David McGuinty
Encyclopedia
David Joseph McGuinty, MP
(born February 25, 1960) is a Canadian lawyer politician
from Ontario
, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament
for the riding
of Ottawa South
and sits in the Canadian House of Commons
as the Liberal Party of Canada
's Critic for Natural Resources. He was first elected in the 2004 federal election
and was re-elected in 2006
, 2008
and 2011.
McGuinty is the brother of Premier of Ontario
Dalton McGuinty
and is the son of former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Dalton McGuinty Sr..
, a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the University of Ottawa
, specialized diplomas in Civil and Comparative Law at Université de Sherbrooke
in Quebec
, a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Ottawa
, and finally a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
An environmental lawyer by profession, he has long been closely involved in Liberal politics. He was chosen to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Prime Minister's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, a government think-tank concerned with sustainable development
.
. While not invited to join the Paul Martin Cabinet, McGuinty served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. He also was chairman of the Liberal Party's National Capital Region Caucus.
In the 2006 election
, McGuinty faced and defeated, Sponsorship Scandal
whistleblower Allan Cutler
of the Conservative Party of Canada
. While his margin of victory shrank slightly, the total number of ballots cast in his name increased, reflecting increased voter turnout in Ottawa South and across Canada.
In the 2008 election
, McGuinty faced off against Conservative opponent Elie Salibi, New Democratic Party
(NDP) candidate Hijal De Sarkar, green candidate Qais Ghanem, Progressive Canadian
candidate Al Gullon and Libertarian
candidate Jean-Serge Brisson
. Although at the national level the Liberals were performing poorly in the opinion polls for most of the campaign and ended up receiving their worst ever vote total and losing 26 seats, McGuinty was handily re-elected in Ottawa South and, in fact, increased his vote percentage from 44% to just under the 50% mark.
In the 2011 election, McGuinty faced the same Conservative challenger in candidate Elie Salibi, who had run in 2008, and was also up against James McLaren a teacher, running for the NDP, and Mick Kitor, the Green candidate. Al Gullon of the Progressive Canadian Party and Mike Bleskie, of the recently formed Pirate Party
, were also contenders in the riding. Towards the end of the 2011 campaign the NDP had received a large surge in support, and eventually overtook the Liberals, at the national level, in almost every public opinion poll that had been published. However this surge had not materialized in the province of Ontario and McGuinty was still widely expected to be re-elected. In the end Conservative support in the riding held steady at around 33%, the green vote fell by just under 4% to 3% in the riding, while the NDP vote jumped to 18%. McGuinty was easily re-elected, once again, with 44% of the vote, a drop of just over 5%. Nationally the Liberals suffered their worst ever showing at federal election and went back to Parliament with only 34 MPs in the House of Commons. Because of this defeat, and more importantly the resignation of Michael Ignatieff
as Liberal Leader, McGuinty's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Liberal leadership.
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
(born February 25, 1960) is a Canadian lawyer politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Ottawa South
Ottawa South
Ottawa South is a federal electoral district in Ottawa in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by David McGuinty, brother of Ontario Premier and Ottawa South MPP Dalton McGuinty. The riding was created in 1987 from parts of Ottawa—Vanier, Ottawa...
and sits in the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
's Critic for Natural Resources. He was first elected in the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
and was re-elected in 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, 2008
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
and 2011.
McGuinty is the brother of Premier of Ontario
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
and is the son of former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Dalton McGuinty Sr..
Early life
David McGuinty was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario in a family of twelve. Being the son of a Francophone mother and an Anglophone father, McGuinty is bilingual. He earned a Diploma in Agriculture from the Kemptville College of AgricultureKemptville College
Kemptville Campus is a campus of the Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, and is located in Eastern Ontario, approximately 30 minutes south of Ottawa in Kemptville, Ontario.-Programs:...
, a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
, specialized diplomas in Civil and Comparative Law at Université de Sherbrooke
Université de Sherbrooke
The Université de Sherbrooke is a large university with campuses located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It is one of two universities, and the only French language university, in the Estrie region of Quebec.In 2007, the...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
, and finally a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
An environmental lawyer by profession, he has long been closely involved in Liberal politics. He was chosen to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Prime Minister's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, a government think-tank concerned with sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
.
Political career
In the 2004 federal election he defeated Conservative candidate Alan Riddell by a 5,000 vote margin. Ottawa South was held previously by former Finance Minister John ManleyJohn Manley (politician)
John Paul Manley, PC, OC is a Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2004, and a Cabinet Minister from 1993 to 2003. He is presently President and CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.-Background:Manley was...
. While not invited to join the Paul Martin Cabinet, McGuinty served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. He also was chairman of the Liberal Party's National Capital Region Caucus.
In the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, McGuinty faced and defeated, Sponsorship Scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
whistleblower Allan Cutler
Allan Cutler
Allan S. Cutler is a former Canadian public servant notable for his role as the whistleblower who reported anomalies in a Canadian sponsorship program designed to raise awareness in Quebec of the Government of Canada's contributions to Quebec industries and culture. This program was undertaken to...
of the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
. While his margin of victory shrank slightly, the total number of ballots cast in his name increased, reflecting increased voter turnout in Ottawa South and across Canada.
In the 2008 election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, McGuinty faced off against Conservative opponent Elie Salibi, New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP) candidate Hijal De Sarkar, green candidate Qais Ghanem, Progressive Canadian
Progressive Canadian Party
The Progressive Canadian Party is a minor federal political party in Canada. It is a centre/centre-right party that was officially registered with Elections Canada, the government's election agency, on March 29, 2004....
candidate Al Gullon and Libertarian
Libertarian Party of Canada
The Libertarian Party of Canada is a political party in Canada that subscribes to the tenets of the libertarian movement across Canada.-History:...
candidate Jean-Serge Brisson
Jean-Serge Brisson
Jean-Serge Brisson is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the former leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada, which he joined in 1986.-Biography:...
. Although at the national level the Liberals were performing poorly in the opinion polls for most of the campaign and ended up receiving their worst ever vote total and losing 26 seats, McGuinty was handily re-elected in Ottawa South and, in fact, increased his vote percentage from 44% to just under the 50% mark.
In the 2011 election, McGuinty faced the same Conservative challenger in candidate Elie Salibi, who had run in 2008, and was also up against James McLaren a teacher, running for the NDP, and Mick Kitor, the Green candidate. Al Gullon of the Progressive Canadian Party and Mike Bleskie, of the recently formed Pirate Party
Pirate Party
The Pirate Party is a political party in Sweden founded in 2006. Its sudden popularity has given rise to parties with the same name and similar goals in Europe and worldwide, forming the international Pirate Party movement....
, were also contenders in the riding. Towards the end of the 2011 campaign the NDP had received a large surge in support, and eventually overtook the Liberals, at the national level, in almost every public opinion poll that had been published. However this surge had not materialized in the province of Ontario and McGuinty was still widely expected to be re-elected. In the end Conservative support in the riding held steady at around 33%, the green vote fell by just under 4% to 3% in the riding, while the NDP vote jumped to 18%. McGuinty was easily re-elected, once again, with 44% of the vote, a drop of just over 5%. Nationally the Liberals suffered their worst ever showing at federal election and went back to Parliament with only 34 MPs in the House of Commons. Because of this defeat, and more importantly the resignation of Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
as Liberal Leader, McGuinty's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Liberal leadership.