TORONTO – After a week of speculation, Tory MPP Frank Klees officially bowed out of the race for the Speaker’s Chair.
He was the first Progressive Conservative MPP to throw his name into the race for speaker. His announcement raised the ire of fellow Progressive Conservatives as it would leave the Opposition with 53 seats – the same as the Liberal government.
Now that Klees has bowed out of the race, the Speaker’s Chair is being sought after by only Liberal MPPs.
Below we have profiled the MPP’s, who have expected to run for the Speaker’s Chair.
Donna Cansfield
Liberal MPP Donna Cansfield was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003. Since 2003, Cansfield has held cabinet positions as the Minister of Energy in 2005 before being reassigned in 2006 to the Minister of Transportation. After the 2007 election, Premier Dalton McGuinty appointed Cansfield as the Minister of Natural Resources where she served until the January 2010 cabinet shuffle. Before being elected to the Ontario legislature, Donna served for 15 years as the former Etobicoke Board of Education and Chair of the Toronto District School Board.
Dave Levac
As the Liberal MPP for Brant, Dave Levac was first elected in 1999. After his re-election in 2003, he was given the role of Chief Government Whip. In 2009, Levac sponsored a private member’s bill 147 – The Holodomor Memorial Day Act. As the first bill sponsored by three parties, bill 147 honours the victims of the Ukrainian Famine.
Kevin Flynn
Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn was first elected to the Ontario Legislature in 2003 for the riding of Oakville. One of Flynn’s major accomplishments was to reserve 1286 acres of land in North Oakville as public greenspace. Before joining provincial politics, Flynn served for 18 years as Oakville Town Councillor and as a Halton Regional Councillor.
David Zimmer
Liberal David Zimmer first assumed office in 2003 as the MPP for North York. Though he has held no cabinet positions, Zimmer assisted former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant with legislation that banned pit bulls in the Ontario. Prior running for provincial office, Zimmer was the head of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and spearheaded bringing the then-private corporation under the responsibility of the province.
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