David McGuinty

David McGuinty BA, LLB, LLM, MP
Member of Parliament for Ottawa South
Incumbent
Assumed office 2004
Preceded by	John Manley
Personal details
Born	David Joseph McGuinty February 25, 1960 (1960-02-25) Ottawa, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Brigitte Bélanger
Residence	Ottawa
Profession	Businessman, immigration officer, lawyer, professor
Website	Official Site

David Joseph McGuinty, MP (born February 25, 1960) is a Canadian lawyer and politician from Ontario, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa South and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Party of Canada's Critic for Natural Resources. He was first elected in the 2004 federal election and was re-elected in 2006, 2008 and 2011.

McGuinty is the brother of Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty and is the son of former Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Dalton McGuinty Sr..

Early life

David McGuinty was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario in a family of twelve. His parents are politician and professor Dalton McGuinty, Sr. and full-time nurse Elizabeth McGuinty (née Pexton). Being the son of a Francophone mother and an Anglophone father, McGuinty is bilingual. He earned a Diploma in Agriculture from the Kemptville College of Agriculture, a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the University of Ottawa, specialized diplomas in Civil and Comparative Law at Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Ottawa, and finally a Master of Laws at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

An environmental lawyer by profession, he has long been closely involved in Liberal politics. He was chosen to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Prime Minister's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, a government think-tank concerned with sustainable development.

Political career

Elections

On March 6, 2004, McGuinty won the Liberal Party nomination in the riding of Ottawa South. He defeated three other candidates and won 64.4 per cent of the vote on the first ballot. The riding was held by former Liberal Finance Minister John Manley who had announced he would not seek re-election.

In the 2004, federal election McGuinty faced off against seven other candidates in Ottawa South. On election night he was elected with over 43 per cent of the popular vote, defeating his nearest rival, Conservative candidate Alan Riddell, by a 5,000 vote margin.

McGuinty was re-elected in the 2006, federal election, defeating Sponsorship Scandal whistleblower Allan Cutler of the Conservative Party. While his margin of victory shrank slightly, the total number of ballots cast in his name increased, reflecting increased voter turnout in Ottawa South and across Canada.

In the 2008, federal election, McGuinty was challenged by Conservative Elie Salibi, New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Hijal De Sarkar, Green Party candidate Qais Ghanem, Progressive Canadian candidate Al Gullon and Libertarian candidate Jean-Serge Brisson. Although the Liberals were performing poorly in opinion polls at the national level for most of the campaign, and ended up losing 26 seats, McGuinty was re-elected, winning just under the 50 per cent of the vote.

In the 2011 election, McGuinty was challenged by Conservative Elie Salibi, who had run in 2008, New Democrat James McLaren, Green Party candidate Mick Kitor, Progressive Canadian candidate Al Gullon and Pirate Party candidate Mike Bleskie. In the final weeks of the campaign the NDP surged in opinion polling and eventually overtook the Liberals at the national level. While McGunity lost support in Ottawa South he was re-elected with 44 per cent of the popular vote. The Conservative candidate received 33 per cent, while the NDP vote in the riding increased by nearly 10 percentage points to 18 per cent. Nationally the party suffered their worst showing in their history and returned to Parliament as the third party with only 34 MPs elected.

In government

While not invited to join Paul Martin's Cabinet, McGuinty served on the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. He also served as chairman of the Liberal Party's National Capital Region Caucus.

In opposition

On May 30, 2006, interim Liberal leader Bill Graham appointed MGuinty as the Official Opposition critic for Transport. With the election of Stephane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party McGuinty became the critic for Environment in January 2007. Dion announced he would step down as leader of the Liberals shortly after the party failed to defeat the Conservatives in the 2008 election. McGuinty was considered a potential candidate to succeed him but announced in November 2008, that he would not seek the leader and instead endorsed Michael Ignatieff, Dion later appointed him as the critic for International Trade.

With the early resignation of Dion in December 2008, and the appointment of Ignatieff as leader of the party, McGuinty was named Environment and Energy critic when Ignatieff announced his shadow cabinet on January 22, 2009. In September 2010, McGuinty was promoted to the role of Opposition House Leader.

After leading the party to their worst election result in its history Ignatieff, who was defeated in his own riding, announced his resignation as party leader. McGuinty's name was immediately mentioned by the media as a possible candidate to succeed Ignatieff as leader of the party. Interim leader Bob Rae named McGuinty as the Liberal Party's Critic for Natural Resources in June 2011. At the Liberal Party's biennial convention in January 2012, McGuinty announced he was considering a bid for the leadership of the party and that he would make his decision over the coming months.

Personal life

McGuinty is the son of former Ontario MPP Dalton McGuinty Sr., and the brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. He is married to Brigitte Bélanger and has four children.

External links

• David McGuinty's Liberal Party Website
• David McGuinty - Parliament of Canada biography
• David McGuinty's MP Website