Rob Flack

The Honourable Rob Flack MPP
Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness
Incumbent
Assumed office June 6, 2024
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Lisa Thompson
Associate Minister of Housing
In office September 4, 2023 – June 6, 2024
Premier	Doug Ford
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
In office June 29, 2022 – September 4, 2023
Premier	Doug Ford
Member of Parliament for Elgin—Middlesex—London
Incumbent
Assumed office June 2, 2022
Preceded by	Jeff Yurek
Personal details
Born	June 26th, 1958 Guelph, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Denise Flack
Children	1
Residence	Dorchester
Profession	Businessman, politician, farmer

Robert James Flack MPP (born June 26, 1958) is a Canadian politician, businessman, and farmer who serves as Ontario's Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness. He represents the southwest Ontario riding of Elgin—Middlesex—London since his election in the 2022 provincial election. Before running for office, Flack was President and CEO of Masterfeeds, a Canadian national animal nutrition business with over 600 employees.

Background

Personal life

The son of two educators, Flack was born in Guelph and grew up in the small town of Streetsville, Ontario, now a part of Mississauga. As a teenager, Flack spent his summers on farms in the Ottawa Valley and near Streetsville, where he nurtured a lifelong passion for agriculture and agribusiness.

In 1979, Flack graduated from the University of Guelph with an Associate Diploma in Agriculture.

In 1994, he moved to Dorchester, Ontario, where he began raising a family with his wife, Denise, the lead singer of the Juno award-winning Canadian Celtic music band, Leahy. Their daughter, Emily, inherited Denise’s vocal talent and is a recording and performing artist as well as a teacher.

Business career

Following graduation Flack began his career as a sales trainee for Masterfeeds in 1979, where he would stay until retiring in 2022, almost 43 years later. He quickly moved up the ranks, becoming regional sales manager and later VP for Ontario Operations. In 1993 he was named President and CEO, and went on to lead the growth of the company by quadrupling revenues and expanding operations by building an extensive dealer network across Canada. He also served as a Group Vice President of Ag Processing Inc., a cooperative who owned Masterfeeds from 1992 to 2016.

Under his leadership, Masterfeeds became one of the largest animal nutrition companies in Canada, and in 2003 he was given the Golden Award by the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada for his leadership in the feed industry.

Political career

During the 2021 Canadian Federal Election, Flack was the Conservative candidate for the riding of London-West. Although defeated, Flack narrowed the margin of victory to almost 3,000 votes and won the most votes of any Conservative candidate in the city of London proper.

Following the resignation of former MPP, Jeff Yurek, Flack decided to seek the nomination as the PC candidate in his home riding of Elgin-Middlesex-London for the 2022 provincial election. He comfortably won the riding nomination and was subsequently elected to the Ontario Legislature as the MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London on June 2, 2022, with over 51% of the vote.

In government

After Flack’s successful election, Premier Doug Ford appointed him to serve as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. In this role, Flack conducted a series of stakeholder roundtables across the province to help inform the modernization of the Veterinarians Act. On May 30, 2023, Flack also introduced his first Private Member’s Bill in the Ontario Legislative Assembly, entitled ‘Harvest Season Road Safety Week Act, 2023,’ that proposed increased awareness and safety for farmers using large agricultural machinery during the fall harvest season.

On September 4, 2023, Flack was appointed to cabinet as the Associate Minister of Housing. In this role, he was given a specific mandate on modular and attainable housing. On June 6th, 2024, he was promoted and became Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness.

Personal life

Flack has been engaged in community service for over three decades. He has served in leadership roles with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, the London International Airport, the Ontario and Canadian Hereford Associations, and the St. Peter’s Seminary Foundation.

Flack is also the co-founder of the London Bishop’s dinner and the founder of the annual Charity Classic golf tournament which raises money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Southwestern Ontario, and Camp Trillium.

He maintains a family farm, where he raises Dorbay Polled Hereford cattle. In his spare time he golfs, spends time at the family cottage in the Ottawa Valley, and is an avid follower of ice hockey, having been a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs since childhood.

Parliamentary roles

• Member, Standing Committee on the Interior (August 10, 2022 – September 26, 2023)

Electoral record

2022 Ontario general election: Elgin—Middlesex—London
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Flack	22,369	51.08	−4.38	$91,316
	New Democratic	Andy Kroeker	7,973	18.21	−13.86	$40,974
	Liberal	Heather Jackson	7,618	17.40	+10.09	$24,316
	New Blue	Matt Millar	2,238	5.11		$11,355
	Green	Amanda Stark	2,043	4.67	+0.82	$3,085
	Ontario Party	Brigitte Belton	1,092	2.49		$7,006
	Freedom	Dave Plumb	261	0.60	+0.07	$0
	Consensus Ontario	Malichi Malé	197	0.45		$0
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,791	99.46	+0.44	$137,656
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			236	0.54	-0.44
Turnout			44,027	44.78	-14.67
Eligible voters			97,075
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+4.74
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

2021 Canadian federal election: London West
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Arielle Kayabaga	25,308	36.88	-6.08	$91,373.14
	Conservative	Rob Flack	22,273	32.46	+4.53	$114,644.53
	New Democratic	Shawna Lewkowitz	16,858	24.57	+3.22	$72,003.76
	People's	Mike McMullen	3,409	4.97	+3.33	$17,546.25
	Libertarian	Jacques Y. Boudreau	773	1.13	+0.4	$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			68,621	99.25
Total rejected ballots			517	0.74	+0.27
Turnout			69,138	68.49	-3.00
Eligible voters			100,947
	Liberal hold		Swing		-5.31
Source: Elections Canada