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110-476: The 2.4 acre land was purchased in 2005, and construction commenced in late 2006. The temple officially opened on a three-day celebration from May 5 to May 8, 2011. Former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty along with Ontario Ministers Eric Hoskins and Charles Sousa and local MPP Bob Delaney from Mississauga Streetsville, attended the official ceremony. In 2011, Hindu Heritage Centre was nominated as an architecture icon of Mississauga by Door Opens Mississauga. As

220-483: A cabinet shuffle occasioned by the resignation of Joe Cordiano from the Legislature. She was the province's first openly lesbian cabinet minister and only the second openly LGBT cabinet minister after Deputy Premier George Smitherman . On January 18, 2010, she was moved to minister of transportation and in 2011 she was appointed minister of municipal affairs and housing and minister of aboriginal affairs . In

330-533: A $ 200 per month earnings exemption for those on Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program , $ 5 million into First Nations education, elimination of the employers health tax exemption for large companies, postponed tax cuts for big businesses, extended the capital cost allowance for machinery and equipment, increased the Ontario Child Benefit from $ 1,100 to $ 1,310 per year to support low-income families and other economic measures. Critics called

440-533: A ban on partisan government advertising. On May 18, 2004, Provincial Finance Minister Greg Sorbara released the McGuinty government's first budget, the first year of a four-year plan focused on tackling four deficits the Liberals claim the previous Tories left behind: the "health deficit", the "education deficit", the "infrastructure deficit" and the "fiscal deficit". This budget was focused on health care. At its core

550-534: A campaign to narrow the so-called "$ 23 billion gap" between what Ontario contributes to the federal government and what is returned to Ontario in services. This came as a sharp turn after more than a year of cooperating with the federal government. McGuinty said special deals made by the federal government with other provinces ( Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia ) compromised the nature of equalization . He noted that immigrants in Ontario receive $ 800 in support from

660-571: A few electoral districts. The scandal caused the Liberals to be reduced to a minority government . McGuinty continued as premier for another year and a half, but the continuing gas plant issue refused to go away. He prorogued the legislature in October 2012 before being succeeded as Liberal leader and premier by Kathleen Wynne in February 2013. McGuinty resigned his own seat in June 2013. Shortly after leaving

770-435: A four-year plan to tackle the deficit, funding for 1,000 new teachers, a transfer of two cents of the existing gas tax to municipalities to help fund transit, and a three per cent increase to those on social assistance, the first increase in ten years. Soon after the federal election, McGuinty attended a First Ministers' Meeting on health-care reform that resulted in a new agreement for a national health accord. This Accord saw

880-510: A fourth term in office, and moved from minority to majority government. However, the election results proved to be mixed: It was observed after the election, that her sexual orientation was treated as a complete non-issue during the campaign with Wynne subject to no significant comment because of that personal detail. On July 2, Wynne re-convened the Ontario Legislature to pass the budget that had been introduced, but not voted on, prior to

990-452: A law degree and practiced law in Ottawa. His father served as a Liberal member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1987 until his death in 1990. A provincial election was called for later that year and McGuinty successfully ran in his father's seat, though the incumbent Liberal government was defeated. After party leader Lyn McLeod resigned due to her leading the Liberals to a second defeat in

1100-440: A libel lawsuit against PC MPP Lisa MacLeod and Party Leader Hudak after they said that she "oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal destruction of [gas plant] documents". In July 2015, Wynne, MacLeod and Hudak reached an agreement whereby the lawsuit was dropped. They said in a joint statement, "Politics is not for the thin-skinned. However, our system also requires that politicians act honestly and based on fact, while respecting

1210-494: A major issue in the early days of the 2004 federal election , called a week after the Ontario budget. Many believe that the controversy hampered Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin 's bid for re-election . Also controversial was the elimination of coverage for health services not covered by the Canada Health Act including eye examinations and physical therapy. Other elements of the McGuinty government's first budget were

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1320-551: A member of the Select Committee on Electoral Reform, which recommended "that the referendum be binding upon a vote of 50% + 1, and the support of 50% + 1 in at least two-thirds (i.e., 71) of the ridings or any other formula that ensures the result has support from Northern, rural, and urban areas of the Province", although the cabinet subsequently decided on 100. On September 18, 2006, she was promoted to minister of education in

1430-470: A minority government. Wynne ran a fairly controversy-free campaign, although her performance in the televised leaders' debate on June 3 was criticized by pundits as being weak and she was on the defensive for many of the scandals that had plagued her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty. The NDP's slow start and public internal rift over the party's decision to reject Wynne's budget coupled with the unpopularity of Hudak's 100,000 job cut pledge helped Wynne throughout

1540-452: A number of controversies involving the governing PC Party, including the fallout over the shooting death of native protester Dudley George at Ipperwash , the deaths of seven people from tainted water in Walkerton , and the decision to provide tax credits to parents who sent their children to private schools. Harris resigned in 2001 and his successor, Ernie Eves , received a short boost in

1650-407: A number of initiatives in the fall of 2004. These included legislation allowing restaurant patrons to bring their own wine, banning junk food in public schools, outlawing smoking in public places, and requiring students to stay in school until age 18. Following a series of high-profile maulings by pit bulls , the government also moved to ban the dogs. Some Ontarians were critical of this issue since it

1760-754: A part of the Culture Days celebration, every year three days of the week in July are dedicated to this program where guided tours of the temple are available. On November 11, 2017 The Canadian Armed Forces represented by the Toronto Scottish Regiment took part in the first Remembrance Day Ceremony to ever be held in a Hindu Temple in Canada's history. The Military first marched to the Hindu Heritage Centre. The ceremony then took place where Hindu pundits blessed

1870-604: A partnership with Cisco Canada that would create 1,700 new jobs. Prior to these announcements, Wynne had announced tax relief for small businesses by increasing the employers' health-tax exemption from $ 400,000 to $ 450,000. Between late October and early November 2014, Wynne went on a trade mission to China along with other provincial premiers. The trade mission attracted approximately a billion dollars' worth of investment and 1,800 new jobs to Ontario. After Honda announced plans to invest $ 857 million in three plants, Wynne also announced that her government would invest 10 per cent of

1980-461: A piece of legislation called the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act , which implemented a wide range of new measures designed to increase government accountability and transparency. Among other things, the act required all MPPs, cabinet ministers, parliamentary assistants, opposition leaders, and their respective staff to post their expense reports online, expanded the powers of

2090-519: A press release which described McGuinty as an " evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet ". Eves later stated that this was obviously meant as a joke, but acknowledged its inappropriateness. McGuinty undertook a series of choreographed events, including signing a taxpayer protection pledge not to raise taxes. He appeared on the popular sports show "Off the Record", where he received an endorsement from Canadian Idol winner Ryan Malcolm . McGuinty

2200-645: A promise to balance the budget in 2007–08. The government instead aimed at balance in 2008–09. The McGuinty Liberals also moved to expand infrastructure spending by encouraging Ontario's large pension plans to invest in the construction of new roads, schools and hospitals. Specific projects in the budget included a 10-year expansion of the Toronto Transit Commission and GO Transit , 15,000 new affordable housing units and improved border crossings. NDP leader Howard Hampton described this move as "privatization by stealth". During their second year in office,

2310-502: A reformed sex education curriculum, brought in a cap-and-trade pollution pricing regime with Quebec and California , and privatized Hydro One . Wynne sought another mandate in the 2018 provincial election ; however, she conceded midway into the election and acknowledged her party would not form government again. The Liberals would lose official party status in the worst defeat of a governing party in Ontario history. Wynne subsequently resigned as Liberal leader on election night and

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2420-591: A return to a balanced budget in 2017–18. The province unveiled its climate change plan, which introduced a phased-in cap-and-trade plan that will be similar to schemes in California and Quebec. As a result, gasoline prices increased by 4.3 cents per litre in 2017 and natural gas rates rose by 3.3 cents per cubic metre. In education, the provincial government announced it would provide free college and university tuition for students from families with an annual household income of less than $ 50,000. The province's debt in 2016

2530-535: A right-leaning leader like McGuinty was necessary to compete against the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) of Premier Mike Harris . McGuinty's first term in opposition was difficult. The governing Progressive Conservatives played up McGuinty's low profile by defining him as "not up to the job" in a series of television advertisements. His internal management of the Liberal Party

2640-509: A role in the McGuinty government's costly decision to cancel the construction of gas plants in Mississauga and North-East Oakville in 2011, when she was co-chair of the Liberal campaign. Wynne denied that she was involved in the gas plant meetings or in the decision to cancel the plants, and asked the auditor general to investigate the cost of cancelling the plants. After months of investigation,

2750-407: A scandal developed around a new plan to update health care records called eHealth Ontario . Just prior to the 2011 election, another controversy developed when McGuinty's government cancelled gas plants that were located in key Liberal ridings and were widely opposed by the local residents. The cost to cancel the projects was close to $ 1 billion and the move was seen as pandering to the electorate in

2860-489: A seat, by saying that she was ready to govern and would recall the legislature on February 19. Wynne also addressed her sexuality saying; "When I ran in 2003, I was told that the people of North Toronto and Thorncliffe Park were not ready to elect a gay woman. Well, apparently they were." She went on to say "I don't believe the people of Ontario judge their leaders on the basis of race, colour or sexual orientation – I don't believe they hold that prejudice in their hearts." When

2970-519: A surprisingly difficult re-election in Ottawa South, before defeating his Conservative opponent by about 3,000 votes. During McGuinty's second term as opposition leader, he hired a more skilled group of advisors and drafted former cabinet minister Greg Sorbara as party president. McGuinty also rebuilt the party's fundraising operation, launching the Ontario Liberal Fund. In preparation for

3080-519: Is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearly 70 years earlier. In 2011, he became the first Liberal premier to secure a third consecutive term since Oliver Mowat after his party was re-elected in that year's provincial election . McGuinty was born in Ottawa . He studied science at university, but ended up taking

3190-738: Is a member of the United Church of Canada . Wynne first ran for trustee in 1994 in Ward 12 but was defeated by Ann Vanstone. In 2000, she ran again and was elected as a trustee for the Toronto District School Board in ward 8. During the campaign, she was labelled an "extremist lesbian" in literature distributed by the "Concerned Citizens of North York and North Toronto". This was the ratepayer group that later supported Karen Stintz in her campaign against local councillor Anne Johnston . Wynne strongly opposed cuts to public education mandated by

3300-466: The 1995 election , McGuinty was elected leader in the 1996 leadership election . McGuinty lost the 1999 election to Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris , but won a resounding majority in 2003 . From 2003 to 2007, McGuinty's government increased spending for health care and education. He won another majority in 2007 , though his second term was deeply affected by the 2008 financial crisis , which saw government revenues plummet. In addition,

3410-403: The 2003 election , the party adopted a platform that emphasized lowering class sizes in schools, hiring more nurses, increasing environmental protections, and "holding the line" on taxes. McGuinty also made an effort to improve his debating skills and received coaching from Scott Reid who also trained United States Senator John McCain . McGuinty's chances of forming government were improved by

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3520-448: The 2007 provincial election , Wynne was challenged by the PC leader John Tory . Tory, who was elected to Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey (former PC leader Ernie Eves ' riding) in a by-election, was seeking a seat in a Toronto-area riding. Though it was projected to be a close race, Wynne was re-elected with 50.4 percent of the popular vote, defeating Tory, who came in second with 39.7 percent of

3630-479: The Ontario New Democratic Party , and now hoped to defeat the governing Conservatives by strategic voting . The Progressive Conservative Party was re-elected, and McGuinty rallied his party in the election's closing days to draw 40% of the popular vote for the Liberals, their second-best performance in fifty years, which increased their seat total in the Legislature from 30 to 36. McGuinty himself faced

3740-477: The University of Ottawa before practicing law in Ottawa. Since 1980, he has been married to high school girlfriend Terri McGuinty, an elementary school teacher . The couple have one daughter and three sons. McGuinty's father, Dalton Sr., served as Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Ottawa South until his death in 1990. Dalton Jr. won the Liberal Party's nomination for his father's former riding for

3850-466: The integrity commissioner and ombudsman , and introduced a fine of $ 5,000 for the willful destruction of government records. While Wynne declined to characterize the act as a rebuke to McGuinty and those who had been involved in the deletion of gas plant-related emails, the act was widely seen as a response to the gas plants controversy and other controversies over government officials' and public sector employees' expenses. In April 2014, Wynne launched

3960-545: The provincial election of 1990 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario . The Liberal government of David Peterson was defeated by the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) in that election. In opposition, McGuinty served as the Liberal Party's critic for energy, environment and colleges and universities. He was re-elected in Ottawa South in the 1995 provincial election without much difficulty. The Liberals maintained their status as

4070-475: The 1999 amalgamation of the old City of Toronto with the rest of Metropolitan Toronto . She attempted to enter provincial politics on the strength of her grassroots work and sought the Liberal nomination in St. Paul's for the 1999 provincial election but was defeated for the party nomination by Michael Bryant by a margin of 328 votes to 143. She was elected to the school board the following year, and in 2003, became

4180-536: The Angus Reid Institute reported that her job approval rating had fallen to 12 per cent, the lowest ever recorded. Wynne has faced negativity on social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook . Although most of the negative tweets express anger solely about her record as premier, some include sexist and/or homophobic slurs. Her sexual orientation is said to have made her more vulnerable to these abuses. Although Wynne faces sexist and homophobic abuse, she

4290-523: The Energy portfolio. Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( / w ɪ n / WIN ; born May 21, 1953) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Don Valley West from 2003 to 2022. Wynne is the first female premier of Ontario and

4400-581: The Legislature back for a rare winter session to debate and pass several high-profile bills. The government legislated a "greenbelt" around Toronto . The size of Prince Edward Island, the Greenbelt protects a broad swath of land from development and preserves forests and farmland. In response to court decisions, the McGuinty Liberals updated legislation to reflect the change in the definition of marriage to include homosexual couples. McGuinty also launched

4510-427: The Legislature back in session in late 2003. The government brought in auto insurance reforms (including a price cap), rolled-back a series of corporate and personal tax cuts that had been scheduled for 2004, passed legislation that enshrined publicly funded healthcare into provincial law, hired more meat and water inspectors, opened up the provincially owned electricity companies to Freedom of Information laws and enacted

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4620-401: The Liberal Party upon her victory of the leadership, and subsequently led the party to a majority government victory in the 2014 Ontario provincial election . As premier, Wynne introduced free prescription drug coverage for children, increased the minimum wage to $ 14 an hour, and introduced free post-secondary tuition for families making under $ 50,000. Controversially, her government introduced

4730-586: The Liberal nominee in Don Valley West . In the 2003 provincial election , she defeated Progressive Conservative cabinet minister David Turnbull by over 5,000 votes and became MPP for her riding. The Liberals won the election, and Wynne was appointed parliamentary assistant to Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Mary Anne Chambers , in October 2003. In October 2004, she was appointed parliamentary assistant to Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy . From June 2005 to November 2005 she served as

4840-469: The Liberals imposed a controversial new Health Premium of $ 300 to $ 900, staggered according to income. This violated a key Liberal campaign pledge not to raise taxes, and gave the government an early reputation for breaking promises. The Liberals defended the premium by arguing that the previous government had a hidden deficit, and McGuinty claimed he needed to break his campaign pledge on taxation to fulfill his promises on other fronts. His own finance critic of

4950-459: The Liberals, but were overruled by upper management. There was also controversy surrounding a cartoon in the Sun newspapers during the final week of the campaign that showed a pair of broken glasses, presumably Wynne's, smashed on the ground with a smattering of blood. The cartoon received near universal condemnation for projecting the image that abusing women was somehow accepted in society. Nevertheless, in

5060-403: The McGuinty Liberals brought forward a series of negotiations with the province's unions. First, Health Minister George Smitherman concluded an agreement with the province's doctors that included incentives to practice in family health teams or under-serviced communities. Education Minister Gerard Kennedy established a province-wide negotiating framework with the province's teachers' unions with

5170-825: The McGuinty government of breaking its promise to cap classroom sizes. Kennedy responded that some flexibility is always necessary, and that any reasonable person would regard a 90–95% success rate as a promise kept. Also in June 2005, two cabinet ministers in McGuinty's government were scrutinized for alleged improprieties. Joseph Cordiano faced calls for his resignation after revelations that he billed $ 17,000 for personal expenses to his riding association. These expenses included meals in Paris and Milan , and theatre tickets in London . Cordiano insisted that these expenses were related to riding activities, and refused to resign. McGuinty defended Cordiano in public, claiming he had "complete confidence" in

5280-407: The McGuinty government put forward a throne speech in October reiterating their priorities of health, education and economic prosperity. The speech outlined plans to offer the first money-back guarantee on a public service: a refund for people who do not receive a birth certificate within 15 days of applying on-line. On November 18, 2005, it was announced that Ontario's Drive Clean emissions program

5390-512: The Ontario election to be a wild card three-way race between the Liberals, PCs and NDP, the first two weeks of the campaign saw the polls stabilize into a narrow two-party race between Wynne's Liberals and Tim Hudak's PCs, with the NDP falling into a distant third. The first public poll of the campaign, conducted by Forum Research, showed the PCs ahead in the popular vote, but the Liberals likely on track to retain

5500-496: The Progressive Conservative government. In 2001, Wynne helped pass a measure encouraging public schools to purchase teaching materials reflecting the presence of gay and lesbian parents in modern society. In December 2001, she ran for chair of the school board but was defeated by Donna Cansfield in a 12–10 vote. Wynne was a co-founder with John Sewell of Citizens for Local Democracy, a grassroots group that opposed

5610-627: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCPP) had erred in including his name in the search warrant. In striking Sorbara's name from the warrant, Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Ontario Superior Court said there were inadequate grounds for police to include him in the first place. The judge was particularly scathing in his review of the RCMP probe of Sorbara. On May 23, 2006, Sorbara was reinstated as Minister of Finance, while Duncan returned to

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5720-591: The Sorbara Group offices — owned by Greg Sorbara and his brothers — as part of the ongoing Royal Group Technologies investigation. The warrant stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe Sorbara and other directors of Royal Group defrauded the company and shareholders when they bought land in Brampton, that was owned by a subsidiary of the Sorbara Group. Sorbara initially resisted opposition calls for him to step down, then resigned as Minister of Finance

5830-622: The Toronto Parent Network) which supports improvements in the province's public education system and has participated in numerous other community endeavours. Prior to her coming out as a lesbian at age 37 she was married to Phil Cowperthwaite, with whom she had three children. She now lives with her second spouse, Jane Rounthwaite, whom Wynne has stated is to be referred to as her "partner" (rather than "wife"). They were married in July 2005 at Fairlawn Avenue United Church in Toronto. Wynne

5940-580: The administration of grade school and post-secondary education was largely marked by labour disruptions and teacher strikes. Wynne immediately started new collective bargaining negotiations with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) after a year of labour distress that had culminated in the Putting Students First Act, 2012 , which had suspended collective bargaining rights, imposed contracts on teachers and suspended

6050-435: The auditor general released their report on the gas plants in October 2013, suggesting the cancellation of both gas plants could cost taxpayers as much as $ 1.1 billion. After the report was released by the auditor general, Wynne admitted the gas plant relocations "shouldn't have happened". She apologized, vowing to ensure that "this doesn't happen again". In February 2013, the legislative committee that had been investigating

6160-558: The budget a lavish expenditure in order to gain support from the New Democratic Party (NDP) for the budget. PC leader Tim Hudak had earlier said that he would not support the budget regardless of its contents. He said, "the sooner there's a change in government, the better it is to give hope to people in the province who have lost hope." On June 11, 2013, the budget passed by a vote of 64–36 with NDP support and all 36 PC members voting against it. Kathleen Wynne's involvement with

6270-510: The budget. On April 21, 2015, Wynne announced that the provincial government would foot the entire bill for the construction of the Hurontario–Main LRT in the Region of Peel , to connect Mississauga with Brampton , a major infrastructure project in one of the fastest growing regions of the province. On May 26, 2015, Wynne announced that the provincial government would fund 100 per cent of

6380-423: The campaign. She began to eat away at the NDP's traditional left-wing support, especially in and around Toronto, and the controversies over some of Hudak's economic policies hurt him among centrist voters across the province. Furthermore, Wynne ran hard near the end of the campaign on the premise that in a close election, the Liberals were the only party who were in a position to defeat the PCs. The Liberals ran ads in

6490-585: The costs to build a LRT system in Hamilton . Wynne announced that $ 1 billion would be allocated for the project, with construction slated to get underway in 2019. Wynne also announced the extension of the Lakeshore GO Line from downtown Hamilton to a new station at Centennial Parkway in Stoney Creek. The 2016 budget projected $ 133.9 billion in spending resulting in a deficit of $ 4.3 billion for 2016–17, with

6600-574: The decision to cancel the plants, and had learned of the decision to cancel the plants through media reports. In June 2013, opposition parties called on the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to open an investigation into new allegations that staffers in Premier McGuinty's office had deleted emails regarding the gas plants. On June 7, the OPP launched a criminal investigation into the deletion of

6710-571: The emails, after the Privacy Commissioner ruled that the gas plant emails were illegally deleted. In April 2014, OPP investigators stated that there was no evidence that the premier had been involved in the deletion of emails related to the gas plants, and that the Premier was not the subject of their investigation, which was instead focused on staffers and bureaucrats who had worked in Premier McGuinty's office. On March 24, 2014, Wynne introduced

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6820-498: The federal government, while those in Quebec receive $ 3,800. Premier McGuinty and Prime Minister Paul Martin debated the Ontario government's accusations throughout the spring of 2005. McGuinty and Martin finally met in May and, following a nine-hour meeting, McGuinty received a commitment for $ 5.75 billion, spread out over five years, including new money for immigrant settlement, training for

6930-466: The final week of the campaign, Wynne led most public opinion polls, some of which projected a majority Liberal government on June 12, though the final polls of the campaign predicted different results. One pollster, Ipsos Reid, still projected on the final day of the campaign that the PCs were ahead among likely voters, and that the NDP and Liberals were tied at around 30 per cent. On election day, Wynne's Liberals led province-wide all night as they captured

7040-448: The final weeks of the campaign warning voters that a vote for the NDP would be a vote for the PCs as it would further divide the anti-Hudak vote (who was quite unpopular among a broad swath of Ontario voters). This tactic was similar to what the federal Liberals were successful at doing during the 2004 federal election , where the party pushed hard for strategic voting to stop the federal Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper. In fact, many of

7150-408: The first ballot results were announced Wynne received 597 votes, trailing Pupatello by only two votes. Eric Hoskins received the fewest votes of the six candidates and was therefore eliminated. Hoskins threw his support behind Wynne while fourth-place candidate Harinder Takhar announced he was endorsing Pupatello. On the second ballot, Pupatello's lead grew to 67 votes over Wynne. Takhar, whose name

7260-561: The first openly gay premier in Canada. Wynne was first elected to public office as a trustee for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in 2000. She subsequently was elected to the Ontario Legislature in 2003. Under Premier Dalton McGuinty , she served in various cabinet posts, until resigning to run in the Liberal leadership race when McGuinty announced his resignation in 2012. Wynne replaced McGuinty as premier and leader of

7370-495: The gas plants cancellation prior to McGuinty's resignation and prorogation of the legislature in October resumed its work. Wynne called for the release of all documents related to the decision to the legislature's Justice Committee and agreed to testify before the committee, while continuing to deny that she was involved in the decision to cancel the plants. Appearing before the committee in April 2013, Wynne testified she had had no role in

7480-486: The government's total shares. Wynne used approximately four billion dollars of the nine billion dollars which the shares were sold for to pay off government debt before the next election, and the other five billion dollars to the Trillium Trust to improve transit lines and to build infrastructure. Wynne faced major backlash for the privatization of Hydro One. Approximately 67 per cent of Ontario citizens did not agree with

7590-406: The legislature, he was named a senior fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs . McGuinty was born in Ottawa , Ontario. His parents are politician and professor Dalton McGuinty Sr. and full-time nurse Elizabeth (Pexton) McGuinty. The son of a Francophone mother and an Anglophone father, McGuinty is bilingual . McGuinty is the second Roman Catholic to hold

7700-427: The minister of education the power to audit school boards if disclosure of spending was not provided. Wynne established the Premier's Youth Advisory Council to advise the premier on issues facing youth. In February 2015, her government introduced changes to the sex education curriculum, which has not been updated since 1998, in public schools. However, these changes were met with controversy and criticism not only by

7810-571: The minister. At around the same time, Minister of Transportation Harinder Takhar was accused of a conflict-of-interest, after visiting a company that he owned in a blind trust. Takhar acknowledged that he made "an error in judgement", but denied any wrongdoing. Both Cordiano and Takhar were retained in their portfolios following a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005. The matter was sent to the provincial ethics commissioner, who on January 4, 2006, ruled that Takhar had violated Ontario's integrity guidelines by not maintaining an arms length relationship with

7920-473: The official opposition amid a provincial swing from the NDP to the Progressive Conservatives. McGuinty's supporters in his 1996 leadership bid included John Manley , Murray Elston , and Bob Chiarelli . He was elected leader at the party's convention December in a surprise victory over front-runner Gerard Kennedy . Kennedy, a former head of Toronto 's Daily Bread food bank , was popular on

8030-438: The opposition parties but among parents and conservatives; in one instance, some schools were empty as some parents pulled their children out in protest of these changes. In her final year as premier, Wynne also introduced back to work legislation for two different strikes by post-secondary educators, where the unions complained of precarious working conditions and predatory wages, in some cases caused by chronic under-funding from

8140-637: The polls from his attempts to move the PC Party to the centre. The 2003 North America blackout gave Eves increased exposure and rallied some support for his party. He called an election immediately after the blackout, and polling showed that the previous Liberal lead had narrowed to a tie in the first week. The rise in Tory support was short-lived. The Liberals took a commanding lead in the campaign's second week, and remained in that position until election day. The Progressive Conservative government accidentally distributed

8250-533: The popular vote. Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on October 15, 2012, that he would resign as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and premier of the province once his successor was chosen. On November 2, 2012, Wynne resigned her cabinet post and three days later launched her bid for the leadership of the party . Wynne was seen as having the strongest on-the-ground organization among the seven candidates, and along with former MPP Sandra Pupatello , and

8360-510: The premiership. His father is Irish , and his mother is English and French Canadian . His maternal grandfather immigrated to Canada from England . He has nine brothers and sisters. His younger brother David has represented the riding of Ottawa South in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. He is an alumnus of St. Patrick's High School in Ottawa, earning a B.Sc. in biology from McMaster University . He then earned his LL.B from

8470-545: The privatization, and her approval rating dropped to 14 per cent, the lowest of any premier in Ontario's history. On March 21, 2013, Wynne introduced her government's first budget with measures that included a $ 295 million investment into a youth jobs strategy to help tackle the high youth unemployment rate, reducing auto insurance rates by 15 per cent to save motorists $ 225 a year, $ 260 million investment to boost home care health services for 46,000 seniors, $ 45 million investment into an Ontario Music Fund to help Ontario musicians,

8580-451: The progressive wing of the party, while McGuinty built his core support on its establishment and pro-business right-wing. McGuinty was fourth on the first and second ballots, closely behind Dwight Duncan . He then overtook Duncan and Joe Cordiano on the third and fourth ballots, respectively, receiving the support of their delegates to win on the fifth ballot over Kennedy. Critics called McGuinty "Harris Lite", but his supporters argued that

8690-437: The province into a general election. The day after the budget was read, Wynne went to the lieutenant governor to dissolve the Legislature and trigger an election, rather than wait for her budget to be voted down on the floor of the Legislature. The election was called for June 12, 2014, extending the campaign to five weeks (rather than the minimum of 29 days) to avoid a conflict with a Jewish holiday. While pundits had predicted

8800-480: The province's finances. Peters revealed that the out-going Progressive Conservative government had left a hidden deficit of at least $ 5.6 billion. The Conservatives questioned Peters' methodology, and suggested that the McGuinty government was overstating the province's financial difficulties to break or delay some of its campaign spending promises. McGuinty took office as Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs on October 23, 2003. The new government called

8910-546: The provinces receive new federal funding in exchange for providing reports on such things as waiting times for surgeries. McGuinty's government ended the year by releasing "Progress Report 2004: Getting Results for Ontario". This work focused on health, education, and economic growth, and set targets to achieve before the next election (including reducing the high school drop out rate, increasing participation in post-secondary education and reducing wait times for specific medical procedures). The McGuinty government brought forward

9020-456: The provincial government. Her legislation to force an end to the strikes succeeded in the first case but failed in the second. On January 30, 2014, Wynne announced her government increased the minimum wage from $ 10.25 to $ 11 after a four-year freeze on the rate and introduced legislation to ensure future increases to the minimum wage to keep up with the CPI (Consumer Price Index). Wynne also announced

9130-672: The regimental colours and conducted a ceremony of remembrance for Canada’s fallen soldiers. The Hindu Priest did a Shanti Paath for all the soldiers who sacrificed their life for Freedom in both world wars. The Centre maintains a link with the Consulate General of India. The consulate has held numerous events at the Hindu Heritage Centre such as consular camps for services such as pensioner life certificates, and other general briefing, including consultation and approval of documents for various services. Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. OOnt (born July 19, 1955)

9240-676: The result that most school boards settled their contracts without lost teaching time. Finally, Management Board Chair Gerry Phillips closed a deal with the provincial government's own civil service union, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union . On June 22, 2005, Education Minister Gerard Kennedy announced that 90–95% of Ontario students between junior kindergarten and Grade Three would be in classes of twenty students or fewer by 2007. He also acknowledged that extenuating circumstances may require slightly larger classes in some cases. Opposition critic Frank Klees accused

9350-572: The right to strike. On April 8, 2014, the Wynne government reached a new bargaining agreement with the teachers unions and passed the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014 , which restored their bargaining rights, the right to strike, kept the wage freeze on teachers, eliminated the retirement gratuity for teachers, and assigned her provincial government control over funding for schools and programs. The legislation also gave

9460-499: The same day. He consistently denied any knowledge of the specific allegations against him, and sued the RCMP to either clarify their case against him or withdraw their investigation. Following Sorbara's resignation, Dwight Duncan was appointed as Minister of Finance and Chair of the Management Board. Donna Cansfield took over Duncan's responsibility as Minister of Energy and Jim Bradley as Government House Leader. The next day,

9570-616: The time, Gerry Phillips , had predicted that the Tories' projected balanced budget would in fact result in a $ 5 billion deficit in a meeting of the Standing Committee of Estimates of the Legislature on June 3, 2003. Liberal MPP Monte Kwinter also predicted a $ 5 billion deficit. As a result, the Liberals dropped badly in polls and McGuinty fell behind Ernie Eves in the category of preferred premier. The Ontario Health Premium also became

9680-548: The top campaign operatives during Wynne's election worked on the 2004 federal Liberal campaign. Wynne's Liberals were only endorsed by one major newspaper, the Toronto Star , while most other news organizations endorsed the Hudak PCs. There was a controversy that emerged regarding The Globe and Mail 's election endorsement. According to an online leak, a majority of the members of the editorial board were prepared to endorse

9790-401: The total invested by Honda. By the end of 2015, the unemployment rate in Ontario had become lower than the national average. The Conference Board of Canada also found that Ontario's economy had the second strongest growth rate of all provinces in 2015 behind British Columbia (BC), and was projected to be in the top 3 for 2016 among BC and Manitoba . Throughout the spring of 2014, there

9900-535: The trustee appointed to run his blind trust. McGuinty has defended his minister, and has rejected calls to remove him from cabinet, even after the Integrity Commissioner issued his finding. In the same cabinet shuffle, Premier McGuinty withdrew from the Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio and became the province's first Minister of Research and Innovation . On October 11, 2005, police raided

10010-479: The unemployed, federal delivery of meat inspection and corporate tax collection and per capita funding for post-secondary education. In late April 2005, McGuinty announced the closure of the Lakeview coal-fired generating station, one of Ontario's largest polluters. Although the McGuinty government had promised to close all coal-burning plants by 2007, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announced on June 14, 2005, that this

10120-589: The views of others ... In the lead-up to the last election the debate went beyond differences over our approach and at times became personal. The lawsuit between us, and the comments that led to it, did not reflect our view that the other is in fact a great mother/father, an honourable person and a dedicated public servant." The statement avoided any apology or placement of blame. In 2016, Kathleen Wynne decided to sell 30 per cent of Hydro One , an electric utility Crown corporation , to private owners. The owners are free to increase prices and sell up to 60 per cent of

10230-524: The writs being dropped for the election. Kathleen Wynne, under the advice of Ed Clark , partially privatized Hydro One and reformed the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario 's Liquor Licence Act to allow the sale of six-packs of beer in Ontario grocery stores, the latter of which was the result of a Toronto Star exclusive on the anti-competitive practices made by the privately owned Beer Store . Wynne also put transit expansion front and centre in

10340-444: Was $ 296.1 billion and was expected to rise to $ 350 billion by 2020–21. In June 2016, a Forum Research Poll reported that Wynne's approval rating had dropped from a high of 40 per cent to 18 per cent. In September 2016, a Forum Research poll reported that the Progressive Conservatives enjoyed 45 per cent support. Wynne's Liberals enjoyed 25 per cent support, slightly ahead of the provincial New Democrats at 23 per cent. In March 2017

10450-591: Was Premier." In it, the Liberals projected a $ 12.5 billion deficit for the 2014-15 fiscal year, with an attempt to eliminate the deficit by 2017–18. The budget included wage increases for home care and child care workers, a $ 29 billion transportation plan to fund roads, bridges, and transit around the province, an Ontario Registered Pension Plan, which would act as a supplement to the Canada Pension Plan, higher taxes on high-income earners, and increased fees for cigarettes and airplane fuel, among others. The budget

10560-555: Was a large infusion of new money into hospitals specifically to shorten wait times in key areas: knee and hip replacements, cancer treatment, cardiac treatment, cataracts, and MRI and CT scans. The government also brought in free immunizations for children, 150 new Family Health Teams to improve access to physicians, almost 100,000 new home care spaces for Ontario's elderly, almost 4,000 new long-term care beds, and $ 200 million more to improve public health and fight potential outbreaks like SARS and West Nile fever . To pay for this plan,

10670-678: Was a member of the discipline committee of the Ontario Society of Psychotherapists from 1997 to 2000. Wynne served as president of the Toronto Institute of Human Relations. In 1996, she helped found Citizens for Local Democracy, which opposed the amalgamation of Metropolitan Toronto undertaken by the Progressive Conservative (PC) government of Premier Mike Harris . She founded the Metro Parent Network (later renamed

10780-688: Was a musician who grew up in Nassau in the Bahamas before immigrating to Canada. Wynne grew up in Richmond Hill, Ontario . She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Queen's University and a Master of Arts degree in linguistics from the University of Toronto . She achieved a Master of Education degree in adult education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (University of Toronto). She

10890-461: Was able to maintain his party's standing in the polls in the last stages, preventing Eves from making up ground during the leader's debate. On election day, the Liberal were elected to a majority government , winning 72 of the Ontario Legislature's 103 seats. The PC Party fell to 24 seats, while the NDP lost official party status in the legislature. Following the election, the McGuinty government asked former Provincial Auditor Erik Peters to examine

11000-457: Was also believed to have the most support among ex officio delegates, which are MPPs, MPs (members of parliament), defeated candidates and other Liberal insiders, and was expected to increase her lead over Wynne on the first ballot at the convention. At the convention on January 26, 2013, she used her speech to discuss repairing relations with teachers and working with opposition parties, and took aim at her main rival Pupatello, who did not hold

11110-516: Was also criticized by some. McGuinty's performance in the early weeks of the 1999 provincial election was widely criticized in the media, and he was generally regarded as having performed poorly in the election's only leaders' debate. In response to a question by late CITY-TV journalist Colin Vaughan , he described Mike Harris as a "thug" who is lying to the people of Ontario. McGuinty's Liberals won support from progressive voters who had supported

11220-399: Was contingent on NDP support, as the PCs had already indicated that they would vote against it. While NDP leader, Andrea Horwath , had, during the last two budget negotiations in 2012 and 2013, spent some time reviewing the budget and talking to her supporters before revealing how her party would vote, this time she almost immediately announced the NDP would not support the budget, thus sending

11330-440: Was left on the second ballot, finished last and was eliminated from the race. Gerard Kennedy and Charles Sousa , who finished third and fourth respectively, withdrew from the race and both endorsed Wynne. With the support of both Kennedy and Sousa, her win was all but guaranteed on the third ballot. When the results of that ballot were announced Wynne received 57 per cent of the votes compared to 43 per cent for Pupatello. Wynne

11440-687: Was no longer possible, and that the Nanticoke Coal Plant will not close until 2009. On May 11, 2005, the McGuinty Liberals delivered their second budget, built around the "Reaching Higher" plan for education. The second year of the four-year plan, this budget was designed to tackle to so-called "education deficit". Investing $ 6.2 billion over the next four years, the budget included the largest investment in higher education in forty years. It also increased accessibility for low-income students, expanded medical school spaces, and invested in new faculty, graduate scholarships and research. The budget also broke

11550-508: Was one of the front runners. She had the most supporters running to be delegates at the convention, with 1,533, and was the only candidate to have supporters in place in all 107 of the province's ridings. Days before members were to begin electing delegates Glen Murray announced he was exiting the leadership race and endorsed Wynne's candidacy. Despite running with the most supporters for delegate positions Wynne placed second, with 468 delegates, behind Pupatello who had 509 delegates. Pupatello

11660-424: Was seen as moving the responsibility for safety away from owners and over toward the animals. People who owned pitbulls previous to the ban were allowed to keep them, muzzled in public and sterilized to prevent them from breeding. The "importing" and breeding of pitbulls in Ontario was banned, while all pitbulls being held in shelters were euthanized or sent to research facilities. During early 2005, McGuinty called

11770-477: Was succeeded by Ottawa South MPP John Fraser as interim party leader. Wynne formally resigned as premier on June 29, 2018. She held her seat in the Legislative Assembly and continued to sit as an MPP until 2022 when she did not contest the provincial election and retired from politics. Kathleen O'Day Wynne was born on May 21, 1953, in Richmond Hill , to Dr. John B. Wynne and Patsy O'Day. Her mother

11880-545: Was sworn in as premier of Ontario on February 11, 2013, becoming the province's first female premier, and the first premier in Canada to be openly gay . After four months of prorogation of the legislature, Wynne resumed the house on February 17, 2013. After being sworn in as premier, Wynne quickly became embroiled in the Ontario power plant scandal , which had developed under the administration of her predecessor, Premier Dalton McGuinty . Opposition parties accused Wynne of having

11990-406: Was to be expanded rather than scrapped. The 2006 budget was the third year of the four-year plan, and focused on the "infrastructure deficit". The centrepiece was MoveOntario, a $ 1.2 billion investment in transportation infrastructure. $ 400 million was invested to build and repair roads and bridges in municipalities across Ontario. On May 18, 2006, a judge agreed with Greg Sorbara's contention that

12100-491: Was widespread speculation that a general election would be triggered upon the presentation of the 2014–15 provincial budget, due to recent gains in by-elections by the NDP, whose support was required for the Liberal government's budget to pass. On May 1, 2014, the Wynne government handed down its budget, which was described as "NDP-friendly" by many pundits. One Queen's Park columnist called the budget, "the most progressive one this province has seen since [former NDP leader] Bob Rae

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