John O'Toole

Canadian politician
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroCanadian politician
PlacesCanada
isPolitician
Work fieldPolitics
Gender
Male
Birth1944, Peterborough, Canada
Age81 years
Politics:Progressive Conservative Party Of Ontario
Education
University of Toronto
The details

Biography

John O'Toole (born c. 1944) is a retired politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014, representing the riding of Durham for the Progressive Conservative Party.

Background

O'Toole's ancestors arrived in Canada in 1845, fleeing the Irish potato famine. He was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. After graduation he worked in a variety of positions for General Motors of Canada in Ontario and Quebec. His son Erin O'Toole was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on November 26, 2012, to represent the federal riding of Durham.

Politics

He was elected as a school trustee in the Peterborough-Victoria-Northumberland district in 1982, and in the Newcastle district in 1988. In 1991, O'Toole was elected as a municipal councillor in Bowmanville, Ontario and in 1994, he was elected as councillor for Durham Region.

O'Toole scored a significant victory over incumbent New Democrat Gord Mills in the provincial election of 1995, scoring 62% of the popular vote. He was re-elected in the 1999 election, again without difficulty. He was appointed as parliamentary assistant to a several ministers including Consumer and Commercial Relations, Finance, and Health and Long-Term Care.

The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 2003 provincial election, although O'Toole managed to retain his own riding. In 2004, O'Toole endorsed John Tory's successful bid to lead the Progressive Conservative party (even though his riding is adjacent to that of Tory's main rival, Jim Flaherty).

In January 2014, he announced that he wouldn't be running for re-election. He said, "This has not been an easy decision... Nevertheless, I feel this is the right time to open a new chapter in my life."

In September 2014, O'Toole announced his intentions to run for mayor of Clarington in the 2014 municipal election. He officially filed his papers just before the deadline on September 2, 2014. On October 27, he was defeated by incumbent mayor Adrian Foster by 1,362 votes.

Electoral record

2014 Clarington Municipal Election, Mayor of Clarington
CandidateVotes%
Adrian Foster10,09353.62
John O'Toole8,73146.38
Total18,824100.00
2011 Ontario general election: Durham
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive ConservativeJohn O'Toole22,39349.07+2.14
LiberalBetty Somerville13,39429.35−2.83
New DemocraticJames Terry8,02717.59+5.53
GreenEdward Yaghledjian1,2212.68−6.15
LibertarianBlaize Barnicoat4240.93 
FreedomDavid Strutt1720.38 
Total valid votes45,631100.0  −0.41
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots1730.38−0.14
Turnout45,80449.74−4.60
Eligible Voters92,906 +9.62
Progressive Conservative holdSwing+2.49
Source(s)
2007 Ontario general election: Durham
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive ConservativeJohn O'Toole21,51546.96−0.14
LiberalBetty Somerville14,73032.15−4.61
New DemocraticCatherine Robinson5,52112.05−0.36
GreenJune Davies4,0538.85+6.51
Total valid votes45,819100.0  −9.39
Total Rejected Ballots2400.52−0.22
Voter Turnout46,05954.34−4.06
Eligible Voters84,755 −2.85
Sources: "Summary of valid votes cast for each candidate – October 10, 2007 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Aug 14, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

"Statistical Summary — General Elections 2007" (PDF). Elections Ontario. May 8, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

2003 Ontario general election: Durham
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive ConservativeJohn O'Toole23,81447.09−9.98
LiberalGarry Minnie18,59036.76+4.64
New DemocraticTeresa Williams6,27412.41+3.15
GreenGordon H. Macdonald1,1832.34+1.32
FreedomCathy McKeever7071.40 
Total valid votes50,568100.0  +10.55
Total Rejected Ballots3780.74+0.19
Voter Turnout50,94658.40−0.11
Eligible Voters87,237 +10.98
Sources: "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate – General Election of October 2, 2003". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

"Statistical Summary — General Elections of October 2, 2003". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

1999 Ontario general election: Durham
PartyCandidateVotes%
Progressive ConservativeJohn O'Toole26,10357.07
LiberalGarry Minnie14,69432.12
New DemocraticJim Morrison4,2359.26
GreenGail Thompson4671.02
Natural LawJacinthe Millaire2420.53
Total valid votes45,741100.0  
Total Rejected Ballots2530.55
Voter Turnout45,99458.51
Eligible Voters78,608
Sources: "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate – General Election June 3 1999". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

"Statistical Summary — General Election of June 3 1999". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 26 Jun 2020. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.