Todd McCarthy (politician)

• University of Toronto (B.A., 1984)
• Osgoode Hall Law School (J.D., 1987)

The Honourable Todd McCarthy ECO KC MPP
McCarthy in 2022
Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
Incumbent
Assumed office March 19, 2025
Occupation	Politician Lawyer
Website	toddmccarthympp.ca

Todd J. McCarthy (born December 9, 1962) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been the Ontario minister of the environment, conservation and parks since 2025. He was the minister of public and business service delivery and procurement from 2023 to 2025 and briefly, was the associate minister of transportation in 2023. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, McCarthy was first elected in the 2022 provincial election to represent Durham in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Education

McCarthy attended Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Elementary School from 1967 to 1976 and went on to Senator O'Connor College School graduating in 1981. He majored in political science at the University of Toronto St. Michael's College earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with Distinction in 1984. He studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University earning a Bachelor of Laws in 1987. After articling and completing the 30th Bar Admission Course, McCarthy was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1989. He went on to practice law as a barrister and solicitor and was a leading trial lawyer throughout the Province of Ontario for 33 years before being elected to Provincial Parliament in June 2022. He was one of the youngest certified Specialists in Civil Litigation when recognized as such in 1996 by the Law Society of Upper Canada as it then was.

Career

McCarthy joined the law firm of what is now Flaherty McCarthy LLP in 1994. The firm was founded that same year by the Late Honourable Jim Flaherty, former deputy premier, Christine Elliott and Mr. Justice Grant Dow. In addition to a successful career as a trial and appellate lawyer, McCarthy served as a school board trustee from 1993 to 1997 with the Durham Region Separate School Board. He was elected in 1994, winning by just 3 votes, and served as vice-chair in 1996–1997. From 2002 to 2011, McCarthy served as a deputy judge of the small claims court in Durham Region. McCarthy served as a director at the Canada Revenue Agency. He was also an adjunct professor at Durham College in 2010 and at the Faculty of Law Queen's University from 2011 to 2019. In 2021, he appeared before the House of Commons Justice Committee to address delays in the justice system and proposed solutions. He is a fearless defender of the Right to Trial by Jury in civil cases. McCarthy has written and spoken out extensively both on this subject in 2020 and in 2021 [4] on Canada's unique Constitutional provisions.

Awards

McCarthy has been recognized as a leading Ontario Lawyer. In 2019, he was recognized as the Defence Honouree of the Year by the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. In 2021, he received an Insurance Law Award of Excellence from the Ontario Bar Association. His contributions to the Administration of Justice include many articles, lectures and seminars in relation to continuing legal education. McCarthy appeared as Trial Counsel in over 100 jury and non-jury trials throughout Ontario and in numerous appeals before the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Divisional Court. Many of these appearances resulted in precedent setting decisions which have contributed to the development of a significant body of published Case Law.

Political career

McCarthy ran unsuccessfully in 2011 and 2014 to become the member of parliament for the riding of Ajax-Pickering and lost in the riding of Whitby in the 2019 federal election.

in 2021, McCarthy was nominated to be the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidate for Durham. He then went on to win a seat in the riding of Durham the 2022 Ontario general election, winning by over 10,000 votes. He has since been appointed a parliamentary assistant to the president of the Treasury Board, deputy government whip and as a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

McCarthy briefly served as the Associate Minister of Transportation from September 4 to September 22, 2023 and was later shuffled to be the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery on September 22, 2023 after the resignation of Kaleed Rasheed.

While serving as the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, McCarthy acted as Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks between September 2024 and March 2025. He assumed these duties when the current Minister, Andrea Khanjin, went on parental leave. On March 19, 2025, McCarthy was sworn in as Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. ^[2]

As Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement, McCarthy introduced four pieces of legislation that were passed unanimously by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario within an 11-month period:

1) Bill 142, The Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, 2023 , received Royal Assent on December 6, 2023. This act repealed the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, and replaced it with the Consumer Protection Act, 2023. The new legislation modernizes consumer protection laws, addressing unfair business practices, and enhances transparency in consumer transactions.

2) Bill 153, The Building Infrastructure Safely Act, 2024 , received Royal Assent in early 2024. This act amends the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Act, 2012, and introduces new rules for liability, fee collection and locate requests, aiming to improve safety and efficiency in infrastructure projects.

3) Bill 194, The Strengthening Cyber Security and Building Trust in the Public Sector Act, 2024 , received Royal Assent in November 2024. This act enhances digital security and trust within Ontario's public sector. It includes provisions for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence governance, and stronger privacy protections for children and youth.

4) Bill 200, The Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 , received Royal Assent on June 6, 2024. This act aims to protect homeowners from predatory lending schemes by banning the registration of Notices of Security Interest (NOSI) on land titles. It also introduces a cooling-off period for buyers of new freehold homes.

He won re-election in the 2025 Ontario general election. ^[3]

During the 2025 Ontario general election McCarthy reportedly told a potential voter he was canvassing for that a video explaining Doug Ford wanting to open the Greenbelt for development was fake news and may have been created by artificial intelligence. ^[4]

On March 19, 2025, Todd McCarthy was appointed as Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and was officially sworn into the Ontario Cabinet. ^[5]

Personal life

McCarthy was born in Scarborough, Ontario, to Canadian-born parents of Irish Catholic heritage, Mary and John McCarthy. He is one of their three sons. His brother John McCarthy is a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and his brother Gerry is a member of the Social Security Tribunal of Canada. McCarthy married Kathy Azzopardi on July 25, 1987, at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church. They purchased their first home in Durham Region in 1989. The McCarthys continue to live in Durham Region. Kathy McCarthy recently retired as a psychometrist after 33 years with the Durham Catholic District School Board. The couple have three adult children. Meaghan McCarthy (born in 1992) is a lawyer. Brendan McCarthy (born in 1995) is a story editor at TSN. Jake McCarthy (born in 1998) is a special needs young adult who survived osteosarcoma and is on the autism spectrum.

In July 2025, a man from Burlington was charged after allegedly making death threats against McCarthy. ^[6]

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Ontario general election : Durham
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Todd McCarthy	26,967	50.48	+4.63
	Liberal	Brad Jakobsen	15,701	29.39	+4.50
	New Democratic	Chris Borgia	7,635	14.29	–4.30
	Green	Sanjin Zeco	1,280	2.4	–1.62
	New Blue	James Leventakis	666	1.25	–2.60
	Centrist	Asif Khan	635	1.19	N/A
	Ontario Party	Sheri Thurston	409	0.77	–0.62
	Independent	Fawad Kiyani	130	0.24	N/A
Total valid votes/expense limit			53,423	99.28	–0.23
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			389	0.72	+0.23
Turnout			53,812	44.53	+0.82
Eligible voters			120,839
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+0.07
Source: Elections Ontario [7]

v t e 2022 Ontario general election : Durham
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Todd McCarthy	22,614	45.85	−1.14
	Liberal	Granville Anderson	12,276	24.89	+8.06
	New Democratic	Chris Borgia	9,168	18.59	−13.07
	Green	Mini Batra	1,981	4.02	+0.14
	New Blue	Spencer Ford	1,898	3.85
	Independent	Tony Stravato	697	1.41
	Ontario Party	Lou De Vuono	686	1.39
Total valid votes			49,320	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			242
Turnout			49,562	43.71
Eligible voters			112,487
	Progressive Conservative gain from Independent		Swing		−4.60
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21.

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election : Whitby
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ryan Turnbull	30,182	43.7	-1.25	$90,618.58
	Conservative	Todd McCarthy	24,564	35.5	-6.59	$114,623.57
	New Democratic	Brian Dias	9,760	14.1	+3.75	$6,319.41
	Green	Paul Slavchenko	3,735	5.4	+3.23	$28,189.54
	People's	Mirko Pejic	860	1.2		$3,185.65
Total valid votes/expense limit			69,101	100.0
Total rejected ballots			415
Turnout			69,516	70.8
Eligible voters			98,190
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.67
Source: Elections Canada [8] [9]

v t e 2014 Ontario general election : Ajax—Pickering
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joe Dickson	26,257	51.06	+3.72
	Progressive Conservative	Todd McCarthy	14,999	29.17	−6.17
	New Democratic	Jermaine King	8,274	16.09	+1.72
	Green	Adam Narraway	1,589	3.09	+1.06
	Libertarian	Kyle Stewart	301	0.59	−0.13
Total valid votes			51,420	100.0	+23.94
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			580	1.12	+0.71
Turnout			52,000	50.18	+5.38
Eligible voters			103,629		+11.74
	Liberal hold		Swing		+4.95
Source(s) Elections Ontario. "Official Return from the Records, 001 Ajax—Pickering" (PDF). Retrieved March 21, 2015.

v t e 2011 Ontario general election : Ajax—Pickering
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joe Dickson	19,606	47.34	−1.74
	Progressive Conservative	Todd McCarthy	14,718	35.54	+1.19
	New Democratic	Evan Wiseman	5,952	14.37	+6.28
	Green	Steven Toman	843	2.04	−5.54
	Libertarian	Andrew Delis	299	0.72
Total valid votes			41,418	100.0	+2.36
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			172	0.41	−0.07
Turnout			41,590	44.8	−4.5
Eligible voters			92,745		+12.53
	Liberal hold		Swing		−1.47
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate – October 6, 2011 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Nov 18, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2014. "Statistical Summary – General Elections 2011" ( XLS Spreadsheet). Elections Ontario. October 1, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2014.

References

1. "Meet the candidates: Todd McCarthy of the Ontario PC party". The Toronto Star. 19 May 2022.
2. "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
3. "Ontario Votes 2025: Durham". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. February 28, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
4. "'Heard about AI?': PC candidate claims Doug Ford Greenbelt video is fake | Globalnews.ca".
5. "Hon. Todd J. McCarthy | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". www.ola.org. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
6. "Burlington man accused of making death threats against Ontario environment minister". CTV News . July 18, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
7. "Vote Totals From Official Tabulation" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
8. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
9. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 4, 2019.