Christopher Bentley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hon. Christopher Bentley | |
|
MPP for London West
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 2, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Bob Wood |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 30, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Bryant |
|
|
|
| Political party | Liberal |
| Wife=Wendy, two daughters | |
Christopher "Chris" Bentley is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and is the province's Attorney General in the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Contents |
[edit] Academic endeavours
Bentley received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and obtained a law degree from the University of Toronto in 1979. Two years later, he obtained a Master's degree from Cambridge University in England. Bentley has practiced criminal and labour law, with the firm of Bentley & LeRoy LLP. In 1985, he was a founder and first chairperson of Neighbourhood Legal Services London & Middlesex, a legal clinic intended to assist low-income clients.
Since 1992, Bentley has worked as a part-time teacher at Western. He helped establish the university's Law School Careers Office, has lectured at various continuing education courses. In 2000, he published a book entitled Criminal practice manual: A practical guide to handling criminal cases.
[edit] Member of Provincial Parliament
Bentley first ran for the provincial legislature in the 2003 general election, contesting the riding of London West as a Liberal. He was successful, defeating incumbent maverick Progressive Conservative Bob Wood by over 10,000 votes. The Liberals won the election, and Bentley was appointed Ontario Minister of Labour on October 23, 2003. After a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005, he was named as Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
Bentley was re-elected in the 2007 election and was named Attorney General of Ontario shortly thereafter.
[edit] Electoral record
| Ontario general election, 2007 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Chris Bentley | 26,089 | 52.5 | +0.74 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Allison Graham | 12,085 | 24.3 | -6.81 | |
| New Democrat | Paul Pighin | 5,534 | 11.1 | -3.79 | |
| Green | Gary Brown | 5,181 | 10.4 | +8.78 | |
| Family Coalition | Andrew Jezierski | 266 | 0.5 | ||
| Freedom | Paul McKeever | 215 | 0.4 | -0.53 | |
| Independent | Mike Reynolds | 206 | 0.4 | ||
| Republican | Chris Gupta | 82 | 0.2 | ||
| Ontario general election, 2003 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Chris Bentley | 25,581 | 51.46 | +7.12 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Bob Wood | 15,463 | 31.11 | -13.81 | |
| New Democrat | Patti Dalton | 7,403 | 14.89 | +5.76 | |
| Green | Laura Wythe | 805 | 1.62 | +1.01 | |
| Freedom | Bill Frampton | 460 | 0.93 | +0.46 | |
[edit] External links
- Chris Bentley official MPP Site
- Chris Bentley Liberal party of Ontario biography
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario biography
| Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty | ||
| Cabinet Posts (3) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Michael Bryant | Attorney General of Ontario 2007- |
Incumbent |
| Mary Anne Chambers | Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities 2005-2007 |
John Milloy |
| Brad Clark | Minister of Labour 2003-2005 |
Steve Peters |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | ||
| Preceded by Bob Wood |
Member of Provincial Parliament for London West 2003–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
||||||||||||||
