Greg Sorbara | |
---|---|
Ontario MPP | |
In office 2007–2012 | |
Preceded by | New riding |
Succeeded by | Steven Del Duca |
Constituency | Vaughan |
In office 2001–2007 | |
Preceded by | Al Palladini |
Succeeded by | Riding abolished |
Constituency | Vaughan—King—Aurora |
In office 1987–1995 | |
Preceded by | Don Cousens |
Succeeded by | Al Palladini |
Constituency | York Centre |
In office 1985–1987 | |
Preceded by | William Hodgson |
Succeeded by | Charles Beer |
Constituency | York North |
Personal details | |
Born | Gregory Samuel Sorbara 4 September 1946 Toronto,Ontario,Canada |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse | Kate Barlow |
Children | 6,including Martina |
Residence(s) | Vaughan,Ontario,Canada |
Profession | Lawyer |
Gregory Samuel Sorbara (born September 4,1946) is a former politician in Ontario,Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995,and again from 2001 to 2012 who represented ridings north of Toronto in the city of Vaughan. Sorbara served as a cabinet minister in the governments of David Peterson and Dalton McGuinty.
He resigned from cabinet October 11,2005,following a police investigation involving his family's real estate development firm and was reinstated on May 23,2006 after a judge ruled that there was no cause for including Sorbara's name on a search warrant. Sorbara chaired the party's successful 2007 election campaign but announced on October 26,2007 that he was leaving the cabinet to spend more time with his family but would continue as a backbench MPP. On August 1,2012,Sorbara announced that he was retiring from the legislature but would stay on as chair of the Liberal's election campaign. [1] Sorbara was chancellor of York University from June 2014 to May 2023,succeeded by Kathleen Taylor.
Sorbara was born in Toronto,Ontario in 1946. His father,Sam Sorbara,immigrated to Canada from Italy in the 1920s. [2] Sorbara graduated from St. Michael's College School and attended University of Toronto for four years but left without graduating. In 1967 he joined the Company of Young Canadians in Vancouver,where he met his future partner,Kate Barlow. Later,he completed his education at York University and Osgoode Hall Law School,and began to practise law. [3] His daughter Martina Sorbara is a singer-songwriter. [4]
On October 11,2005,the RCMP raided the Sorbara Group offices as part of the Royal Group Technologies investigation. The police warrant stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe Sorbara and other directors of Royal Group defrauded the company and shareholders when they bought land in Brampton,that was owned by a subsidiary of the Sorbara Group. Sorbara initially resisted opposition calls for him to step down,but later resigned as Minister of Finance the same day. [5]
In 2017,Sorbara and family donated $5 million to the construction efforts of the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital. [2]
In the 1985 provincial election Sorbara ran as the Liberal in the riding of York North,a suburban riding north of Toronto. He defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent William Hodgson by 4,100 votes. [6] The Liberals under David Peterson were able to form a minority government after this election,and Sorbara was appointed Minister of Colleges and Universities and Minister of Skills Development on June 26,1985. [7]
Sorbara was re-elected in the redistributed riding of York Centre in the 1987 provincial election. [8] On September 29,1987,he became Minister of Labour with responsibility for Women's Issues. [9] Following a cabinet shuffle in August 1989,he became Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations. [10]
In 1990 the Liberals were upset by the New Democratic Party in the election which followed,though Sorbara won in his riding. [11]
On November 14,1991,Sorbara announced that he was joining the race to replace Peterson as leader of the party. [12] He stated,"We have to stop this province's slide into a low-wage,no-growth economy," and spoke of infrastructure investment. [13] During the convention which was held in Hamilton,Ontario on February 9,he finished third on the first ballot,and remained in this position until dropping from the race after the fourth ballot. Sorbara subsequently refused to support either Murray Elston or Lyn McLeod (the eventual winner) on the fifth and final ballot. [14] and did not seek re-election in 1995. [15]
Sorbara supported Dalton McGuinty's successful bid for the provincial party leadership at the 1996 leadership convention. He did not run in the 1999 provincial election,but was elected Party President over Alvin Curling in November 1999. [16] He later won a 2001 by-election in the redistributed Greater Toronto Area riding of Vaughan—King—Aurora,defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Joyce Frustaglio by almost 10,000 votes. [17] Sorbara delivered a statement in May 2010,supporting the minority Muslim sect,Ahmadiyya,who were recently attacked in Lahore for practicing their faith. [18]
The Liberals won the 2003 election,and Sorbara was appointed Minister of Finance in the Ontario Cabinet on October 23,2003. [19]
Sorbara became involved in a conflict-of-interest controversy not long after his appointment. In late 2003,the Ontario Securities Commission informed Sorbara's office that Royal Group Technologies would be announcing they were under investigation by the OSC. As a former director of Royal Group,this placed Sorbara in a conflict of interest as he also oversaw the OSC. Sorbara could not consult the Premier concerning the conflict of interest as he was restricted by the province's Securities Act from informing anyone else of the impending announcement by the company. Royal Group did not announce the investigation for almost two months.
There were calls for Sorbara to resign after the controversy became public knowledge,but he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the provincial integrity commissioner in August 2004.
On May 18,2004,Sorbara released the McGuinty government's first budget. The centrepiece was a controversial new Health Premium of $300 to $900,staggered according to income. This violated a key Liberal campaign pledge not to raise taxes,and gave the government an early reputation for breaking promises. The Liberals defended the premium by pointing to the previous government's hidden deficit,and McGuinty claimed he needed to break his campaign pledge on taxation to fulfill his promises on other fronts. This broken promise has created a lasting public relations difficulty for the Liberal Party.
The Ontario Health Premium also became a major issue in the early days of the 2004 federal election,called a week after the Ontario budget. Most believe that the controversy hampered Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin's bid for re-election.
Also controversial was the elimination of coverage for health services not covered by the Canada Health Act including eye examinations and physical therapy. Other elements of the McGuinty government's first budget were a four-year plan to tackle the deficit left behind by the Conservatives,free immunization for children,investments in education and investments to lower waiting times for cancer care,cardiac care,joint replacement and MRI and CT scans.
On May 11,2005,Sorbara delivered his second budget. The flagship of the budget was the "Reaching Higher" plan. Investing $6.2 billion over four years,the plan increased accessibility for low-income students with loans and grants while funding more enrollments,expanded medical school spaces,and invested in new faculty,graduate scholarships and research.
The budget also projected breaking a vow to balance the future 2007–08 budget. Sorbara instead aimed at balance in 2008–09.
Sorbara also moved to expand infrastructure spending by encouraging Ontario's large pension plans to invest in the construction of new roads,schools and hospitals. Specific projects in the budget included a 10-year expansion of the TTC and Go Transit,15,000 new affordable housing units and improved border crossings. NDP leader Howard Hampton described this move as "privatization by stealth."
After a cabinet shuffle on June 29,2005,Sorbara was also named as the Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet.
Sorbara was re-elected to the Legislature in the 2007 election,and subsequently on October 26,2007,he announced that he no longer wanted to sit in Cabinet,citing he wanted to devote more time for his constituents and his family. [20]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Greg Sorbara | 36,928 | 56.14 | 15.97 | |
Progressive Conservative | Carmine Iacono | 21,744 | 33.06 | -21.64 | |
New Democratic | Mike Seaward | 4,697 | 7.14 | 4.22 | |
Green | Adrian Visentin | 2,412 | 3.67 | 2.73 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Greg Sorbara | 28,961 | 61.9 | 5.76 | |
Progressive Conservative | Gayani Weerasinghe | 8,773 | 18.8 | -14.26 | |
New Democratic | Rick Morelli | 5,417 | 11.6 | 4.46 | |
Green | Russell Korus | 2,978 | 6.4 | 2.73 | |
Independent | Savino Quatela | 624 | 1.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Greg Sorbara | 26,176 | 53.02 | -8.7 | |
Progressive Conservative | Tony Genco | 15,409 | 31.21 | 12.41 | |
New Democratic | Paul Donofrio | 5,584 | 11.31 | -2.9 | |
Libertarian | Paolo Fabrizio | 934 | 1.89 | ||
Green | Brendan Frye | 695 | 1.41 | -4.99 |
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearly 70 years earlier. In 2011, he became the first Liberal premier to secure a third consecutive term since Oliver Mowat after his party was re-elected in that year's provincial election.
The Ontario Liberal Party is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023.
The 2003 Ontario general election was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.
Elinor Caplan is a businesswoman and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1997, and was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. A Liberal, she served as a cabinet minister in the provincial government of David Peterson and the federal government of Jean Chrétien.
Margaret Aileen Carroll was a Canadian politician. She served as a member of the House of Commons from 1997 to 2006 who represented the ridings of Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford and Barrie. She served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin as Minister for International Cooperation. From 2007 to 2011 she was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. She served in the cabinet of Premier Dalton McGuinty as Minister of Culture.
James J. Bradley is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a long-serving Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, sitting as an MPP from 1977 until 2018. He represented the riding of St. Catharines and served in the provincial cabinets of David Peterson, Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. He was elected as a regional councillor in the St. Catharines municipal election of 2018. He is currently the Chair of the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
Stephen J. "Steve" Peters is a former politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2011. He served as a Speaker from 2007 to 2011 and was a Cabinet Minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty.
Dwight Duncan is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2013 who represented ridings of Windsor—Walkerville, Windsor—St. Clair and Windsor—Tecumseh. He was a senior member in the government of Dalton McGuinty who served in several cabinet roles including Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance.
David James Ramsay was a Canadian politician in Ontario. He was elected as a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1985 who crossed the floor a year later to join the Liberal party. He represented the northern Ontario riding of Timiskaming from 1985 to 1999 and the redistributed riding of Timiskaming—Cochrane from 1999 to 2011. He served as a cabinet minister in the governments of David Peterson and Dalton McGuinty.
John Philip Gerretsen is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014 who represented the eastern Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands. He served as a Minister in the Cabinets of Premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne.
Murray John Elston is a former politician in Ontario Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1994 who represented the central Ontario ridings of Huron—Bruce and Bruce. He was a senior cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson. He briefly served as interim leader of the Liberal Party from July to November 1991.
Gerry Phillips is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the eastern Toronto riding of Scarborough—Agincourt from 1987 to 2011. He served as a cabinet minister in the governments of David Peterson and Dalton McGuinty.
Monte Kwinter was a Canadian politician in Ontario. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 until 2018. He represented the ridings of Wilson Heights from 1985 to 1999, and York Centre from 1999 to 2018. Kwinter was a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson from 1985 to 1990 and also in Dalton McGuinty's government from 2003 to 2007. Kwinter was the oldest person ever to be an MPP in Ontario, although at his death, Raymond Cho (politician), was seven months shy of surpassing him.
David Richard Caplan was a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the ridings of Oriole and Don Valley East from 1997 to 2011 and a cabinet minister in the government of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty from 2003 to 2009.
Andrew Timothy Peterson is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2007 representing the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga South.
Richard Andrew Patten was a Canadian politician. Patten was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 1990 and again from 1995 to 2007. He represented the riding of Ottawa Centre. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.
Linda Jeffrey is a politician in Ontario, Canada. From 2003 to 2014 she was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the ridings of Brampton Centre and then Brampton—Springdale. She served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. On March 25, 2014, she resigned from the legislature to run for Mayor of Brampton, and was elected on October 27, 2014. On 22 October 2018, Jeffrey was narrowly defeated in the mayoral race by former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown.
The 1996 Ontario Liberal Party leadership convention, held between November 29 and December 1, 1996 at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, elected Dalton McGuinty as the new leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, replacing Lyn McLeod, who announced her resignation following the 1995 Ontario provincial election.
The 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was a legislature of the government of the province of Ontario, Canada. The membership was set by the 2011 Ontario general election.
The 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election, held on January 26, 2013, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, elected Kathleen Wynne as the new leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, replacing Dalton McGuinty, who announced his resignation on October 15, 2012. With the Liberals forming the Ontario government, Wynne consequently became Premier of Ontario. After leading a minority government for 18 months, she called an election after the defeat of her government's budget and she led her party to a renewed majority government in June 2014.