John Baird (Canadian politician)

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For other persons named John Baird, see John Baird (disambiguation).

Hon. John Russell Baird

President of the Treasury Board
Incumbent
Riding	Ottawa West—Nepean
In office since	2006 Federal Election
Preceded by	Marlene Catterall
Born	May 26, 1969 Nepean, Ontario
Residence	Nepean
Political party	Conservative
Profession(s)	Consultant, politician
Spouse	Single

John Russell Baird, PC, MP (born May 26, 1969) is a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for Ottawa West—Nepean in the 2006 federal election, and currently serves in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as President of the Treasury Board. He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Baird previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2005, and was a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Provincial politics 2.1 Government backbencher 2.2 Community and Social Services minister 2.2.1 1999 2.2.2 2000 2.2.2.1 Drug testing policy 2.2.3 2001-02 2.3 Minister responsible for Children 2.4 Chief Government Whip 2.5 Energy Minister 2.6 Opposition member 3 Federal politics 3.1 President of the Treasury Board 3.1.1 Accountability Act 3.1.2 Program cuts 3.1.3 2006 Ottawa municipal election 3.1.4 Other responsibilities 4 Trivia 5 Table of offices held 6 External links 7 Electoral record 8 Footnotes

[edit] Early life and career

Baird was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He was president of the youth wing of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in the late 1980s, and supported Dennis Timbrell during the latter's two unsuccessful bids to lead the provincial party in 1985. At sixteen years old, Baird was the youngest delegate to attend the party's January 1985 leadership convention.^[1] Baird has also indicated that he was charged with trespassing during the 1988 federal election, after he tried to question Ontario Premier David Peterson about free trade with the United States during a Liberal Party campaign stop in a Kingston shopping mall.^[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Studies from Queen's University in 1992.

Baird worked on the political staff of Perrin Beatty when he was federal Minister of National Defence in the early 1990s, and followed Beatty through subsequent cabinet shifts culminating in his becoming Secretary of State for External Affairs in the short-lived government of Kim Campbell. After the defeat of the federal Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 federal election, Baird worked as a lobbyist in Ottawa.^[3]

[edit] Provincial politics

[edit] Government backbencher

While Baird had previously been associated with moderate Tories such as Timbrell and Beatty, he became associated with the more right-wing ideology of the Mike Harris-led Ontario PC party upon entering provincial politics. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995, defeating Liberal incumbent Hans Daigeler in the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean. The youngest member of the legislature, Baird was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour on July 13, 1995.

Baird made a number of controversial statements during his early legislative career. When the mother of a severely disabled five-year-old child was ejected from the legislature in late 1995 for protesting the Harris government's cutbacks, Baird shouted "She's an OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) member" from his legislative seat as many as three times. Some considered this to be a cavalier insult, and his seatmate Chris Stockwell later recalled that he told Baird to "shut the ---- up" after the last such occurrence.^[4] Baird later said his comments were taken out of context, and that he was responding to a question from another MPP about the woman's employment. He offered an unconditional apology to anyone who took offense.^[5] On another occasion, during a televised debate in early 1996, Baird acknowledged that his government's privatization policies would likely result in lower wages for workers, but argued this would be balanced out by lower prices for consumers.^[6]

He became parliamentary assistant to Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet in April 1997, and was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Finance in November of the same year. As a backbencher, Baird proposed a bill officially naming Highway 416 as the "Veterans' Memorial Highway" and successfully steered its passage through the legislature.^[7] He was re-elected without difficulty in 1999.

[edit] Community and Social Services minister

Baird joined Premier Harris's cabinet on June 17, 1999 as Minister of Community and Social Services, where he became responsible for implementing and expanding Ontario's workfare program. As one of Harris's few bilingual ministers, he was also named as Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs.

[edit] 1999

Baird's first press conference as a cabinet minister was held in July 1999, and was intended to highlight the Harris government's record in reducing the provincial welfare rolls. Baird told reporters that 15,000 people had left the system since the introduction of workfare, and used this figure to argue that the government's policy was a success. He was unable to provide information on the number of workfare recipients who actually found jobs, however, and was unable to account for 40% of the welfare recipients who had been cut from the list.^[8] The press conference received generally negative reviews, and a number of media reports subsequently criticized both the principle and the implementation of workfare in Ontario.^[9]

A September 1999 report from Baird's department showed that 10,600 workfare placements had been created in the first six months of 1999, a figure which the Toronto Star observed was significantly lower than that which had been predicted by the government.^[10] Baird indicated that he would continue with the workfare program, and that the proportion of welfare recipients on workfare would be increased from 15% to 30%.^[11]

Baird came under criticism in late 1999 for refusing to cancel a five-year contract that had been signed between his department and the Bermuda-based private firm Andersen Consulting (later Accenture), worth up to $180 million. The contract, signed when Janet Ecker was Community and Social Services minister, entrusted Andersen with providing technological upgrades to the province's welfare management system. The arrangement was criticized by Auditor General Erik Peters, who observed that there was nothing in the contract to prevent Andersen from increasing its hourly rates.^[12] A published report in early 2000 indicated that Andersen was charging an average of $257 per hour for work that had previously been done by ministry staff at $51 per hour. Another report indicated that the firm had charged a total of $55 million to find roughly $66 million worth of savings.^[13] In response to opposition questions, Baird said that he would not terminate the contract but would endeavour to negotiate a lower rate.^[14]

Baird opposed the Harris government's plan to amalgamate the city of Ottawa with neighbouring municipalities, but was unable to prevent it from passing the legislature in 1999.^[15]

[edit] 2000

In January 2000, Baird unveiled a series of initiatives designed to reduce fraud and misuse in the welfare system, highlighted by the establishment of a welfare fraud hotline.^[16] Three months later, he announced that anyone convicted of welfare fraud would run the risk of being given a lifetime ban from the program.^[17] Critics of this approach suggested that the Harris government was overstating the extent of fraud in order to undermine public confidence in welfare programs.^[18] In mid-year, Baird announced that workfare placements had reached departmental quotas for most of the province.^[19]

Baird announced a $50 million program in May 2000 to help people with developmental disabilities become integrated into their communities.^[20] He later announced that the province was considering closing its remaining three institutions for the mentally handicapped as part of a larger strategy focusing on home care. Baird expressed concern about the physical condition of these institutions, saying that their residents "deserve better".^[21]

Baird's department produced a four-page brochure highlighting his government's record of welfare reform in the summer of 2000. The piece cost $780,000, and was criticized by opposition MPPs as a waste of government expenditures.^[22]

Later in the year, Baird announced that his department would spend $26 million on shelters and other funding for the homeless. This decision was praised as a positive step, although opposition members criticized the plan for not providing funds for investment in affordable housing.^[23]

[edit] Drug testing policy

Baird supported mandatory drug-testing for welfare recipients, and argued that those who refused such tests should be at risk of have their funding cut off. He introduced a policy initiative to this effect at a press conference in late 2000, in which he dramatically cast a box of syringes onto the floor and said that his department planned to "stop people from shooting their welfare cheque up their arm, and to help them shoot up the ladder of success". Baird acknowledged that his department did not have reliable figures on the number of welfare recipients abusing drugs, although he cited estimates of between 4% and 10%.^[24]

This proposal was met with criticism from several sources, and Ontario Human Rights Commissioner Keith Norton, himself a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, expressed concern that it could violate basic civil liberties.^[25] The tone of Baird's announcement was also criticized, with the Toronto Star accusing him of "doing his utmost [...] to incite fear and loathing of the poor, doubling the stigma the most vulnerable in society bear".^[26] When campaigning for federal office five years later, Baird acknowledged that the syringe event demonstrated "immature judgement".^[27]

Shortly after Baird's announcement, a government website operated by the Ministry of Community and Social Services launched a partisan attack against Liberal Party leader Dalton McGuinty for opposing the drug testing plan. The site claimed that McGuinty was "opposed to helping welfare recipients who are addicted to drugs". Baird denied that the message was partisan, and initially refused to apologize.^[28] The Speaker of the Ontario Legislature subsequently ruled that the site content was inappropriate, and it was removed with an apology from the government.^[29] Some aspects of the drug-testing plan were scaled back in 2001 due to legal complications.^[30]

[edit] 2001-02

In early 2001, Baird announced that his government's proposed drug-testing plan would be extended to identify welfare recipients addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol.^[31] He later announced that provincial welfare applicants would be required to pass a literacy test.^[32]

The Harris government's welfare policies were put under scrutiny in August 2001, when a pregnant woman in Sudbury died while serving a house arrest for welfare fraud. The woman had been confined to her apartment for three months, and reports indicated that her pregnancy was "exacerbated by sweltering conditions in her apartment". Responding to criticism, Baird said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case until a coroner's inquest was completed.^[33] He also defended his government's general policy on welfare issues.^[34] A subsequent inquest did not assign blame to the government for the woman's death, but recommended that lifetime bans for fraud be eliminated, and that adequate food, housing and medication be provided to anyone under house arrest.^[35]

[edit] Minister responsible for Children

Baird was given additional responsibilities as Minister responsible for Children on February 8, 2001. His department increased funding for child services early in the year, amid a significant increase in provincial demand.^[36] In November 2001, the provincial media obtained a confidential government report recommending 40-45% cuts in provincial child-care programs. Baird initially declined to comment on the document's contents, but he rejected its proposals in early 2002.^[37]

[edit] Chief Government Whip

Baird was the first cabinet minister to support Jim Flaherty's campaign to succeed Mike Harris as Progressive Conservative Party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election.^[38] The election was won by Flaherty's rival Ernie Eves, and early media reports suggested that Baird might be dropped from the new premier's cabinet in April 2002.^[39] He was not, but was demoted to the position of Chief Government Whip while remaining associate minister for Francophone Affairs. His replacement in Social Services was Brenda Elliott, who was from the more centrist wing of the Progressive Conservative Party.

[edit] Energy Minister

Baird was returned to a more prominent cabinet position in August 2002, when Eves separated the ministries of Environment and Energy and appointed him to head the latter department. As Energy Minister, Baird was initially entrusted with implementing the government's plan to sell off part of Ontario's Hydro One.^[40] A few months later, he became unexpectedly involved in two major and interrelated policy reversals.

The Energy ministry came under intense media scrutiny in late 2002, when hydro rates increased significantly in many parts of the province. Critics charged that the Progressive Conservative government's price deregulation policy (implemented before Baird became Energy Minister) was to blame, although Baird initially suggested that the rate increases resulted from an unusually hot summer.^[41] Rates remained high through the autumn, and the Eves government was forced to re-regulate the market in November by introducing a price cap.^[42] The government continued to support deregulation in principle, but maintained the cap for the remainder of its term in office. The second and more fundamental reversal occurred in late January 2003, when Premier Eves personally announced that Hydro One would remain under public control.^[43]

Baird was less combative as Energy Minister than he had been in Community and Social Services. The energy policies of the Eves government were very controversial, but opposition criticism was often directed at the premier rather than at Baird. Eves took a prominent interest in the Energy portfolio, and sometimes relegated Baird to a secondary role in policy announcements.

In early March 2003, Baird announced that the government might be forced to implement rolling blackouts as a response to energy shortages.^[44] He encouraged conservation in late summer 2003, following a province-wide blackout caused by a generator failure in America.^[45]

Baird was also able to demonstrate his sense of humour during this period. In November 2002, he was followed around the province by "Hydrozilla", a man in a giant lizard suit sent by the opposition New Democrats as a media stunt to highlight the NDP's view that deregulating electricity rates would create an economic monster for consumers. At one point, when he was certain no cameras were around, Baird gave Hydrozilla a bear hug.^[46]

Baird was given additional responsibilities as Government House Leader in June 2003, when Chris Stockwell was forced to resign after allegations that he had used government funds for a family vacation.^[47]

[edit] Opposition member

The Ontario Liberal Party won a majority government in the 2003 election, although Baird was comfortably re-elected in his own seat. Between 2003 and 2005, he served as Official Opposition critic for Finance, Culture, Francophone Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs and Health. He opposed the imposition of a health premium by Dalton McGuinty's government in 2004, and was a vocal critic of Speaker Alvin Curling, at one point describing his job performance as an "absolute disgrace".^[48]

Baird co-chaired Jim Flaherty's second campaign to lead the Progressive Conservative party in the 2004. Flaherty was again defeated, losing on the second count to the more centrist John Tory.^[49] Both Baird and Flaherty left provincial politics in 2005 to campaign for the federal House of Commons.

Although Baird was generally on the right-wing of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party, he expressed liberal views on some social issues. He supported same-sex marriage during the 2003 provincial election, and in 2005 helped the McGuinty government achieve quick passage of a provincial bill granting legal recognition to same-sex couples. Some Progressive Conservative MPPs openly criticized Baird on the latter occasion.^[50]

[edit] Federal politics

Baird supported a Canadian Alliance candidate in the 2000 federal election, and supported Stephen Harper's bid to lead the newly-formed Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership election.^[51] He was subsequently appointed as the Conservative Party's Ontario co-chair for the 2004 federal election.^[52] There were rumours that Baird would leave provincial politics to contest the 2004 election, but this did not happen.^[53] In 2005, he resigned his provincial seat to campaign federally for the Conservative Party.

Baird won a contested nomination battle for Ottawa West—Nepean Conservative nomination on May 5, 2005, defeating challengers Ed Mahfouz, Margret Kopala and Ade Olumide. John Pacheco, a leader in the social conservative movement against same-sex marriage, had also sought the nomination but was disqualified due to past comments he had made alleging that homosexual practices posed a health risk.^[54] Pacheco later campaigned in the election as an "Independent conservative", with the specific intent of being a spoiler against Baird. He argued that if his campaign caused Baird to lose, the Conservatives would "get the message that social conservatives are serious about their politics."^[55] Baird chose to ignore Pacheco entirely in at least one all-candidates debate.^[56]

Baird was elected, defeating Liberal candidate Lee Farnworth by about 5,000 votes. The Ottawa Citizen endorsed Baird in this campaign, and argued that his political judgement had improved considerably since his tenure as a Harris cabinet minister.^[57] In December 2006, Baird was one of thirteen Conservative MPs who voted against reopening the national debate on same-sex marriage.^[58]

[edit] President of the Treasury Board

Baird was appointed President of the Treasury Board on February 6, 2006, a position that places him in charge of the federal public service. Following his appointment, Baird said that one of his priorities would be to prevent government jobs from being relocated from Ottawa to other regions for political purposes.^[59] He also indicated that his government was not planning to introduce job cuts, or initiate a radical reduction in the size of government.^[60]

In June 2006, Baird announced the creation of a three-member panel to advise the federal government on grant and contribution programs and accountability issues. One of the members was Frances Lankin, a former New Democratic Party of Ontario cabinet minister.^[61]

Baird has played an aggressive role in Question Period since has appointment to cabinet, leading MP Garth Turner to describe him as Stephen Harper's "Commons pit bull".^[62]

[edit] Accountability Act

Baird introduced the Conservative government's first piece of legislation in April 2006. Known as the "Accountability Act", the bill includes 317 sections and promises significant reform to the structure of Canadian politics and government. Prime Minister Harper says that it will "put an end to the influence of money" in the Canadian government. The Accountability Act restricts the ability of former politicians and bureaucrats to become lobbyists, provides protection to whistle-blowers in the civil service, and gives the Auditor General of Canada new powers of oversight. It also limits individual donations to political parties and candidates to $1,000 per year (down from $5,200), creates nine new or revised positions to oversee the activities of public officials, and places crown corporations such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation under access-to-information legislation.^[63]

Some of the bill's provisions have been criticized by as insufficient or selectively reformist.^[64] Opposition MPs noted that several recommendations for access-to-information reform were left out of the bill, and instead sent to committee for further review. New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin suggested that this deferral could delay meaningful reform for the forseeable future.^[65] Martin later made a deal with Baird to give the bill an easy passage through committee, in return for the Conservatives accepting some NDP amendments.^[66]

Information Commissioner John Reid has criticized the new proposed powers for his department under the legislation, arguing that they will create unnecessary bureaucracy.^[67] Shortly after the Accountability Act was introduced to parliament, Reid issued an emergency report saying that the legislation would "increase the government's ability to cover up wrongdoing, shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to Canadians". He added that no government had ever put forward "a more retrograde and dangerous" set of proposals for dealing with access to information laws. Baird described Reid's criticisms as "excessive", saying that most of the commissioner's specific concerns were minor in nature.^[68] Representatives of Canada's business community also expressed concern about changes to disclosure laws, arguing that their commercial secrets could be exposed to competitors.^[69]

The bill passed the House of Commons on division in June 2006. The Canadian Senate approved it in December 2006 with several amendments, and sent it back to the Commons for further consideration. The amended act was approved by the Commons without debate on 8 December,^[70] and was signed into law four days later.

Shortly after the bill first passed the Commons, Baird acknowledged that the Conservatives may have unintentionally broken political financing laws by failing to report convention fees collected in 2005. He told a Senate committee that $1.7 million was left unreported, and that he did not realize it was an issue at the time.^[71] The matter is currently under review by the Chief Electoral Officer. The Conservatives quietly tabled an amendment to the Accountability Act in November 2006, stipulating that convention fees will not be counted as political contributions.^[72]

[edit] Program cuts

In May 2006, Baird was asked to find $1 billion in cuts for 2006 and 2007.^[73] On September 25,Baird announced cuts to sixty-six federal programs, including Status of Women, medicinal marijuana research, Canadian museums, adult literacy, youth employment and social development, and the British Columbia pine beetle program. One of the most controversial cuts was to the federal Court Challenges Program, which provides funding for Canadians to pursue rights cases in the Canadian court system.^[74] Critics charged that the cuts were ideological in nature, and will adversely affect the most vulnerable Canadians. Baird has argued that government funding will be redirected in a way that "reflects the priorities of working families" and that he "just [didn't] think it made sense for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge the government's own laws in court".^[75] In justifying cuts to adult literacy programs, Baird referenced his government's support for youth literacy and said, "We've got to fix the ground level problem and not be trying to do repair work after the fact".^[76]

[edit] 2006 Ottawa municipal election

In early October 2006, Baird's department reviewed a promised $200 million grant to the City of Ottawa's light-rail expansion project. Baird indicated that the government would keep the funding at least until the November election, but that the Council elected in November will have the final say. ^[77] The rail program subsequently became the primary issue in the 2006 Ottawa mayoral election, and Baird's opponents accused him of trying to influence its outcome.^[78] Baird and Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli have accused one another of lying about funding details of the project^[79], and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains has asked the Federal Ethics Commissioner to investigate Baird's decision to release details of the private contract. ^[80] The light-rail expansion was discontinued by the new council shortly after the election.^[81]

[edit] Other responsibilities

Baird holds ministerial responsibilities for the Toronto Harbourfront Centre and the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation.^[82] He developed a working relationship with Toronto Mayor David Miller soon after his appointment, and was present for the announcement of a comprehensive new waterfront strategy in June 2006. Ontario cabinet minister David Caplan has described Baird as a champion of waterfront renewal, and David Miller has described him as an ally of the city.^[83]

[edit] Trivia

• Baird is nicknamed "Rusty", a shortened version of his middle name.

[edit] Table of offices held

Members of the current Canadian Cabinet
Ambrose | Baird | Bernier | Blackburn | Cannon | Clement | Day | Emerson | Finley | Flaherty | Fortier | Harper | Hearn | LeBreton | Lunn | MacKay | Nicholson | O'Connor | Oda | Prentice | Skelton | Solberg | Strahl | Thompson | Toews | Van Loan | Verner

28th Ministry - Government of Stephen Harper
Cabinet Post
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Reg Alcock	President of the Treasury Board (2006–)	Incumbent

Provincial Government of Ernie Eves
Cabinet Post
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Chris Stockwell	Minister of Energy (2002–2003)	Dwight Duncan
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
carried over from the Harris ministry	Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs (2002–2003)	Madeleine Meilleur
Special Parliamentary Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
Chris Stockwell	Leader of the Government in the Ontario Legislature (2003)	Dwight Duncan
Gary Stewart	Chief Government Whip (2002)	Doug Galt
Provincial Government of Mike Harris
Cabinet Post
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Janet Ecker	Minister of Community and Social Services (1999–2002)	Brenda Elliott(*)
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
Margaret Marland	Minister responsible for Children (2001–2002)	Brenda Elliott(*)
Noble Villeneuve	Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs (1999–2002)	carried over to the Eves ministry

Preceded by Marlene Catterall	Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean 2006-	Succeeded by incumbent
Preceded by district created	MPP for Nepean—Carleton 1999-2005	Succeeded by Lisa MacLeod
Preceded by Hans Daigeler	MPP for Nepean 1995-1999	Succeeded by district abolished

• Elliott led a restructured Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services.

[edit] External links

• John Baird's official website

[edit] Electoral record

2006 federal election : Ottawa West—Nepean edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Conservative	John Baird	25,607	43.07	$73,697.79
	Liberal	Lee Farnworth	20,250	34.06	$71,412.19
	New Democratic Party	Marlene Rivier	9,626	16.19	$24,830.25
	Green	Neil Adair	2,941	4.95	$974.79
	Ind. (Independent Conservative)	John Pacheco	905	1.52	$16,671.51
	Canadian Action	Randy Bens	121	0.20	$620.00
Total valid votes			59,450	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			269
Turnout			59,719	71.38
Electors on the lists			83,662

2003 Ontario provincial election : Nepean—Carleton edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	(x)John Baird	31,662	54.06	$89,484.81
	Liberal	Rod Vanier	20,878	35.65	$59,182.48
	New Democratic Party	Liam McCarthy	3,828	6.54	$7,619.96
	Green	Matt Takach	2,200	3.76	$4,820.88
Total valid votes			58,568	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			263
Turnout			58,831	62.23
Electors on the lists			94,544

1999 Ontario provincial election : Nepean—Carleton edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	(x)John Baird	31,546	62.31	$60,150.37
	Liberal	Gord Hunter	16,809	33.20	$56,229.71
	New Democratic Party	Craig Parsons	1,647	3.25	$8,231.29
	Freedom	Bill Frampton	386	0.76	$0.00
	Natural Law Party	Brian E. Jackson	239	0.47	$0.00
Total valid votes			50,627	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			294
Turnout			50,921	61.02
Electors on the lists			83,448

1995 Ontario provincial election : Nepean edit
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	John Baird	17,510	49.66	$40,800.37
	Liberal	(x)Hans Daigeler	13,575	38.50	$45,021.83
	New Democratic Party	John Sullivan	3,274	9.29	$15,380.57
	Green	Frank de Jong	390	1.11	$0.00
	Natural Law Party	Brian E. Jackson	259	0.73	$0.00
	Freedom	Cathy Frampton	252	0.71	$2,307.70
Total valid votes			35,260	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			363
Turnout			35,623	64.97
Electors on the lists			54,832

All electoral information taken from Elections Canada and Elections Ontario. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

The 1999 and 2003 expenditure entries are taken from official candidate reports as listed by Elections Ontario. The figures cited are the Total Candidate's Campaign Expenses Subject to Limitation, and include transfers from constituency associations.

[edit] Footnotes