to Flamborough, Ontario, a rural community which lies on the outskirts of Hamilton, and later served a term of six years as mayor.^[1] McMeekin was also for a number of years Flamborough's representative on the Hamilton-Wentworth regional council, which the provincial government of Mike Harris eliminated in 2000 by amalgamating the city and outlying regions into a single political entity. McMeekin was one of the most vocal opponents of this change, noting that it would result in a loss of autonomy for Flamborough.

Provincial politics

McMeekin's plans to jump from municipal to provincial politics had been rumoured for years, and it came as no surprise when he won the Liberal nomination for a by-election to be held in ADFA on September 7, 2000 (called following the resignation of Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Toni Skarica, another vocal opponent of the amalgamation scheme). Although the seat had gone overwhelmingly for the Progressive Conservatives the previous year, McMeekin managed to defeat PC candidate Priscilla de Villiers by over 9,000 votes. The Conservatives had spent $211,989 on his competitor, nearly $80,000 in excess of McMeekin's $132,143.^[2] Local opposition to amalgamation was generally cited as the reason for this shift.

In the provincial election of 2003, McMeekin defeated Tory candidate Mark Mullins by a somewhat reduced margin.^[3] He served as parliamentary assistant to John Gerretsen in his capacity as the Minister responsible for Seniors from October 23, 2003 to September 27, 2004. On September 27, 2004, he was appointed assistant to Jim Watson, the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services.

In the provincial election of 2007, McMeekin defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Chris Corrigan.^[4] On October 30, 2007, McMeekin was named a cabinet minister, responsible for Government and Consumer Services.^[5] He was re-elected in 2011^[6] and appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.^[7]

In 2013, McMeekin supported Kathleen Wynne in her bid to become Liberal leader.^[8] After Wynne won, she named McMeekin to her first cabinet as Minister of Community and Social Services.^[9]

McMeekin was re-elected in 2014.^[10] Shortly after the election, she appointed McMeekin as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.^[11] He left cabinet in June 2016 as part of a cabinet shuffle.^[12]

Cabinet positions

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2007

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Ted McMeekin	20,525	41.5
	Progressive Conservative	Chris Corrigan	17,219	34.8
	New Democratic	Juanita Maldonado	6,542	13.2
	Green	David Januczkowski	4,243	8.6
	Family Coalition	Jim Enos	501	1.0
	Independent	Martin Zaliniak	219	0.4
	Confederation of Regions	Eileen Butson	129	0.3
	Libertarian	Sam Zaslavsky	65	0.1

Ontario general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	+/- (1999)	+/- (2000)
	Liberal	Ted McMeekin	23,045	47.5	+14.0	-12.1
	Progressive Conservative	Mark Mullins	18,141	37.4	-20.7	+6.9
	New Democratic	Kelly Hayes	5,666	11.7	+2.3	+4.8
	Green	Brian Elder Sullivan	903	1.9	-	-0.8
	Family Coalition	Michael Trolly	434	0.9	–	–
	Confederation of Regions	Richard Butson	293	0.6	–	–

By-election: February 7, 2000
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	+/-
	Liberal	Ted McMeekin	19,916	59.6	+26.1
	Progressive Conservative	Priscilla De Villiers	10,201	30.5	-27.6
	New Democratic	Jessica Brennan	2,297	6.7	-1.5
	Green	Mark Coakley	1,405	4.14	-
	Independent	John Turmel	80	0.2	-

References

Notes

1. Minister of Agriculture and Food
2. Minister of Rural Affairs

Citations

1. Brennan, Richard (September 4, 2000). "Hostile voters target Tory in Hamilton by-election". The Toronto Star.
2. "Big budget didn't bring election win". The Hamilton Spectator. April 17, 2001.
3. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
4. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 1 (x). Retrieved 2014-03-02.
5. Ferguson, Rob; Benzie, Robert (October 31, 2007). "Premier goes for new blood; Expanded 28-member cabinet has eight ministers from Toronto, three from 905 area". Toronto Star. p. A13.
6. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 1. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
7. "Ontario's new cabinet". Toronto Star. October 21, 2011. p. A18.
8. "Ted McMeekin backs Wynne in Liberal bid". Hamilton Spectator. November 20, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
9. "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. February 12, 2013. p. A3.
10. "General Election by District: Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014.
11. Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (June 24, 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
12. https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/06/13/struggling-wynne-shuffles-cabinet-adds-7-new-ministers.html

External links

• Official website
• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History