Laurie Scott (politician)

Last updated

Laurie Scott
MPP
Laurie Scott, MPP.jpg
Scott in 2017
Minister of Infrastructure
In office
June 20, 2019 June 18, 2021
Residence(s) Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada

Laurie J. Scott [1] MPP (born 1962) is a Canadian politician who served as minister of Infrastructure from 2019 to 2021 and minister of Labour from 2018 to 2019 in the Doug Ford cabinet. She is a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock since 2018.

Contents

Background

Scott was born and raised in the village of Kinmount, Ontario, now part of the city of Kawartha Lakes. [2] Her father, the late Bill Scott, was a federal Progressive Conservative MP from 1965 to 1993. She attended Loyalist College in Belleville where she obtained a degree in nursing. She worked as a Registered Nurse at the Ross Memorial Hospital and the Toronto General Hospital. [2]

Politics

In the Canadian general election of 2000, she ran in Haliburton—Victoria—Brock for the federal Progressive Conservative party, but finished behind Liberal John O'Reilly and Canadian Alliance candidate Pat Dunn in a close, three-way race. From 2000 to 2003, she worked as an assistant to Progressive Conservative Senator Consiglio Di Nino. [2]

Scott was elected to the Ontario Legislature in the 2003 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Jason Ward in the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock by over 7,000 votes. [3] Scott was appointed opposition critic for training, colleges and universities.

In the 2007 provincial election, Scott ran against Rick Johnson of the Ontario Liberal Party, and Joan Corrigan of the Ontario NDP. She defeated the Liberal candidate by almost 10,000 votes with 49.9% of the total vote. [4] She then served as the official opposition critic for research and innovation and health promotion.

On January 8, 2009, it was announced that Scott would resign as MPP to allow PC leader John Tory to seek a seat in the legislature. [5] However, Tory was defeated by Johnson in the by-election that followed. [6] Scott subsequently served as chair of the Ontario PC party's election preparedness committee until the 2011 election. [7]

In the 2011 election, in a rematch with Johnson, Scott regained her seat defeating Johnson by about 6,000 votes. [8] She was re-elected in the 2014 election defeating Johnson again by about 3,000 votes. [9] She then served as the Official Opposition Critic for Community Safety and Women's Issues until 2018.

In the 2018 Ontario provincial election, Laurie Scott was re-elected for a fifth-term as the MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. She received 56.7% of the vote and won with a margin of victory of more than 17 000 votes over the second-place NDP candidate Zac Miller. [10] When the PCs returned to government following the 2018 general election, Scott was appointed to cabinet as Minister of Labour by Premier Doug Ford. After a cabinet shuffle in 2020, she was demoted to Minister of Infrastructure, a portfolio she held until June 18, 2021. Since June 18, 2021, Scott holds no portfolio in the Ford cabinet and is currently a backbencher. [11]

In the 2022 provincial general election, Scott won re-election in Haliburton-Kawartha-Lakes-Brock. She received 25,656 votes. NDP candidate Barbara Doyle received 7,677 votes and Liberal Don McBey 6,608. [12]

She is a passionate advocate for victims of human sex trafficking and was recognized with the BOOST Champion for Children Award in 2017 for her work. [13]

Cabinet positions

Ontario provincial government of Doug Ford
Cabinet posts (2)
PredecessorOfficeSuccessor
Monte McNaughton Minister of Infrastructure
June 20, 2019– June 18, 2021
Kinga Surma
Kevin Flynn Minister of Labour
June 29, 2018 – June 20, 2019
Monte McNaughton

Electoral history

2025 Ontario general election : Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive Conservative Laurie Scott 26,44652.17–0.14
Liberal Alison Bennie11,67623.03+9.56
New Democratic Barbara Doyle6,98013.77–1.95
Green Tom Regina2,5935.12–2.43
New Blue Jacquie Barker1,2212.41+0.60
Ontario Party Brian Kerr9691.91–6.16
Independent Gene Balfour4240.84N/A
Libertarian Zachary Tisdale3840.76–0.30
Freedom Bill Denby2750.54N/A
Total valid votes/expense limit50,69399.27+0.01
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots3720.73–0.01
Turnout51,06548.95+0.81
Eligible voters104,325
Progressive Conservative hold Swing –4.85
Source: Elections Ontario [14]
2022 Ontario general election : Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Progressive Conservative Laurie Scott 25,59452.314.40
New Democratic Barbara Doyle7,69215.7210.78
Liberal Don McBey6,59013.47+3.57
Ontario Party Kerstin Kelly3,9498.07 
Green Tom Regina3,6957.55+3.09
New Blue Ben Prentice8881.81 
Libertarian Gene Balfour5181.06+0.26
Total valid votes48,926100.0  
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots366
Turnout49,29248.14
Eligible voters101,416
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +3.19
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

References

  1. @ONPARLeducation (July 13, 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 3 Tully, Marcus (September 26, 2003). "Politics comes easy for Laurie Scott". Lindsay This Week. p. 4.
  3. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  4. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 5 (xiv). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  5. "PC Leader John Tory to announce seat bid". CTV Television Network. January 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014.
  6. "John Tory loses bid for seat in by-election". Toronto Star. March 5, 2009.
  7. "Tory gets a chance at last". Toronto Star. January 9, 2009.
  8. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  9. "General Elections by District: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
  10. "PC Laurie Scott earns landslide victory for fifth term for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock - Peterborough | Globalnews.ca".
  11. "Doug Ford shuffles Ontario cabinet, making Rod Phillips long-term care minister".
  12. "Laurie Scott Wins Re-Election in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock". June 3, 2022.
  13. "MPP Laurie Scott recognized by BOOST with Champion for Children Award". The Standard. June 29, 2017.
  14. "Vote Totals From Official Tabulation" (PDF). Elections Ontario. March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2025.