John Fraser (Ontario MPP)

John Fraser MPP
Fraser in 2013
Interim Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
In office June 14, 2018 – March 7, 2020
Preceded by	Kathleen Wynne
Succeeded by	Steven Del Duca
Parliamentary Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
Incumbent
Assumed office March 8, 2020
Leader	Steven Del Duca
Preceded by	Himself (as Interim Leader)
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Ottawa South
Incumbent
Assumed office September 9, 2013
Preceded by	Dalton McGuinty
Personal details
Born	1959 (age 62–63) Urbandale Acres, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Linda Fraser
Residence(s)	Ottawa, Ontario
Occupation	Business manager

John W. Fraser^[1] (born c. 1958) is a Canadian politician who served as interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from June 2018 to March 2020. Fraser is MPP for Ottawa South and was first elected in a by-election on August 1, 2013.

Following the resignation of Kathleen Wynne as party leader after the party's poor performance in the 2018 election, he was unanimously endorsed by the other six remaining Liberal MPPs to become interim leader on June 13, 2018^[2] and unanimously elected the next day by a vote of the party executive and riding association presidents.^[3]

Steven Del Duca was elected Liberal leader on March 7, 2020. As he does not have a seat in the legislature and does not intend to seek one until the next general election, Fraser remains the party's parliamentary leader and is expected to remain so until the next election.^[4]

Background[]

Fraser was born in Ottawa and grew up in Elmvale Acres and Alta Vista. According to his biography, "he spearheaded the Our Children, Our Hospital campaign to save the Cardiac Care Unit at CHEO and organized a fundraiser which raised $20,000 for the Heron Road Emergency Food Bank, [and] for a number of years, he served as a palliative care volunteer at the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital and as a coach to the Canterbury Mustangs Football Team."

Fraser was the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.^[5] As the parliamentary assistant, Fraser led the development of a comprehensive strategy for palliative and end-of-life care in Ontario, including a $75 million investment.^[6] In March 2018, Fraser was part of an announcement to deliver $105 million investment in CHEO to improve mental health and special needs services for children.^[7]

As MPP, Fraser led an initiative that would ensure all children have their vision tested before entering senior kindergarten as well as introducing legislation aimed at protecting vulnerable workers and increasing transparency in government. Fraser sponsored several private member's bills including Bill 53, The Protecting Passenger Safety Act 2014 which would stiffen penalties for individuals who transport passengers for compensation without a licence, permit, or authorization. Fraser has worked closely with other Members of Provincial Parliament on legislation including being part of the team that brought forward Rowan's Law, concussion legislation that will protect young athletes; as well as a bill that established "Remembrance Week" in Ontario.^[8]

Prior to being elected, Fraser was former Premier Dalton McGuinty's local constituency assistant for 14 years.^[9] Fraser spent 18 years managing small and medium-sized local businesses before entering public service.^[10]

He is married to Linda Fraser and has three children and three grandchildren.^[11]

Politics[]

In 2013, Fraser ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Ottawa South in a by-election to replace Dalton McGuinty who had just retired. He defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Matt Young by 1,238 votes.^[12][13] He faced Young again in the 2014 election this time defeating him by 8,610 votes.^[14]

In the 2018 Ontario general election, Fraser was re-elected MPP for Ottawa South, receiving 5,464 more votes than the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidate Karin Howard.^[15] As a result of her party's poor performance in the election, Premier Kathleen Wynne resigned as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party on election night.^[16] On June 13, the Liberal caucus unanimously endorsed Fraser to serve as the party's interim leader On June 14, he was appointed interim leader following a vote by caucus members, the party executive, and riding association presidents.^[17]

Electoral record[]

hide v t Ontario provincial by-election, August 1, 2013: Ottawa South Resignation of Dalton McGuinty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	John Fraser	14,921	42.33	−6.53	$ 95,351.00
	Progressive Conservative	Matt Young	13,642	38.70	+5.27	89,316.00
	New Democratic	Bronwyn Funiciello	5,042	14.30	+0.91	40,274.11
	Green	Taylor Howarth	1,099	3.12	−0.11	2,212.50
	Libertarian	Jean-Serge Brisson	208	0.59	+0.03	0.00
	Special Needs	John Redins	102	0.29	−0.24	0.00
	Independent	Daniel Post	91	0.26		0.00
	Freedom	Dave McGruer	85	0.24		0.00
	Pauper	John Turmel	58	0.16		0.00
Total valid votes / Expense limit			35,248	100.00	−21.16	$ 104,501.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			216	0.61	+0.12
Turnout			35,464	40.38	−10.81
Eligible voters			87,816		+0.06
	Liberal hold		Swing		−5.90
show Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate - August 1, 2013 By-Elections" (PDF). "Statistical Summary – 2013 By-Election" ( Excel Spreadsheet (23KB)). Elections Ontario. "2013 Ottawa South By-Election – Candidate Campaign Returns (CR-1)". Retrieved 30 May 2014.

References[]

External links[]

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)