John O'Toole

For the American television writer and producer, see John O'Toole (producer). For the English footballer, see John-Joe O'Toole.

John O'Toole
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Durham (Durham East 1995—1999)
In office June 8, 1995 – June 13, 2014
Preceded by	Gord Mills
Succeeded by	Granville Anderson
Personal details
Born	1944 (age 79–80) Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Children	Erin
Residence	Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Business manager

John O'Toole (born c. 1944) is a retired politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014, representing the riding of Durham for the Progressive Conservative Party.

Background

O'Toole's ancestors arrived in Canada in 1845, fleeing the Irish potato famine. He was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. After graduation he worked in a variety of positions for General Motors of Canada in Ontario and Quebec. With his English-born late wife, Molly (Hall), his son is politician Erin O'Toole, Leader of the Conservative Party, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on November 26, 2012, to represent the federal riding of Durham.

Politics

He was elected as a school trustee in the Peterborough-Victoria-Northumberland district in 1982, and in the Newcastle district in 1988. In 1991, O'Toole was elected as a municipal councillor in Bowmanville, Ontario and in 1994, he was elected as councillor for Durham Region.

O'Toole scored a significant victory over incumbent New Democrat Gord Mills in the provincial election of 1995, scoring 62% of the popular vote. He was re-elected in the 1999 election, again without difficulty. He was appointed as parliamentary assistant to several ministers including Consumer and Commercial Relations, Finance, and Health and Long-Term Care.

The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 2003 provincial election, although O'Toole managed to retain his own riding. In 2004, O'Toole endorsed John Tory's successful bid to lead the Progressive Conservative party (even though his riding is adjacent to that of Tory's main rival, Jim Flaherty).

In January 2014, he announced that he wouldn't be running for re-election. He said, "This has not been an easy decision... Nevertheless, I feel this is the right time to open a new chapter in my life."

In September 2014, O'Toole announced his intentions to run for mayor of Clarington in the 2014 municipal election. He officially filed his papers just before the deadline on September 2, 2014. On October 27, he was defeated by incumbent mayor Adrian Foster by 1,362 votes.

Electoral record

2014 Clarington Municipal Election, Mayor of Clarington
Candidate	Votes	%
Adrian Foster	10,093	53.62
John O'Toole	8,731	46.38
Total	18,824	100.00

Ontario general election, 2011: Durham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	John O'Toole	22,393	49.07	+2.14
	Liberal	Betty Somerville	13,394	29.35	−2.83
	New Democratic	James Terry	8,027	17.59	+5.53
	Green	Edward Yaghledjian	1,221	2.68	−6.15
	Libertarian	Blaize Barnicoat	424	0.93
	Freedom	David Strutt	172	0.38
Total valid votes			45,631	100.0	−0.41
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			173	0.38	−0.14
Turnout			45,804	49.74	−4.60
Eligible Voters			92,906		+9.62
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+2.49
Source(s)

Ontario general election, 2007: Durham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	John O'Toole	21,515	46.96	−0.14
	Liberal	Betty Somerville	14,730	32.15	−4.61
	New Democratic	Catherine Robinson	5,521	12.05	−0.36
	Green	June Davies	4,053	8.85	+6.51
Total valid votes			45,819	100.0	−9.39
Total Rejected Ballots			240	0.52	−0.22
Voter Turnout			46,059	54.34	−4.06
Eligible Voters			84,755		−2.85
Sources:

Ontario general election, 2003: Durham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	John O'Toole	23,814	47.09	−9.98
	Liberal	Garry Minnie	18,590	36.76	+4.64
	New Democratic	Teresa Williams	6,274	12.41	+3.15
	Green	Gordon H. Macdonald	1,183	2.34	+1.32
	Freedom	Cathy McKeever	707	1.40
Total valid votes			50,568	100.0	+10.55
Total Rejected Ballots			378	0.74	+0.19
Voter Turnout			50,946	58.40	−0.11
Eligible Voters			87,237		+10.98
Sources:

Ontario general election, 1999: Durham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	John O'Toole	26,103	57.07
	Liberal	Garry Minnie	14,694	32.12
	New Democratic	Jim Morrison	4,235	9.26
	Green	Gail Thompson	467	1.02
	Natural Law	Jacinthe Millaire	242	0.53
Total valid votes			45,741	100.0
Total Rejected Ballots			253	0.55
Voter Turnout			45,994	58.51
Eligible Voters			78,608
Sources:

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History