Michael Coteau

Michael Coteau MPP
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2011
Preceded by	David Caplan
Constituency	Don Valley East
Personal details
Born	1972 (age 51–52) Huddersfield, England
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Lori
Children	2
Residence(s)	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	Carleton University
Occupation	Educator, Small Business Owner

Michael Coteau (born June 21, 1972) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who, since 2011, has represented the riding of Don Valley East in Toronto. He served in cabinet in the government of Kathleen Wynne from 2013 to 2018. The Liberal party was defeated in the 2018 Ontario general election, and Coteau was one of seven Liberals re-elected. He serves as the MPP for the riding of Don Valley East and is the Ontario Liberal Party Critic for Infrastructure, Energy, Labour, Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. He placed second in the 2020 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election with 16.9% of the vote.

Background

Coteau was born in Huddersfield, England. His father is from Grenada and his mother is British. He came to Canada with his parents in 1976 and grew up in social housing in Flemingdon Park in North York. Coteau's family was low- income and he had to borrow the money needed to cover his university application fee from a friend's father. He applied to Carleton University and graduated with a degree in history and political science.

After graduation, he taught English in South Korea.

Career

Coteau was a Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 17, winning elections in 2003, 2006, and 2010. As a trustee, he advocated for student nutrition, community use of space and the use of educational technology. He initiated the 'Community Use of Schools' motion that cut user fees and made schools more accessible to groups that offer programs for children. He helped introduce nutritional changes in schools that supported healthy food programs and increased awareness of student hunger. In addition to his work as a trustee, Coteau served as the executive director and chief executive officer of a national adult literacy firm, and worked as a community organizer in the Malvern area of Scarborough, Ontario with the United Way. He also owned and operated his own small business.

Provincial politics

In 2011 he ran provincial election in the riding of Don Valley East. He won the election beating PC candidate Michael Lende by 7,645 votes. He was re-elected in 2014.

The Liberals won a minority government and Coteau was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the minister of tourism and culture. In 2013, after Kathleen Wynne replaced Dalton McGuinty as premier, Coteau was named Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He was one of ten members of the Wynne's cabinet with no prior cabinet experience. In June 2014, Coteau was made Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport by Premier Kathleen Wynne, as well as Minister Responsible for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. He made headlines advocating for children to be able to play street hockey. On February 16, 2016, it was announced that Coteau would add responsibility for anti-racism, responsible for establishing various anti-racism programs. On June 13, 2016, he was appointed Minister of Children and Youth Services, and in particular worked collaboratively with parents to deliver a reformed Ontario Autism Program. He also was subsequently appointed Minister of Community and Social Services, holding down three separate portfolios for the government.

In 2018, Coteau defeated Conservative candidate Denzil Minnan Wong, Toronto's deputy mayor, to win his third election in the North Toronto constituency. He is one of the seven Liberal MPPs in the Legislature.

In June 2019, Coteau entered the race for leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. Coteau said he had "a different vision" and would "restore decency to our politics". At the leadership convention on March 7, 2020, he received 16.9% of the vote, finishing second behind the winner, Steven Del Duca.

Electoral record

2018 Ontario general election: Don Valley East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	13,012	35.93	−22.80
	Progressive Conservative	Denzil Minnan-Wong	11,984	33.09	+8.75
	New Democratic	Khalid Ahmed	9,937	27.44	+15.48
	Green	Mark Wong	917	2.53	−0.83
	Libertarian	Justin Robinson	236	0.65	–
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	131	0.36	–
Total valid votes			36,217	99.08
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			337	0.92
Turnout			36,554	55.22
Eligible voters			66,192
	Liberal hold		Swing		−15.78
Source: Elections Ontario

2014 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	19,253	55.77	+4.69
	Progressive Conservative	Angela Kennedy	9,227	26.73	-0.46
	New Democratic	Akil Sadikali	4,492	13.01	-5.59
	Green	Christopher McLeod	1,264	3.66	+1.47
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	287	0.83	+0.48
Total valid votes			34,523	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.58
Source: Elections Ontario

2011 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	16,342	51.08	-4.54
	Progressive Conservative	Michael Lende	8,604	26.89	+1.86
	New Democratic	Bob Hilliard	5,953	18.61	+7.95
	Green	Aren Bedrosyan	742	2.32	-2.72
	Family Coalition	Ryan Kidd	188	0.59	+0.03
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	164	0.51	+0.23
Total valid votes			31,993	100.00

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)