Lisa Thompson (politician)

Lisa M. Thompson (born c. 1965) is a Canadian politician who serves as Ontario's Minister of Rural Affairs. She has represented the riding of Huron—Bruce in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2011.

The Honourable Lisa Thompson MPP
Thompson in 2024
Minister of Rural Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office June 6, 2024
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Ernie Hardeman
Minister of Government and Consumer Services
In office June 20, 2019 – June 18, 2021
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Bill Walker
Succeeded by	Ross Romano
Minister of Education
In office June 29, 2018 – June 20, 2019
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Indira Naidoo-Harris
Succeeded by	Stephen Lecce
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Huron—Bruce
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2011
Preceded by	Carol Mitchell
Personal details
Born	1965 (age 58–59) Wingham, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Dennis Schiestel
Residence	Teeswater, Ontario
Occupation	Dairy Goat cooperative General Manager

She previously served as Ontario Minister of Education from 2018 to 2019, as Minister of Government and Consumer Services from 2019 to 2021, and as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs from 2021 to 2024.

Background

Thompson was born in Wingham, Ontario. She is a graduate of the University of Guelph. Prior to her election as an MPP, she worked as the general manager of The Ontario Dairy Goat Cooperative, and as a Rural Community Advisor for OMAFRA. She lives near Teeswater, Ontario with her husband Dennis.

Politics

Thompson ran in the 2011 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Huron—Bruce. She defeated Liberal incumbent Carol Mitchell by 4,479 votes. She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Colleen Schenk by 3,865 votes, and in the 2018 provincial election, defeating Jan Johnstone of the NDP by 12,320 votes.

She served as the party's critic for Environment and Climate Change, critic for Energy (Green Energy Act) and critic for Small Business and Red Tape. In February 2017, she was appointed as the PC party's Critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and Critic for International Trade.

In January 2018, after party leader Patrick Brown stepped down and was replaced by Vic Fedeli, Thompson was chosen as the party's new caucus chair.

Following the 2018 provincial election, Lisa Thompson was named Minister of Education in Premier Doug Ford's cabinet. On June 20, 2019, she was reassigned as Minister of Government and Consumer Services. In June 2021, Thompson became Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In June 2024, she became Minister of Rural Affairs after the June 6 Cabinet Shuffle split her ministry into two. Rob Flack took over as Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness.

Electoral record

2022 Ontario general election: Huron—Bruce
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Lisa Thompson	24,369	51.97	−0.39	$68,075
	Liberal	Shelley Blackmore	8,775	18.71	+4.78	$32,861
	New Democratic	Laurie Hazzard	7,679	16.38	−12.65	$42,759
	New Blue	Matt Kennedy	3,384	7.22		$19,069
	Green	Matthew Van Ankum	1,922	4.10	+0.68	$3,276
	Ontario Party	Gerrie Huenemoerder	474	1.01		$680
	Independent	Ronald Stephens	212	0.45		$0
	Ontario Alliance	Bruce Eisen	77	0.16	−0.35	$0
Total valid votes/Expense limit			46,892	99.41	+0.62	$121,926
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			277	0.59	-0.62
Turnout			47,169	54.16	-9.35
Eligible voters			86,559
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−2.59
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

2018 Ontario general election: Huron—Bruce
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Lisa Thompson	27,646	52.36
	New Democratic	Jan Johnstone	15,326	29.03
	Liberal	Don Matheson	7,356	13.93
	Green	Nicholas Wendler	1,804	3.42
	Libertarian	Ron Stephens	399	0.76
	Alliance	Gerrie Huenemoerder	271	0.51
Total valid votes			52,802	100.0
Source: Elections Ontario

2014 Ontario general election: Huron—Bruce
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Lisa Thompson	18,512	39.01	−3.72
	Liberal	Colleen Schenk	14,647	30.86	−1.89
	New Democratic	Jan Johnstone	10,843	22.85	+2.00
	Green	Adam Werstine	1,651	3.48	+1.76
	Family Coalition	Andrew Zettel	1,353	2.85	+1.38
	Libertarian	Max Maister	323	0.68
	Equal Parenting	Dennis Valenta	128	0.27
Total valid votes			47,457	100.00	+ 1.20
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			765	1.59	+1.31
Turnout			48,222	59.96	+0.73
Eligible voters			80,428		+5.85
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−0.92
Source(s) Elections Ontario (2014). "Official Returns from the Records, 034 Huron-Bruce" (PDF). Retrieved March 18, 2015.

2011 Ontario general election: Huron—Bruce
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Lisa Thompson	19,138	42.76	+12.22	$ 81,890.60
	Liberal	Carol Mitchell	14,659	32.75	−13.20	79,935.51
	New Democratic	Grant Robertson	9,329	20.85	+7.53	32,102.53
	Green	Patrick Main	772	1.72	−4.81	881.40
	Family Coalition	Christine Schnurr	656	1.47	−0.85	14,592.60
	Independent	Dennis Valenta	200	0.45	−0.44	0.00
Total valid votes / expense limit			44,754	100.0	+0.46	$ 90,268.64
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			172	0.38	−0.09
Turnout			44,926	59.23	−0.57
Eligible voters			75,853		+1.35
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+12.71
Source(s) "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Huron—Bruce – October 6, 2011 General Election" (PDF). "2011 Candidate Campaign Returns (CR-1)". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 13, 2014.

External links

• Official website
• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history