Michael Levitt (politician)

Michael Levitt is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of York Centre in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2020 as a member of the Liberal Party.

Michael Levitt
Member of the Canadian Parliament for York Centre
In office October 19, 2015 – September 1, 2020
Preceded by	Mark Adler
Succeeded by	Ya'ara Saks
Personal details
Born	May 9, 1970[1] Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater	McGill University

Background

Born and raised in Scotland, Levitt came with his family to Canada when he was 14.[2]

Levitt served as Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group.[3]

Before running for office, Levitt was a founding member of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, co-chaired Liberal Friends of Israel, and served as a Partner and Vice-President of Business Development for the Benjamin Group in Toronto, a company providing lifecycle services to Toronto's Jewish community.[4] He has also served on the boards of Mount Sinai Hospital and the Koffler Centre for the Arts, both located in Toronto.[5]

Political career

Levitt was first elected to Parliament in the 2015 federal election, defeating the Conservative incumbent, Mark Adler.[6][7] He was re-elected in the 2019 federal election.[8]

On August 4, 2020, Levitt announced he would be resigning as an MP, effective September 1, 2020, to become the President and CEO of the Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies.[9]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: York Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Michael Levitt	21,680	50.2	+3.32
	Conservative	Rachel Willson	15,852	36.7	-7.29
	New Democratic	Andrea Vásquez Jiménez	4,251	9.8	+2.47
	Green	Rebecca Wood	1,403	3.2	+1.40
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,186	100.0
Total rejected ballots			665
Turnout			43,851	62.5
Eligible voters			70,133
Source: Elections Canada[10][11]

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Michael Levitt	20,109	46.9	+13.7	–
	Conservative	Mark Adler	18,893	44.0	-4.5	–
	New Democratic	Hal Berman	3,148	7.3	-8.6	–
	Green	Constantine Kritsonis	794	1.8	-0.5	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			42,944	100.0		$198,299.74
Total rejected ballots			319	–	–
Turnout			43,263	–	–
Eligible voters			64,297
Source: Elections Canada[12][13]

References

1. "Profile". lop.parl.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
2. "Update: Getting to know 12 new Toronto Liberals you might not have heard of | Metro News". Retrieved 2016-09-28.
3. "MICHAEL LEVITT - ROLES - HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA". Retrieved 2019-03-03.
4. "SIX JEWISH MPS HEAD TO OTTAWA". Retrieved 2019-03-03.
5. "Michael Levitt Biography". Retrieved 2019-03-03.
6. InsideToronto.com. "YORK CENTRE: Liberal Michael Levitt unseats Conservative Mark Adler". www.insidetoronto.com. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
7. Morales, Steve. "Michael Levitt recaptures Liberal stronghold York Centre". Retrieved 2016-09-28.
8. Pataki, Amy (October 22, 2019). "Liberal Levitt triumphs for re-election in York Centre". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
9. "Toronto Liberal MP resigns to helm Jewish human rights organization". CBC News. August 4, 2020.
10. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
11. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
12. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for York Centre, 30 September 2015
13. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official Website