W. Leo Jordan is a former politician in Ontario, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He was a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1990 to 1999.

Jordan studied Public Administration at Carleton University

Carleton University

Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...

. He worked for thirty-nine years at Ontario Hydro

Ontario Hydro

Ontario Hydro was the official name from 1974 of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara...

, in the fields of operations, customer service, property and marketing. He was also a beef farmer, and served for a time as reeve of Montague Township and a member of the Lanark County

Lanark County, Ontario

Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of 2006, the population is 63,785. Its county seat is Perth.The county took its name from the town of Lanark in Scotland.-Geography:...

 council.

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1990 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1990

The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....

, defeating Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 Guin Persaud by about 1,500 votes in the riding of Lanark—Renfrew. This election was won by the Ontario New Democratic Party

Ontario New Democratic Party

The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...

, and Jordan sat on the opposition benches for the next five years.

The PC party won the 1995 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1995

The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...

, in which Jordan defeated his Liberal opponent by more than 10,000 votes. He was not appointed to the cabinet of Mike Harris

Mike Harris

Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...

, and served as a government backbencher for the next four years.

In 1996, the Harris government reduced the number of provincial ridings from 130 to 103. This meant that a number of sitting Members of Provincial Parliament MPPs had to compete against one another for re-election. Jordan ran against veteran Liberal MPP Sean Conway

Sean Conway

Sean Conway is a Canadian university professor and administrator. He served for 28 years as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, from 1975 to 2003, and was a high-profile cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson...

 in the new riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke

Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke

Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.It is represented by Cheryl Gallant of the Conservative Party....

 in the 1999 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1999

An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

, and lost by almost 6,000 votes.

In 2000, Jordan sought the federal Canadian Alliance

Canadian Alliance

The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...

 nomination in Lanark—Carleton, but lost to Scott Reid.

Electoral record (partial)