Independent candidates, 1995 Ontario provincial election
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Several independent candidates sought election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1995 Ontario provincial election. One such candidate, Peter North, was elected to the legislature. Information on these candidates may be found on this page.
It is possible that some of these candidates were members of unregistered political parties.
Independent candidates who took part in provincial by-elections between 1995 and 1999 are also listed on this page.
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[edit] Donato De Dominicis (Downsview)
De Dominicis was a fifty-four year old business owner. He called for job incentives for youth and safer neighbourhoods.[1] He received 572 votes (2.47%), finishing fourth against Liberal candidate Annamarie Castrilli.
[edit] Christine Wilson (Windsor—Sandwich)
Wilson is a longtime anti-poverty activist in Windsor. She challenged the New Democratic Party from the left in the 1995 election.
Her early life was marked by tragedy. She left her foster home at age fifteen to escape from an abusive situation, and was forced onto the streets for survival. She was able to attend St. Clair College at age seventeen after a welfare administrator waved the standard age requirements (Windsor Star, 30 March 2001). Wilson first gained local prominence after singing at a 1994 anti-poverty rally in Windsor (Windsor Star, 3 December 1994).
Wilson was 38 years old at the time of the provincial election. She was unemployed and on a disability pension, and was a volunteer at the Downtown Mission. She was also active in Windsor Coalition Against Poverty and the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice. She opposed cuts to welfare payments, and argued that the city's casino revenues should be used to improve the city's bus system. Wilson was quoted as saying, "I believe as an independent we are free to vote as people ask us to vote. Parties constrict the way we (MPs) vote and as an independent I can't be quieted by a party". (Windsor Star, 8 May 1995)
She received 410 votes (1.62%), finishing fifth against Liberal candidate Sandra Pupatello.
Wilson spoke out against the province's decision to lift rent controls in 1996, referring to the decision as a "moral crime" (Windsor Star, 7 September 1996). She became the administrator of Windsor Essex Low Income Families Together (WELIFT) (Windsor Star, 24 August 1998), and the city's Street Help program. In recent years, Street Help has suffered financial difficulties (Windsor Star, 22 December 2004).
Wilson campaigned for the Windsor City Council in 2000, and finished fifth in Ward Three with 1,361 votes.
[edit] post-election
[edit] David Milne (York South by-election, May 23, 1996)
Milne is not to be confused with the famous artist named David Milne, nor with a Canadian professor of the same name. It is not clear what ideology or cause Milne represented. He received 151 votes (0.76%), finishing fourth against Liberal candidate Gerard Kennedy.
