TORONTO – Glen Murray, the former mayor of Winnipeg and current MPP for Toronto Centre, has thrown his hat into the race to replace Dalton McGuinty as leader of the Liberal Party and Premier of Ontario.
Murray is the first politician to officially enter the race, beating fellow cabinet minister Kathleen Wynne’s announcement by a day.
With an extensive political background, Murray is sure to make an impact.
He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in an August 2010 by-election, replacing long-time Liberal MPP George Smitherman.
Murray was the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities until Saturday, when he resigned his cabinet position to enter the leadership race.
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As minister, Murray helped implement the much-lauded 30 per cent tuition rebate for post-secondary students in Ontario that survived criticisms from economist Don Drummond.
Prior to entering Ontario politics Murray was active in Winnipeg municipal politics. First elected as a city councillor in 1989, he served as mayor of the Manitoba capital from 1998 to 2004.
As mayor, Murray oversaw the 1999 Pan-American Games and, in conjunction with the mayors of other large Canadian cities, planned a bold but unsuccessful attempt to forge a “new deal” with provincial and federal governments for cities.
Murray also has a long history of championing human rights causes.
He led a successful effort to have sexual orientation included in the Manitoba Human Rights code, established Winnipeg’s first HIV/AIDS treatment clinic and was a founding member of the Canadian AIDS Society.
After leaving Winnipeg in 2004, Murray became a visiting fellow at the University of Toronto’s Massey College and in 2007 became President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, an organization focused on urban planning issues across Canada.
Murray is a native of Montreal and graduated from Concordia University’s School of Community and Public Affairs, where he majored in Urban Studies.
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