Gila Martow
Gila Martow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Francophone Affairs | |
| Assumed office November 29, 2018 | |
| Minister | Caroline Mulroney |
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Thornhill | |
| Assumed office February 13, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Shurman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gila Deborah Gladstone June 5, 1961 Montreal, Quebec |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Residence | Thornhill, Ontario |
| Alma mater | University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science |
| Occupation | Optometrist |
Gila Deborah Martow (née Gladstone; born June 5, 1961) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She represents the electoral district of Thornhill in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a member of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.[1] She held the position of Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour until November 2018, when she was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Francophone Affairs Minister Caroline Mulroney following the departure of Amanda Simard from the PC Caucus.
Background
Originally from Chomedey, Quebec, Martow was an optometrist. She and her husband, an ophthalmologist, jointly ran an eye clinic at the Markham Stouffville Hospital.[2]
Martow's maternal grandparents lived on a kibbutz organized by the Hashomer Hatzair Marxist-Zionist[3] youth movement in the early 1930s in Mandatory Palestine (later to become Israel).[4] Martow attended the socialist movement's summer camp, Camp Shomria, from 1973 to 1977. The camp's Mia Gladstone Art Program is named in memory of Martow's mother.[5]
Political activism
In 2007, she was a spokesperson for the Multi-Faith Coalition. During the provincial election that year, she supported Progressive Conservative leader John Tory's plan to create funding among Ontario’s private faith-based schools. She said, "By not funding non-Catholic faith-based schools, there is going to be social unrest. This is discrimination against non-Catholics."[6] Martow's first run for elected office was in 2010, when she ran for city council in Vaughan Ward 5, placing second.
Ontario legislature
In early 2014, she ran in a by-election in the riding of Thornhill to replace the retiring Peter Shurman. She defeated Liberal candidate Sandra Yeung Racco on February 13, 2014.[1] Four months later she ran again in the 2014 provincial election. She faced Racco again in a rematch. Initially Racco was declared the winner but the decision was reversed the next day following the official Elections Ontario tally of the vote. Martow was declared the winner by 85 votes.[7] A recount was done and Martow was declared the winner on June 23, 2014 by a margin of 106 votes.[8]
On December 1, 2016, Martow presented a motion in the legislature rejecting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. It passed by a vote of 49-5 with the governing Liberals and PCs supporting, and NDP opposing.
In the past, Martow has served as the PC Critic for Intergovernmental Affairs (2014) and as the Anti-Racism Secretariat (2016). She then served in the shadow cabinet as the critic for: Children, Youth, and Families; GTA Issues; and Francophone Affairs until 2018.[9]
After the Progressive Conservatives formed government following the 2018 provincial election, Martow was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Labour Minister Laurie Scott by Premier Doug Ford.[10] On November 29, 2018, Premier Ford announced that Martow would become the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Francophone Affairs, Caroline Mulroney and that Jane McKenna would take over her position as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Labour.
Ford is the first PC Premier not to appoint a Jewish MPP to cabinet since 1960 when Leslie Frost became the first PC premier to appoint a Jewish cabinet minister.
Election results
Provincial
| 2018 Ontario general election: Thornhill | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gila Martow | 28,889 | 61.13 | +17.18 | ||||
| New Democratic | Ezra Tanen | 9,134 | 19.33 | +11.17 | ||||
| Liberal | Sabi Ahsan | 6,985 | 14.78 | -29.00 | ||||
| Green | Rachel Dokhoian | 1,043 | 2.21 | -0.27 | ||||
| Libertarian | Mike Holmes | 621 | 1.31 | +0.15 | ||||
| None of the Above | Above Znoneofthe | 410 | 0.87 | |||||
| Moderate | Aleksei Polyakov | 177 | 0.37 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 47,261 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +13.24 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[11] | ||||||||
| 2014 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gila Martow | 21,886 | 43.95 | -3.94 | ||||
| Liberal | Sandra Yeung Racco | 21,780 | 43.78 | +2.18 | ||||
| New Democratic | Cindy Hackelberg | 4,052 | 8.16 | +1.37 | ||||
| Green | David Bergart | 1,229 | 2.48 | +1.04 | ||||
| Libertarian | Gene Balfour | 571 | 1.16 | +0.11 | ||||
| Freedom | Erin Goodwin | 233 | 0.47 | -0.08 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 50,291 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | -3.06 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[12] | ||||||||
| Ontario provincial by-election, February 13, 2014 Resignation of Peter Shurman | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gila Martow | 13,438 | 47.67 | +0.96 | |||||
| Liberal | Sandra Yeung Racco | 11,677 | 41.43 | +0.51 | |||||
| New Democratic | Cindy Hackelberg | 1,905 | 6.75 | -2.21 | |||||
| Green | Teresa Pun | 404 | 1.43 | -0.25 | |||||
| Libertarian | Gene Balfour | 296 | 1.05 | -0.34 | |||||
| Freedom | Erin Goodwin | 153 | 0.54 | +0.21 | |||||
| People's Political Party | Kevin Clarke | 144 | 0.51 | ||||||
| Pauper Party of Ontario | John Turmel | 47 | 0.17 | ||||||
| Total valid votes | 28,184 | ||||||||
| Turnout | 27.4% | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +0.34% | |||||
Municipal
| 2010 Vaughan election, Ward 5[13] | |
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Alan Shefman (x) | 5,561 |
| Gila Martow | 4,279 |
| Bernie Green | 2,898 |
| Vernon Hendrickson | 1,870 |
| Yehuda Shahaf | 694 |
| Stellios Missirlis | 231 |
References
- ^ a b "NDP win Niagara Falls, Tories hold Thornhill in Ontario byelections". Global News. February 13, 2014.
- ^ Joseph, Simone (January 14, 2014). "Parties get set as Thornhill byelection called". yorkregion.com. Metroland Media..
- ^ Hashomer, Hatzair. "Hashomer Hatzair records, 1938-1942". The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life. The Regents of the University of California. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "House proceedings (hansard)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. April 23, 2015.
- ^ "Hashomer Hatzair marks 85 years in Canada". August 14, 2008.
- ^ Eby, Chris. "Ont. Tories trash Liberal promise-keeping record". CTV Toronto News. CTV. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ^ "It's official: PC Martow wins Thornhill in wake of vote tally error". York Region. June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- ^ "Martow proclaimed winner in recount". York Region. Metroland Media. June 23, 2014.
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario | Members (MPPs) | Current MPPs | Gila Martow, MPP (Thornhill)". www.ontla.on.ca. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ^ "Premier Ford Announces Parliamentary Assistant Assignments as Part of Ontario's Government for the People". news.ontario.ca.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 11. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ "General Election Results by District, 089 Thornhill". Elections Ontario. 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
- ^ "City of Vaughan Unofficial Results" (PDF).