Monique Smith (Canadian politician)

Monique M. Smith
MPP for Nipissing
In office October 23, 2003 – September 7, 2011
Preceded by	Al McDonald
Succeeded by	Victor Fedeli
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
In office January 18, 2010 – October 20, 2011
Preceded by	Dalton McGuinty
Succeeded by	Dalton McGuinty
Government House Leader
In office February 4, 2009 – September 07, 2011
Preceded by	Michael Bryant
Succeeded by	John Milloy
Personal details
Born	North Bay, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Residence	North Bay, Ontario
Occupation	Attorney

Monique M. Smith is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Nipissing for the Liberal Party, from 2003 until 2011. Her father, Richard Smith, also represented Nipissing in the legislature from 1965 to 1977; her mother Marthe Smith was the Liberal candidate for the riding in 1987.

Early life and career

Smith was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario, the largest city in the Nipissing riding. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and a law degree from Queen's University. After graduating, she worked at the Toronto law firm of McCarthy Tétrault until 1997, when she resigned to work as chief of staff for provincial Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty. She served as director of operations for the Liberals in the 1999 provincial election, which the party lost.

After this election, Smith became executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers, and represented the organization across the country. She returned to North Bay in 2002, and worked for the firm of Larmer and Larmer.

Member of Provincial Parliament

Smith first ran for political office in the 2003 provincial election, in the Nipissing riding (until recently held by former Progressive Conservative Premier Mike Harris). Despite her roots in the North Bay community, she was often described as a "Toronto lawyer" and a "parachute candidate" by the Tory campaign. These criticisms were not an obstacle to her being elected, and she defeated Harris' immediate successor, Al McDonald, by just over 3,000 votes.

The Liberals won the election, and Smith was subsequently named parliamentary assistant to George Smitherman, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. In December 2003, Smitherman commissioned her to undertake a comprehensive review of the province's long-term care system. The review was published in May 2004 calling for more funding and inspections.

On October 30, 2007 following the provincial election, Premier Dalton McGuinty appointed Smith into cabinet as the province's Minister of Revenue.

In a cabinet shuffle on September 18, 2008, Smith was appointed as the province's Minister of Tourism.

On February 4, 2009 Smith was appointed Government House Leader. She continued as Ontario's Minister of Tourism until she was appointed Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in January 2010.

On November 19, 2010, Smith announced that she would not run in the 2011 election.

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2007

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Monique Smith	13,730	41.94	-7.90
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Vrebosch	13,373	40.85	-0.62
	New Democratic	Henri Giroux	4,135	12.63	+5.40
	Green	Amy Brownridge	1,258	3.84	+2.38
	Family Coalition	Suzanne Plouffe	238	0.73

Ontario general election, 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Monique Smith	18,003	49.84	+6.70
	Progressive Conservative	Al McDonald	14,978	41.47	-8.95
	New Democratic	Terry O'Connor	2,613	7.23	+2.37
	Green	Jaimie Board	528	1.46	+0.51

External links

• Monique Smith profile at Legislative Assembly of Ontario