Jerry J. Ouellette (born January 30, 1959) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014, representing the riding of Oshawa. He served in the cabinet in the government of Ernie Eves.

Jerry Ouellette
Ouellette in 2014
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Oshawa
In office
June 8, 1995 – June 12, 2014
Preceded byAllan Pilkey
Succeeded byJennifer French
Personal details
Born (1959-01-30) January 30, 1959 (age 65)
Oshawa, Ontario
Political partyProgressive Conservative

Background

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Ouellette was born in Oshawa, Ontario.[1] He graduated from Durham College in business administration. He managed a lumber operation and a national consulting firm. Ouellette is a former member of the governing board of Durham College, and a member of the Oshawa Naval Veterans Association. He is currently CEO of Chaga Health and Wellness.[2]

Politics

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Ouellette was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating incumbent New Democrat Allan Pilkey in Oshawa by about 8,000 votes.[3] He was re-elected by about 7,000 votes over Liberal Chris Topple in the 1999 provincial election, with the NDP falling to third place.[4] He was re-elected in 2003, 2007, and 2011.

Ouellette supported Ernie Eves in the Progressive Conservative Party's 2002 leadership convention, and on April 15, 2002, was appointed Ontario Minister of Natural Resources.[5] In this capacity, he was generally regarded as an ally of the province's fishing and hunting community.

In the 2003 provincial election, Ouellette faced a strong challenge from provincial union representative and NDP candidate Sid Ryan. This was Ryan's third unsuccessful bid for a provincial seat (1999, Scarborough-Centre; 2003 and 2007, Oshawa) and his fifth electoral loss having been twice defeated by Colin Carrie, Oshawa's Conservative candidate and MP, in 2004 and 2006. Ouellette struggled to retain his seat, winning the 2003 race by 1,019 votes.[6] But the Progressive Conservatives lost the election and Ouellette moved to the opposition benches. Four years later, during the 2007 provincial election, Ouellette defeated Ryan a second time.[7] He was re-elected in the 2011 provincial election.[8]

In the 2014 provincial election he was defeated by New Democratic candidate Jennifer French by 7,695 votes.[9][10]

Cabinet positions

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Ontario provincial government of Ernie Eves
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
John Snobelen Minister of Natural Resources
2002–2003
David Ramsay

References

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  1. ^ O'Handley, Kathryn (2005). Canadian Parliamentary Guide 2005. ISBN 1-4144-0141-8.
  2. ^ Chaga Health and Wellness (17 June 2021). "Chaga Health and Wellness - About Us".
  3. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 8 June 1995. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 3 June 1999. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Ont-Cabinet". Toronto, Ont: Canadian Press NewsWire. 15 April 2002.
  6. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 2 October 2003. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 10 October 2007. p. 10 (xix). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 6 October 2011. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  9. ^ "General Election by District: Oshawa". Elections Ontario. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014.
  10. ^ Westhead, Rick (12 June 2014). "PC's Elliott holds Whitby-Oshawa but NDP's French surprises in Oshawa in Ontario Election". Toronto Star.
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