Jerry Ouellette

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Jerry J. Ouellette (born January 30, 1959 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1995, representing the riding of Oshawa for the Progressive Conservative Party. Ouellette was briefly a cabinet minister in the government of Ernie Eves.

Ouellette was educated at Durham College in Business Administration. Before entering public life, he managed a lumber operation and a national consulting firm. Ouellette is a former member of the Governing Board of Durham College, and a member of the Oshawa Naval Veterans Association.

Ouellette was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating incumbent New Democrat Allan Pilkey in Oshawa by about 8000 votes. Ouellette's victory was seen as indicative of a broader provincial shift, with a number of working-class ridings shifting from the NDP to the Tories. Ouellette was re-elected by about 7000 votes over Liberal Chris Topple in the 1999 provincial election, with the NDP falling to third place.

Ouellette supported Ernie Eves in the Progressive Conservative Party's 2002 leadership convention, and on April 15, 2002 was appointed Ontario Minister of Natural Resources. In this capacity, he was generally regarded as an ally of the province's hunting community (he appeared in a television ad for the National Rifle Association before joining cabinet) and was opposed by many environmentalists. His attempt to designate the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site as a "recreational reserve" was especially controversial.

In the 2003 provincial election, Ouellette faced a credible challenge from NDP candidate Sid Ryan, but retained his seat by 1019 votes. The Progressive Conservatives lost the election, and Ouellette moved to the opposition benches.

In 2004, he endorsed Frank Klees's unsuccessful bid to replace Eves as Tory leader.