Jeff Leal

• Paul Rexe
• Garry Herring

Jeff Leal
63rd Mayor of Peterborough
Incumbent
Assumed office November 15, 2022
Personal details
Born	John Jeffrey Leal (1954-12-13) December 13, 1954 (age 70) Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Ontario Liberal
Spouse	Karan
Children	2 (Braden and Shanae)
Residence	Peterborough
Alma mater	Kenner Collegiate Trent University (BA (Hons), 1978) University of Windsor
Occupation	Politician
Portfolio	Chief Government Whip (2011-2013)

John Jeffrey Leal (born December 13, 1954) is a Canadian politician who serves as the 63rd and current mayor of Peterborough. Previously, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the riding of Peterborough. He served in the cabinet of Kathleen Wynne. On October 24, 2022 he was elected mayor of Peterborough.

Background

John Jeffrey Leal was born and raised in Peterborough. He attended Kenner Collegiate and has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Economics and Political Science from Trent University (1978) and a degree in Business Administration from the University of Windsor (1981). Leal worked as executive assistant to members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) John Eakins and Larry South in the 1980s. ^[1] He was a health and safety representative for Coyle Corrugated Containers. ^[2] He is married to Karan, a teacher and school principal, with two children, Braden and Shanae.

Controversies

On April 10th, 2025 the Peterborough Examiner obtained an audio recording of Leal using a racial slur (the N-word) against Black people during his appearance as a guest lecturer at a Trent University business administration class. ^[3] He has since issued an apology but has refused to confirm the nature of the word's usage. ^[4]

In May 2025, the city's integrity commissioner also published a report alleging that Leal had intimidated and bullied two councilors. ^[5] Media reports allege that Leal threatened a city councilor during a public meeting by saying that he would "carve him like a Thanksgiving turkey." ^[6] In June council voted against penalizing Leal for his comments. ^[7]

Politics

Municipal

He served on the Peterborough City Council from 1985 to 2003, representing the Otonabee Ward. At City Hall he was appointed as Deputy Mayor (1993-2003) and chaired the social services committee after the 2000 municipal election. In July 2022, Leal announced his candidacy for mayor of Peterborough, which he would later win.

v t e 2000 Peterborough municipal election : Council, Otonabee Ward (two members elected)
Candidate	Votes	%
(x)Jeff Leal	3,461	41.15
Glenn Pagett	3,182	37.83
Allan Deck	1,768	21.02
Total valid votes	8,411	100.00

Provincial

Leal ran for provincial office in the 1999 provincial election as the Liberal candidate. He was narrowly defeated by Progressive Conservative incumbent Gary Stewart. ^[8] He defeated Stewart by over six thousand votes in a 2003 rematch, amid a provincial shift to the Liberal Party. ^[9] Leal was re-elected in 2007, 2011 and 2014. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

During his time in government, he has served as Parliamentary Assistant to several ministers including Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (2004), Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (2005), Ministry of Energy (2005), Ministry of the Environment (2006), and the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs (2007–09). In February 2010, he was named the Chief Government Whip. ^[13]

In February 2013, Premier Kathleen Wynne named Leal to Ontario's Cabinet, serving in the role as Minister of Rural Affairs. ^[14]

Leal has helped secure over $400 million in funding for Peterborough, creating and preserving over 3,700 jobs with investments in infrastructure, transportation, businesses and health care. This included the creation of a new hospital, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and funding following a damaging flood in 2004. ^{[15] [16]}

Leal has championed a number of issues through private member's bills, including retirement and income security measures. He introduced a private member's bill in 2008 to provide creditor protection for Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). ^[17] Two years later, he introduced a separate bill that would require companies with twenty or more employees to offer a savings or pension plan that all employees would automatically join (with the ability to opt out). The stated purpose of this bill, which was supported by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, was to reduce the costs of such insurance plans compared with retail mutual funds. ^[18]

In June 2014, Leal was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and Food and Rural Affairs. ^[19]

Cabinet positions

Ontario provincial government of Kathleen Wynne
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Ted McMeekin	Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs 2013–2018 Was Minister of Rural Affairs in 2013–2014	Ernie Hardeman

Electoral record

v t e 2018 Ontario general election : Peterborough—Kawartha
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Dave Smith	22,904	37.68	+6.96
	New Democratic	Sean Conway	20,518	33.75	+15.65
	Liberal	Jeff Leal	14,946	24.59	–21.12
	Green	Gianne Broughton	2,024	3.33	–0.96
	Libertarian	Jacob William Currier	245	0.40	N/A
	Stop Climate Change	Ken Ranney	153	0.25	N/A
Total valid votes			60,790	100.0
	Progressive Conservative notional gain from Liberal		Swing		–4.35
Source: Elections Ontario [20]

v t e 2014 Ontario general election : Peterborough
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeff Leal	24,649	46.26	+6.33
	Progressive Conservative	Scott Stewart	15,909	29.86	−1.63
	New Democratic	Sheila Wood	9,726	18.25	−7.36
	Green	Gary Beamish	2,285	4.29	+1.75
	Independent	Brian Martindale	395	0.74
	Socialist	Andrea Quiano	131	0.25	+0.08
	Freedom	Wayne Matheson	121	0.23	−0.03
	Pauper	Gerard Faux	63	0.19
Total valid votes			53,279	100.00
	Liberal hold		Swing		+3.98
Source: Elections Ontario [21]

2011 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jeff Leal	19,319	39.79	-8.01
	Progressive Conservative	Alan Wilson	15,309	31.53	+5.93
	New Democratic	Dave Nickle	12,458	25.66	+9.06
	Green	Gary Beamish	1,235	2.54	-6.16
	Freedom	Alex Long	127	0.26
	Socialist	Ken Ranney	104	0.21
Total valid votes				100.0

v t e 2007 Ontario general election : Peterborough
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Jeff Leal	24,466	47.72	+3.61	$95,432
	Progressive Conservative	Bruce Fitzpatrick	13,176	25.70	−7.32	$89,425
	New Democratic	Dave Nickle	8,523	16.62	−1.78	$33,229
	Green	Miriam Stucky	4,473	8.72	–	$10,163
	Family Coalition	Paul Morgan	634	1.24	–	$0
Total valid votes			51,272	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			241
Turnout			51,513	57.47
Electors on the lists			89,627

Note: Percentage changes are factored for redistribution. Sources: Official 2007 Poll by Poll Results and 2007 Annual Returns, Candidate and Constituency Associations, Elections Ontario.

v t e 2003 Ontario general election : Peterborough
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Jeff Leal	24,626	44.74	+4.54	$59,358
	Progressive Conservative	Gary Stewart	18,418	33.46	−11.53	$83,317
	New Democratic	Dave Nickle	9,796	17.80	+4.80	$22,783
	Green	Tim Holland	1,605	2.92	+1.82	$6,817
	Family Coalition	Max Murray	414	0.75	–	$212
	Independent	Bob Bowers	178	0.32	+0.05	not listed
Total valid votes			55,037	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			245
Turnout			55,282	62.76	−0.01
Electors on the lists			88,080

v t e 1999 Ontario general election : Peterborough
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Gary Stewart	24,422	44.99		$66,248
	Liberal	Jeff Leal	21,820	40.20	–	$45,608
	New Democratic	Dave Nickle	7,058	13.00		$26,105
	Green	Larry Tyldsley	598	1.10	–	$1,651
	Independent	Bob Bowers	151	0.28		$862
	Independent	Kenneth T. Burgess	125	0.23		not listed
	Natural Law	Robert Mayer	106	0.20		$0
Total valid votes			54,280	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			297
Turnout			54,577	62.77
Electors on the lists			86,951

References

1. Hodgins, Bill (September 27, 2003). "'Lefty' after city seat for Grits". Peterborough Examiner. p. A1The article title is a reference to Leal's golf swing, not to his political leanings.
2. Lacey, Mike (September 17, 2003). "Jeff Leal's been down this road before...and loves it". Peterborough This Week. p. 1.
3. "Audio surfaces of Mayor Jeff Leal using racial slur during guest lecture at Trent University". April 10, 2025.
4. "Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal refuses to confirm nature of 'racial slur' he used during guest lecture at Trent University". April 10, 2025.
5. Head, Bruce (May 29, 2025). "Integrity commissioner finds Peterborough mayor contravened city council's code of conduct". kawarthaNOW. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
6. "'Carve him like a Thanksgiving turkey': Ontario mayor apologizes for remark to councillor - Peterborough | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
7. Head, Bruce (June 2, 2025). "Peterborough city council votes against penalizing Mayor Jeff Leal for contravening code of conduct". kawarthaNOW. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
8. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014.
9. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
10. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 12 (xxi). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
11. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
12. "General Election by District: Peterborough". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014.
13. "Jeff Leal replaces Mike Colle as Ontario chief government whip on Tuesday". Canadian Press. February 13, 2010.
14. "Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal sworn in as rural affairs minister". Peterborough Examiner. February 11, 2013.
15. Benzie, Robert (July 22, 2004). "$5 million in aid for Peterborough; 'Just a down payment,' says McGuinty". Toronto Star. p. A2.
16. "City gets more flood aid; Province to give extra $3.5 million 3,200 relief requests in Peterborough". Toronto Star. Canadian Press. September 7, 2004. p. A2.
17. "Now's time to shield RRSPs from creditors". Toronto Star. May 23, 2009. p. B1.
18. Daw, James (May 6, 2010). "Bill would make retirement savings plans mandatory". Toronto Star. p. B2.
19. Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (June 24, 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
20. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 9. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
21. Elections Ontario. "General Election Results by District, 071 Peterborough" . Retrieved June 13, 2014.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history