Brian Coburn (politician)

Brian Coburn
Ontario MPP
In office 1999–2003
Preceded by	New riding
Succeeded by	Phil McNeely
Constituency	Ottawa—Orléans
Personal details
Born	1945 (age 71–72) Cumberland, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Occupation	Business Owner

Brian Coburn is not to be confused with the person of the same name who represents the same area on the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board

Brian Coburn (born c. 1945) is former politician in Ontario, Canada. He sat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2003, representing the riding of Carleton—Gloucester (renamed as Ottawa—Orléans) for the Progressive Conservative Party. Coburn was a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.

Coburn was educated at Brock University in St. Catharines. A small businessman, he served for ten years as the Mayor of Cumberland. Coburn also served on the Board of Governors for Algonquin College in Ottawa. As mayor, he earned a reputation for fiscal prudence.

Coburn was elected for Carleton—Gloucester in the provincial election of 1999, defeating Liberal Ren Danis by over 6,000 votes. This was considered a major upset. The riding had been solidly Liberal for many years, and most observers thought Danis would win an easy victory. Coburn's win may be attributed to personal popularity and a local issue: many residents saw construction workers from Quebec as a threat to local employment, and voted Tory to protest the situation.

After sitting as a backbencher for two years, Coburn was appointed to the government of Mike Harris as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on February 8, 2001.

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