Christopher Bentley

Hon. Christopher Bentley
MPP for London West
Incumbent
Assumed office October 2, 2003
Preceded by	Bob Wood
Minister of Energy
In office October 20, 2011 – Current
Preceded by	Brad Duguid
Personal details
Political party	Liberal
Wife=Wendy, two daughters

Christopher "Chris" Bentley is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and is the province's Minister of Energy in the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

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 professor at Western. He helped establish the university's Law School Careers Office, and has lectured at various continuing education courses. In 2000, he published a book entitled Criminal practice manual: A practical guide to handling criminal cases.

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. In January 2010 he was assigned the additional portfolio of Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. In October 2011 he won re-election, and was named Minister of Energy.

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

External links

• Chris Bentley's official MPP Site
• Chris Bentley's Ontario Liberal Party biography
• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History

Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty
Cabinet Posts (4)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Brad Duguid	Minister of Energy October 20, 2011
Michael Bryant	Attorney General of Ontario 2007-2011	John Gerretsen
Mary Anne Chambers	Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities 2005-2007	John Milloy
Brad Clark	Minister of Labour 2003-2005	Steve Peters