Todd Smith (politician)
| Assumed office October 6, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Leona Dombrowsky |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Todd Andrew Smith October 7, 1970 Stirling, Ontario , Canada |
| Occupation | Politician |
Todd Andrew Smith
Smith is a member of the
Background
Smith was born and raised in Riverview, New Brunswick. A graduate of Loyalist College, he worked for more than 16 years on the radio with Quinte Broadcasting's CJBQ, Mix 97 and Rock 107, eventually becoming the news director for Quinte Broadcasting.[2]
Politics
Smith ran in the 2011 provincial election as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Prince Edward—Hastings. He defeated Liberal incumbent Leona Dombrowsky by 3,130 votes.[3][4] He was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election defeating Liberal candidate Georgina Thompson by 4,107 votes.[5] He was again re-elected in the 2018 provincial election with 48 per cent of the vote, some 8,161 votes ahead of runner up Joanne Belanger of the NDP.[6]
Service in the Official Opposition
During his time in opposition, Smith introduced several private member's bills.
In November 2011, he proposed the Local Municipality Democracy Act which would have restored municipal zoning authority over green energy projects in Ontario. The bill was defeated after first reading.[7] Once elected in 2018 the Progressive Conservative Government restored municipal rights to oppose renewable energy projects with the Green Energy Repeal Act, 2018, in line with the intent of Smith’s bill.[8]
In May 2012 he introduced the Electronic Commerce Amendment Act with Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi. It would have allowed for the use of electronic signatures on real estate transactions. When the legislature was prorogued on October 15, the bill was removed from the order paper along with all other business. It was reintroduced on March 6, 2013, and it passed second reading on March 21 before being adopted by the government as a part of the 2013 budget.[9]
In February 2014, he introduced the Tamil Heritage Month Act in order to proclaim January as Tamil Heritage Month. This bill passed third reading on March 17, 2014 and received Royal Assent on March 25, 2014.[10] The Tamil Heritage Month Act “recognizes the valuable contributions that Tamil Canadians have made to Ontario’s social, economic political and cultural fabric.”[11]
In February 2015, he introduced the Raise a Glass to Ontario Act to reduce restrictions on Ontario craft breweries, wineries and distillers by allowing them to sell each others’ products. This bill won the support of groups including Ontario Craft Brewers and the Wine Council of Ontario, but ultimately was not passed by the Liberal majority government.[12][13]
While serving as an Opposition MPP in the Ontario Legislature, Smith spent time as his party's critic for the small businesses and red tape reduction, the Pan-Am and Parapan-Am Games, citizenship and immigration, the Hydro One Sale, natural resources and forestry, and energy.[14]
In 2018, Smith briefly considered running to succeed Patrick Brown as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.[15] Citing family and financial reasons, he decided not to seek the position.[16]
Minister of Government and Consumer Services
As the PCs formed the government during the 42nd Parliament of Ontario in 2018, on June 29, 2018 Premier Doug Ford appointed Smith to cabinet as Minister of Government and Consumer Services while serving concurrently as the Government House Leader.[17]
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
On November 2, 2018 Smith was appointed as Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade while maintaining his role as Government House Leader.[18]
On February 14, 2019 Smith launched the government’s Driving Prosperity auto plan that set out a 10-year vision for how industry, the research and education sectors and government could work together to strengthen the auto sector’s competitiveness.[19] The plan included action items that focused on creating a competitive business climate, supporting innovation, and creating talent.[20]
During his tenure as Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Minister Smith also introduced Bill 66, the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. This legislative package included more than 30 actions to reduce the burden on job creators by cutting business costs, harmonizing regulatory requirements with other jurisdictions and reducing barriers to investment.[21] Bill 66 passed third reading on April 2, 2019 and received Royal Assent on April 3, 2019.[22]
Minister of Children, Community and Social Services
On June 20, 2019 Smith was appointed as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.[23]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Smith led the development of the COVID-19 Action Plan for Vulnerable People to better protect vulnerable populations in high risk settings including homes serving those with developmental disabilities, shelters for survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking, children’s residential settings and those residential settings supporting vulnerable indigenous individuals and families both on and off reserve.[24] Smith also played a critical role in other COVID-19 pandemic programs including the rollout of Temporary Pandemic Pay and the Temporary Wage Enhancement which supported more than 47,000 eligible workers in children, community and social services sectors.[25]
On September 16, 2020 Smith introduced Bill 202, the Soldiers' Aid Commission Act. This bill expanded access to financial assistance from the Ontario Soldiers’ Aid Commission to all veterans and their families regardless of where and when they served. Under previous legislation support was limited to those who served in the First and Second World War and the Korean War.[26] Bill 202 was passed at third reading in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 3, 2020 and received Royal Assent on November 12, 2020.[27]
Smith also began work to renew other programs at the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services during his tenure. Building on work underway to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on
Minister of Energy
On June 18, 2021 Smith was appointed as Minister of Energy.[31] Smith is familiar with this file having previously served as the Official Opposition’s energy critic from 2015 to 2018 before the election of the Doug Ford government.[32]
Since his appointment Smith has overseen programs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic including the announcement of the Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program which would offset energy costs for businesses impacted by public health measures.[33] Smith has also announced Canada’s first grid-scale small modular reactor,[34] the introduction of a new Green Button standard to provide more transparency for energy users[35] and provided direction to the Independent Electricity System Operator on future procurement of electricity to ensure resource adequacy.[36]
Cabinet positions
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Conservative | Todd Smith | 21,381 | 49.30 | +1.28 | $76,706 | |||
| New Democratic | Alison Kelly | 9,073 | 20.92 | −10.92 | $55,474 | |||
| Liberal | Emilie Leneveu | 8,003 | 18.45 | +3.56 | $31,230 | |||
| Green | Erica Charlton | 2,719 | 6.27 | +2.84 | $0 | |||
| New Blue | Rob Collins | 1,128 | 2.60 | $5,066 | ||||
| Ontario Party | Noah Wales | 1,062 | 2.45 | $3,779 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 43,366 | 99.59 | +0.68 | $133,230 | ||||
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 179 | 0.41 | -0.68 | |||||
| Turnout | 43,545 | 45.91 | -13.07 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 95,164 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +6.10 | ||||||
Source(s)
| ||||||||
| 2014 Ontario general election: Prince Edward—Hastings | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Todd Smith | 19,281 | 41.63 | -0.65 | ||||
| Liberal | Georgina Thompson | 15,105 | 32.73 | -2.52 | ||||
| New Democratic | Merrill Stewart | 8,829 | 19.13 | +2.55 | ||||
| Green | Anita Payne | 2,448 | 5.31 | +0.71 | ||||
| Libertarian | Lindsay Forbes | 555 | 1.20 | +0.75 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 46,218 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +0.94 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[37] | ||||||||
| 2011 Ontario general election: Prince Edward—Hastings | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Todd Smith | 18,816 | 42.28 | +9.53 | ||||
| Liberal | Leona Dombrowsky | 15,686 | 35.25 | -11.10 | ||||
| New Democratic | Sherry Hayes | 7,379 | 16.58 | +2.77 | ||||
| Green | Treat Hull |
2,049 | 4.60 | -1.28 | ||||
Family Coalition |
Neal Ford | 257 | 0.58 | -0.27 | ||||
| Libertarian | Andrew Skinner | 201 | 0.45 | |||||
| Republican | Trueman Tuck | 115 | 0.26 | -0.11 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 44,503 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 152 | 0.34 | ||||||
| Turnout | 44,655 | 51.74 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,304 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +10.32 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[38] | ||||||||
References
- ^ @ONPARLeducation (13 July 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "MPP Todd Smith - About".
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 6 October 2011. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
- ^ "Two rural incumbents fall as PC support grows". CTV Ottawa. 7 October 2011.
- ^ "General Election by District: Prince Edward-Hastings". Elections Ontario. 12 June 2014. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014.
- ^ "Elections Ontario - Bay of Quinte results".
- ^ Moore, Amanda (6 December 2011). "Wind group applauds PC efforts". Niagara This Week. p. 1.
- ^ "Ontario Scraps the Green Energy Act". Ontario Newsroom. 7 December 2018.
- ^ "OREA endorses Bill to enhance electronic real estate transactions". Canada NewsWire. 6 March 2013.
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Bill 156 Tamil Heritage Month Act Status".
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Bill 156, Tamil Heritage Month Act, View Bill".
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Bill 67, Raise a Glass to Ontario Act, Status".
- ^ Ferguson, Rob (26 February 2015). "Conservative MPP's bill looks to ease grip of Beer Store, LCBO". The Toronto Star.
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Hon. Todd Smith (Bay of Quinte)". 5 August 2020.
- ^ "Smith considering Ontario PC leadership run". The Picton Gazette.
- ^ "Smith rules out Ontario PC leadership run, selects candidate to support". The Picton Gazette. 7 February 2018.
- ^ "Doug Ford and Cabinet to be Sworn in as Ontario's First Ever Government for the People". 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Premier Doug Ford Announces Changes to Cabinet". Ontario Newsroom. 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Ontario Takes Action to Drive Prosperity in the Automotive Sector". Ontario Newsroom. 14 February 2019.
- ^ "Driving Prosperity: The Future of Ontario's Automotive Sector" (PDF).
- ^ "Ontario's Government for the People Cutting Red Tape to Help Create Jobs". Ontario Newsroom. 6 December 2018.
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Bill 66 Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act, Status".
- ^ "Premier Ford Announces Changes to His Cabinet". Ontario Newsroom. 20 June 2019.
- ^ "Ontario Delivers Action Plan to Increase Protection for Vulnerable People and Those Who Care for Them". Ontario Newsroom. 23 April 2020.
- ^ "Ontario Provides $461 Million to Temporarily Enhance Wages For Personal Support Workers". Ontario Newsroom. 1 October 2020.
- ^ "Ontario Introduces Legislation to Provide Support for More Ontario Veterans and their Families". Ontario Newsroom. 18 September 2020.
- ^ "Bill 202, Soldiers' Aid Commission Act, 2020, Status". Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- ^ "Ontario Working with Municipal Partners to Improve Social Assistance". Ontario Newsroom. 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Recovery & Renewal: Ontario's Vision for Social Assistance Transformation". 11 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Journey to Belonging: Choice and Inclusion". 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Premier Ford Announces Changes to Cabinet". Ontario Newsroom. 18 June 2021.
- ^ Canadian Press (18 June 2021). "MPP Smith named energy minister amid cabinet shuffle". The Belleville Intelligencer. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Ontario Launches New Supports for Businesses". Ontario Newsroom. 22 December 2022.
- ^ "OPG advances clean energy generation project". Ontario Power Generation. 2 December 2021.
- ^ "Ontario Helping Energy Customers Save Money with Green Button". Ontario Newsroom. 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Minister of Energy Outlines Further IESO Actions to Address Resource Adequacy". Independent Electricity System Operator. 11 November 2021.
- ^ Elections Ontario (2014). "General Election Results by District, 073 Prince Edward-Hastings". Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
- ^ Elections Ontario (2011). "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Prince Edward—Hastings" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2014.[permanent dead link]
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