Joe Comartin
Quick Facts
Biography
Joseph John "Joe" Comartin (born December 26, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. Comartin joined the New Democratic Party in 1969 and represented the party in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 to 2015.
Life and career
Comartin was born in Stoney Point, Ontario. A civil litigation lawyer based in Windsor, Ontario, Comartin enjoyed strong support from local union members when he ran for a seat in the House of Commons, but narrowly lost in the 1997 general election and in a 1999 by-election.
He won the seat in the 2000 election, becoming the first federal NDP candidate to win a seat in Ontario in ten years (Mike Breaugh of Oshawa had been the last to win in a 1990 by-election ). He was re-elected in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2011.
Comartin stood as a candidate in the leadership of the NDP in 2003, and finished fourth.
He was the Opposition House Leader from October 18, 2011 to April 19, 2012.
On September 17, 2012, due to the resignation of Denise Savoie, Comartin was chosen to become Deputy Speaker.
In July 2014, Comartin announced that he was not running for another term in the 2015 election.
Electoral record
1997 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
Liberal | Shaughnessy Cohen | 16,496 | ||||||
New Democratic Party | Joe Comartin | 14,237 | ||||||
Reform | Harold Downs | 5,899 | ||||||
Progressive Conservative | Bruck Easton | 4,253 | ||||||
Green | Timothy Dugdale | 357 | ||||||
Marxist–Leninist | Dale Woodyard | 115 |
By-election: On Cohen's death:
By-election on 12 April 1999 | |||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Rick Limoges | 13,891 | |||
New Democratic Party | Joe Comartin | 13,800 | |||
Progressive Conservative | Bruck Easton | 2,074 | |||
Reform | Scott Cowan | 1,956 | |||
Unknown | John Turmel | 106 |
2000 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
New Democratic Party | Joe Comartin | 17,001 | ||||||
Liberal | Rick Limoges | 16,600 | ||||||
Alliance | Phillip Pettinato | 5,639 | ||||||
Progressive Conservative | Bruck Easton | 1,906 | ||||||
Green | Stephen Lockwood | 390 | ||||||
Marxist–Leninist | Dale Woodyard | 95 |
2004 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
New Democratic | Joe Comartin | 20,037 | 41.85 | |||||
Liberal | Rick Limoges | 16,219 | 33.87 | |||||
Conservative | Rick Fuschi | 9,827 | 20.52 | |||||
Green | Elizabeth Powles | 1,613 | 3.36 | |||||
Marxist–Leninist | Laura Chesnik | 182 | 0.38 | |||||
Total valid votes | 47,878 | 100.00 | ||||||
Total rejected ballots | 362 | 0.75 | ||||||
Turnout | 48,240 | 57.58 |
2006 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
New Democratic | Joe Comartin | 22,646 | 44.62 | +2.77 | ||||
Liberal | Bruck Easton | 13,412 | 26.43 | -8.44 | ||||
Conservative | Rick Fuschi | 12,852 | 25.32 | +4.80 | ||||
Green | Catherine Pluard | 1,644 | 3.23 | -0.13 | ||||
Marxist–Leninist | Laura Chesnik | 193 | 0.38 | 0.00 | ||||
Total valid votes | 50,747 | 100.00 | ||||||
Total rejected ballots | 261 | 0.51 | -0.24 | |||||
Turnout | 51,008 | 60.21 | +2.63 |
2008 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
New Democratic | Joe Comartin | 20,045 | 48.9% | +4.3% | $67,619 | |||
Conservative | Denise Ghanam | 9,826 | 24.0% | -1.3 % | $15,626 | |||
Liberal | Steve Mastroianni | 8,494 | 20.7% | -6.4% | 49,645 | |||
Green | Kyle Prestanski | 2,649 | 6.6% | +3.4% | ||||
Total valid votes/Expense limit | 41,014 | 100% | $88,944 | |||||
Total rejected ballots | – | |||||||
Turnout | – | % |
2011 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
New Democratic | Joe Comartin | 22,224 | 49.90% | +1.20% | – | |||
Conservative | Denise Ghanam | 14,954 | 33.57% | +9.65% | – | |||
Liberal | Irek Kusmierczyk | 5,764 | 12.94% | -8.02% | – | |||
Green | Kyle Prestanski | 1,354 | 3.04% | -3.54% | – | |||
Marxist–Leninist | Laura Chesnik | 244 | 0.55% | +0.55% | – | |||
Total valid votes | 44,540 | 100.00% | – |