Andrew Pringle (born 1949or1950) [1] is a retired bond trader and political activist linked with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and the Conservative Party of Canada.
He was first appointed a member of the Toronto Police Services Board in 2011, was elected vice-chair of the board in January 2015, and, since the July 31, 2015 retirement of Alok Mukherjee, held the office of chair of the TPSB, [2] until his retirement on September 30, 2019. He was reappointed to the board by Toronto City Council in 2015 by a vote of 28 to 11 with Councillor Michael Thompson leading the opposition to Pringle's reappointment saying: "He consistently rubber-stamped police actions, proposals and initiatives that were not in the best interest of the community... I would dare say that Mr. Pringle's silence on all the major issues that the board has faced has in fact been deafening." [3]
Pringle was the chief of staff for John Tory when he was Leader of the Opposition as leader of the Progressive Conservatives in the Ontario legislature. [4] He is also a longtime fundraiser for the party [5] and former chair of its fundraising arm, the PC Ontario Fund. [4] Pringle is the former managing director at RBC Capital Markets, [5] and former chairman of RP Investment Advisors.
He is a former chair of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR), of the board of governors of Upper Canada College and of the Shaw Festival. [4] Since August 2020 he has been the chair of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection board of trustees. [6]
In 2013, when Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford was under intense police scrutiny, his brother, then Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford called for Pringle's resignation alleging that he was in a conflict of interest as he went on a fishing trip with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. [4] [5]
Pringle was the Progressive Conservative candidate in Etobicoke Centre during the 2007 provincial election, [5] placing second with 34.13% of the vote.
In 2016, Pringle was reported to be a fundraiser for the federal Conservative Party of Canada leadership campaign of Kellie Leitch. [7]
His wife is broadcaster Valerie Pringle. [4]