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
O'Toole in 2013
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Durham
(Durham East 1995—1999)
In office
June 8, 1995 – June 13, 2014
Preceded byGord Mills
Succeeded byGranville Anderson
Personal details
Born1944 (age 79–80)
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouses
  • Mollie Hall (d. 1982)
  • Peggy O'Toole
ChildrenErin O'Toole
Residence(s)Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
OccupationBusiness 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

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O'Toole is the son of Ruth Annabel (Driscoll) and Claire Michael O'Toole.[1] His ancestors arrived in Canada in 1845, fleeing the Great Famine of Ireland.[citation needed] He was born in Peterborough, Ontario, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. After graduation he worked in upper management for General Motors of Canada in Ontario and Quebec. With his English-born late wife, Molly (Hall),[2][3] his son is politician Erin O'Toole, former 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.[4]

Politics

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O'Toole 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 per cent of the popular vote.[5] He was re-elected in the 1999 election, again without difficulty.[6] 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.[7] 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 February 2014, O'Toole announced that he would not run for re-election.[8]

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.[9] On October 27, he was defeated by incumbent mayor Adrian Foster by 1,362 votes.[10]

Middle-finger incident

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On May 12, 2003, O'Toole was caught on camera in the Ontario Legislature making a middle-finger gesture at NDP House Leader Peter Kormos. He initially denied what he did to media, only to apologize minutes later after he learned it was caught on the legislature video broadcast feed.[11]

Electoral record

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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
2011 Ontario general election: 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)

"Summary of valid votes cast for each candidate – October 6, 2011 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Nov 18, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2014.

"Election Summary" ( XLS Spreadsheet). Elections Ontario. Oct 1, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
2007 Ontario general election: 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: "Summary of valid votes cast for each candidate – October 10, 2007 General Election" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Aug 14, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

"Statistical Summary — General Elections 2007" (PDF). Elections Ontario. May 8, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2014.

2003 Ontario general election: 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: "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate – General Election of October 2, 2003". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

"Statistical Summary — General Elections of October 2, 2003". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

1999 Ontario general election: 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: "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate – General Election June 3 1999". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

"Statistical Summary — General Election of June 3 1999". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 22, 2014.

References

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  1. ^ "Hansard Transcripts 1998-May-14 | Legislative Assembly of Ontario".
  2. ^ "CPC Interview Series: Erin O'Toole - V2".
  3. ^ "Erin O'Toole, Conservative MP for Durham | openparliament.ca".
  4. ^ "Conservatives reclaim Durham but in tough, three-way fight in Calgary Centre". Winnipeg Free Press. November 26, 2012.
  5. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  6. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  7. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  8. ^ "Two veteran Ontario politicians say they won't run in next election". CTV news. February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  9. ^ Andrews, Brad (September 12, 2014). "John O'Toole running for Clarington mayor". DurhamRegion.com. Metroland Media.
  10. ^ Andrews, Brad (October 12, 2014). "Clarington election results: Adrian Foster beats John O'Toole for mayor's seat". DurhamRegion.com. Metroland Media.
  11. ^ "Now MPP John O'Toole says he's sorry for rude gesture in legislature". Clarington Digital Newspaper Collection. Clarington Public Library / Clarington Museum and Archives. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
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