*** Welcome to piglix ***

Dalton McGuinty

Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty Crop 2.jpg
24th Premier of Ontario
In office
October 23, 2003 – February 11, 2013
Monarch Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman
David Onley
Preceded by Ernie Eves
Succeeded by Kathleen Wynne
Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
In office
December 1, 1996 – January 26, 2013
Preceded by Lyn McLeod
Succeeded by Kathleen Wynne
Leader of the Opposition
In office
December 1, 1996 – October 23, 2003
Preceded by Lyn McLeod
Succeeded by Ernie Eves
Ontario MPP
In office
September 6, 1990 – June 12, 2013
Preceded by Dalton McGuinty Sr.
Succeeded by John Fraser
Constituency Ottawa South
Personal details
Born Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr.
(1955-07-19) July 19, 1955 (age 61)
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Terri McGuinty
Alma mater McMaster University
University of Ottawa
Signature

Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., (born July 19, 1955) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 24th Premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearly 70 years earlier. In 2011, he became the first Liberal premier to secure a third consecutive term since Oliver Mowat (1872–1896), after his party was re-elected in that year's provincial election.

McGuinty was born in Ottawa. He studied science at university but ended up taking a law degree and practised law in Ottawa. His father was a professor and served as a provincial politician from 1987 to 1990. In 1990, his father suffered a heart attack while shovelling snow and died. A provincial election was called for later that year and McGuinty decided to run in his father's place. He was elected as a Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in an election in which the Liberal government was defeated unexpectedly by the opposition Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). He served in opposition for the next five years.

In 1995 he was re-elected but remained in opposition since the Progressive Conservatives won the election. The leader of the party, Lyn McLeod, was blamed for the loss as most polls pointed to a Liberal win. McLeod resigned as leader in 1996 and McGuinty put his name forward for the party's leadership election. Although Gerrard Kennedy was the front-runner in the race, McGuinty who came fourth on the first ballot ended up winning the leadership on the fifth ballot. Critics called McGuinty 'Harris-lite', but his supporters argued that a right-leaning leader like McGuinty was necessary to compete against the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) of Premier Mike Harris. McGuinty lost the 1999 election but won a resounding majority in 2003 when Ontario turned against the governing Tories.


...
Wikipedia

...