Laurel Broten

Hon. Laurel C. Broten
Member of Provincial Parliament for Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Incumbent
Assumed office October 2, 2003
Preceded by	Morley Kells
Minister of Education and Women's Issues
Incumbent
Assumed office October 20, 2011
Preceded by	Leona Dombrowsky
Minister of Children and Youth Services and Women's Issues
In office October 7, 2009 – October 20, 2011
Preceded by	Deb Matthews
Succeeded by	Eric Hoskins
Minister of the Environment
In office June 29, 2005 – October 30, 2007
Preceded by	Leona Dombrowsky
Succeeded by	John Gerretsen
Personal details
Born	1969 (age 42–43)
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Paul Lebarge
Children	2
Residence	Toronto
Occupation	Lawyer

Laurel C. Broten (born c.1969) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore for the Ontario Liberal Party. On October 19, 2011, she was appointed Ontario Minister of Education.

Background

Prior to entering politics, she was a lawyer, community activist and volunteer. Broten attended McMaster University from 1986 to 1990, and has both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree from the institution. She also received an LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario in 1993. She was a law clerk to Madam Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé at the Supreme Court of Canada from 1993 to 1994, and later had a practice in civil and commercial litigation. She has also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Gatehouse, a community centre for survivors of child abuse. Broten lives in Etobicoke with her husband and twin sons.

In 2007, Broten and her husband were criticized after they applied for a permit to build a large two-storey garage behind their home. Dubbed the "garage mahal" by neighbours, the structure was meant to hold the couple's four vehicles, two of which were Low emission vehicles, one being a hybrid. The plan was notable due at the time to Broten's position as the Minister of the Environment. Following a public outcry and stories in the media plans to build the garage were cancelled.

Provincial politics

Broten ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1999, but was defeated by Progressive Conservative Morley Kells in Etobicoke-Lakeshore by 5,156 votes. She ran again in the 2003 election, and defeated Kells by 6,722 votes amid a provincial shift to the Liberals.

38th Legislative Assembly

On October 23, 2003, she was named as the Parliamentary Assistant to Premier Dalton McGuinty. There she conducted province-wide consultations to develop meaningful reforms to address domestic violence in Ontario. This led to the Government’s Domestic Violence Action Plan which included a groundbreaking public education campaign. She also chaired the Premier’s Shared Air Summit, which drew scientists and policy makers from across North America to tackle the linked issues of smog and transboundary air pollution.

In 2004, she introduced two private member bills. The first entitled Kids First Licences Act would allow drivers to make charitable donations to children's charities whenever they renewed their vehicle licence. The second called (Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment, an amendment to the Occupational Health and Safety Act would impose additional duties and responsibilities in workplaces.

On June 29, 2005, Broten was appointed to cabinet as Minister of the Environment. As minister, she developed policies under one of Canada’s most comprehensive Climate Change Plans in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She also introduced the Clean Water Act designed to better safeguard Ontario’s drinking water.

39th Legislative Assembly

Broten was re-elected in 2007 and was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. While there she authored a report detailing a Five Point Action Plan to create more opportunities and reduce barriers for internationally trained doctors in Ontario. Her report formed the basis for new legislation in 2008.

In 2008 she introduced legislation that requires a duty to report images of child abuse. Then in 2009 she unanimously passed a resolution calling for a review of reporting standards for listed companies.

In 2009, Broten was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. On October 7, 2009, she was appointed Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues.

40th Legislative Assembly

In 2011, Broten was re-elected again. Premier Dalton McGuinty reorganized his cabinet and appointed her as Minister of Education and minister responsible for women's issues.

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Laurel Broten	22,058	50.8	+4.94
	Progressive Conservative	Simon Nyilassy	12,679	29.2	-1.44
	New Democrat	Dionne Coley	6,781	15.6	+2.03
	Green	Angela Salewsky	1,151	2.7	- 5.15
	Libertarian	Hans Kunov	213	0.5	-
	Freedom	Mark Brombacher	182	0.4	-
	Socialist	Natalie Lochwin	137	0.3	-
	Independent	John Letonja	118	0.3	-
	Independent	Thane MacKay	113	0.3	-
Total valid votes			43,432	100.00

Ontario general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Laurel Broten	20,246	45.86	+1.70
	Progressive Conservative	Tom Barlow	13,524	30.64	1.95
	New Democrat	Andrea Németh	5,991	13.57	-6.52
	Green	Jerry Schulman	3,464	7.85	+6.26
	Family Coalition	Bob Williams	464	1.05	-0.03
	Independent	Janice Murray	456	1.03	+0.53
Total valid votes			44,145	100.00

Ontario general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Laurel Broten	19,680	44.16	+8.31
	Progressive Conservative	Morley Kells	14,524	32.59	-14.39
	New Democrat	Irene Jones	8,952	20.09	+5.37
	Green	Junyee Wang	708	1.59	-
	Family Coalition	Ted Kupiec	480	1.08	+0.12
	Independent	Janice Murray	225	0.50	-0.18
Total valid votes			44,569	100.00

Ontario general election, 1999
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Morley Kells	20,602	46.98	+1.75
	Liberal	Laurel Broten	15,723	35.85	+6.27
	New Democrat	Vicki Obedkoff	6,457	14.72	-10.45
	Family Coalition	Kevin McGourty	423	0.96	-
	Natural Law	Don Jackson	349	0.80	+0.16
	Independent	Janice Murray	299	0.68	-
Total valid votes			43,853	100.00

External links

• Laurel Broten's official MPP Site
• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History