Mike Harris Jr. MPP (born 1985) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.[1] He represents the riding of Kitchener—Conestoga as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. In the 2024 Provincial Cabinet Shuffle Mike Harris was appointed Minister of Red Tape Reduction.

Mike Harris Jr.
Minister of Red Tape Reduction
Assumed office
June 6th, 2024
Preceded byParm Gill
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
Assumed office
June 26, 2019
MinisterPaul Calandra
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Kitchener—Conestoga
Assumed office
June 29, 2018
Preceded byMichael Harris
Personal details
BornFebruary 1985 (age 39)
Political partyProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
RelationsMike Harris (father)
ResidenceKitchener, Ontario
OccupationPolitician

He is the son of former Ontario premier Mike Harris.[2] He is not related to Michael Harris, his immediate predecessor as MPP for Kitchener—Conestoga.[3]

Political career

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In the 2018 Ontario general election, Harris unsuccessfully stood to become the PC candidate in the district of Waterloo, losing to management consultant Dan Weber.[4] Instead, Harris was chosen as the party's nominee in the district of Kitchener—Conestoga. At the time of his election in 2018, he was said to have "only recent expressed an interest in politics".[5] Harris was reelected in the 2022 general election.[2]

Personal life

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Harris lives in Kitchener with his wife Kim and their five children.[6]

Electoral record

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2022 Ontario general election: Kitchener—Conestoga
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Progressive Conservative Mike Harris Jr. 15,045 40.03 +0.45 $97,578
New Democratic Karen Meissner 10,851 28.87 −9.11 $102,506
Liberal Melanie Van Alphen 6,590 17.53 +3.49 $13,807
Green Nasir Abdulle 2,315 6.16 −0.48 $0
New Blue Jim Karahalios 2,223 5.91   $68,446
Ontario Party Elisabeth Perrin Snyder 501 1.33   $0
Populist Jason Adair 64 0.17   $0
Total valid votes/expense limit 37,589 99.38 +1.28 $108,331
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 234 0.62 -1.28
Turnout 37,823 48.88 -11.05
Eligible voters 76,692
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +4.78
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21.
2018 Ontario general election: Kitchener—Conestoga
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Mike Harris Jr. 17,005 39.57 +3.18
New Democratic Kelly Dick 16,319 37.97 +16.78
Liberal Joe Gowing 6,035 14.04 -19.30
Green Bob Jonkman 2,853 6.64 -0.33
Libertarian Daniel Benoy 550 1.28 -0.85
Consensus Ontario Dan Holt 212 0.49
Total valid votes 42,974 100.0  
Turnout 60.8
Eligible voters 70,712
Source: Elections Ontario[7]

References

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  1. ^ Jeff Outhit and Catherine Thompson, "Mike Harris Jr. wins in Kitchener-Conestoga, taking riding previously held by Michael Harris". Waterloo Region Record, June 7, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "PC Mike Harris Jr. re-elected in Kitchener-Conestoga". CBC News. 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
  3. ^ Greg Mercer, "The complicated candidate". Waterloo Region Record, June 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mike Harris Jr. won't follow in father's footsteps...just yet". BayToday.ca. 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  5. ^ Thompson, Catherine; Outhit, Jeff (2018-06-08). "Mike Harris Jr. wins in Kitchener-Conestoga, taking riding previously held by Michael Harris". The Record. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  6. ^ "Doug Downey appointed as Ontario PC Party candidate for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte". OrilliaMatters.com. 2018-04-21. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  7. ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.