Steve Clark (politician)

Steve Clark (born November 7, 1960) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He represents the riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and has served as an MPP since 2010. Clark served as Opposition House Leader from 2014-2015; Co-Deputy Leader, Official Opposition with Sylvia Jones from 2015-2018; and Deputy Opposition House Leader from 2012-2014 and 2017-2018.

The Honourable Steve Clark MPP
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Incumbent
Assumed office June 29, 2018
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Bill Mauro Peter Milczyn
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes Leeds—Grenville (2010-2018)
Incumbent
Assumed office March 4, 2010
Preceded by	Bob Runciman
Mayor of Brockville
In office 1982–1991
Personal details
Born	November 7, 1960 Brockville, Ontario
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Residence	Brockville, Ontario

Biography

Clark was born in Brockville, Ontario on November 7, 1960.[1] He lives in Brockville with his wife Deanna.[2]

Clark served three terms as mayor of Brockville from 1982 to 1991.[3] First elected at age 22, he was the youngest mayor in Canada at the time.[4] He was also president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. He later worked as an advertising salesman for the Brockville Recorder and Times, as an administrative assistant to Bob Runciman, and as the chief administrative officer for the township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands.[5]

He was first elected as the MPP for Leeds–Grenville in a by-election on March 4, 2010 held to replace Bob Runciman who resigned to accept a position in the Canadian Senate.[3] He was easily re-elected in 2011 and in 2014 both with large pluralities.[6][7] In 2018, he was elected as the MPP for the riding of Leeds–Grenville–Thousands Islands and Rideau Lakes. In 2018, he was appointed as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing by Premier Doug Ford.

In September 2018, as Municipal Affairs Minister, he introduced the Better Local Government Act (Bill 5) to align the City of Toronto's municipal ward boundaries with provincial and federal electoral districts. This legislation intended to reduce the size of Toronto city council to create a more efficient council. When this legislation was initially ruled unconstitutional, he supported the unprecedented step of invoking the notwithstanding clause. Ultimately, The Ontario court of appeal accepted Ontario's position that the Better Local Government Act, 2018 did not infringe the Charter s. 2(b) freedom of expression rights of either municipal voters or candidates.

In January 2019, Clark proposed changes to the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan.[8] The changes put an emphasis on transit-oriented development while allowing municipalities and developers to work together to build communities that address local needs and regional priorities, while maintaining protections for the Greenbelt, agricultural lands, the agri-food sector, and natural heritage systems.

Clark introduced the Municipal Modernization Program in March 2019 to improve local service delivery and efficiency in 405 small and rural municipalities in Ontario. He also developed the Audit and Accountability Fund to help the larger 39 municipalities and three school boards to conduct independent, financial reviews. To bolster municipal modernization efforts, Clark announced additional funding for municipalities in March 2020 to find ways to lower costs and improve services for residents and businesses as well as streamline development processes to increase the supply of housing.[9]

On May 2, 2019, Clark introduced Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan and the More Homes, More Choice Act (Bill 108), to make it easier and faster to build housing of all types, and to reduce the cost of renting or buying a home in Ontario. The Bill followed extensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders in industry, the non-profit sector and members of the public. In addition to legislative changes, the Housing Supply Action Plan supported innovative ways to increase housing supply through a series of practical and informative guides on second suites, co-ownership, life leases and tiny homes.

In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark announced alongside Premier Doug Ford the historic one-time emergency $4 billion Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government.[10] As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, municipalities experienced unprecedented cashflow and financial pressures from decreased revenues and increased service delivery costs. The Safe Restart Agreement funding will flow directly to municipalities to help them deal with COVID-19 related pressures, maintain critical services and protect vulnerable people as the province safely and gradually re-opened.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark worked closely with municipal partners across Ontario and introduced the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act (Bill 197), which received Royal Assent on July 21, 2020.[12]

Electoral record

2018 Ontario general election: Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Steve Clark	30,002	61.27	+5.20
	New Democratic	Michelle Taylor	9,688	19.78	+2.67
	Liberal	David Henderson	6,543	13.36	-7.13
	Green	Derek Morley	2,347	4.79	-0.10
	Libertarian	Bill Buckley	389	0.79
Total valid votes			48,969	100.00
Turnout				61.9
Eligible voters			79,115
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing
Source: Elections Ontario[13]

2014 Ontario general election: Leeds—Grenville
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Steve Clark	23,253	56.07	−7.53
	Liberal	Christine Milks	8,499	20.49	+3.06
	New Democratic	David Lundy	7,219	17.41	+2.18
	Green	Stephen Bowering	2,030	4.89	+1.44
	Libertarian	Harold Gabriel	471	1.14	–
Total valid votes			41,472	100.0	+8.43
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−5.30
Source(s) Elections Ontario (2014). "Official result from the records, 042 Leeds-Grenville" (PDF). Retrieved 27 June 2015.

2011 Ontario general election: Leeds—Grenville
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Steve Clark	24,314	63.60	−3.08	$ 52,598.00
	Liberal	Ray Heffernan	6,663	17.43	−2.65	17,512.99
	New Democratic	David Lundy	5,822	15.23	+10.12	13,274.26
	Green	Charlie Taylor	1,319	3.45	−4.22	3,731.20
	Socialist	Lance Fulsom	111	0.29		0.00
Total valid votes / Expense limit			38,229	100.0	+37.72	$ 90,198.43
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			155	0.40	+0.09
Turnout			38,384	50.64	+14.03
Eligible voters			75,797		−0.34
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−0.22
Source(s) "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Leeds—Grenville" (PDF). "2011 Candidate Campaign Returns (CR-1)". Retrieved June 8, 2014.

Ontario provincial by-election, March 4, 2010: Leeds—Grenville Resignation of Bob Runciman
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Steve Clark	18,510	66.68	+10.44	$ 27,511.00
	Liberal	Stephen Mazurek	5,573	20.08	−8.59	65,190.41
	Green	Neil Kudrinko	2,130	7.67	+0.49	14,799.66
	New Democratic	Steve Armstrong	1,417	5.10	−1.87	17,118.89
	Libertarian	Anthony Giles	129	0.46		297.56
Total valid votes			27,759	100.0	−39.61
Total rejected ballots			87	0.31	−0.07
Turnout			27,846	36.61	−24.57
Eligible voters			76,053		+5.35
Source(s) "Leeds—Grenville By-Election – March 4, 2010". Elections Ontario. Retrieved June 8, 2014. "2010 By-Election Returns – Ottawa West-Nepean – Candidate (CR-1) & Association (CR-3) Returns". "Ontario's Runciman among 5 new senators". Toronto Star. January 29, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2014.

Cabinet posts

References

1. Rafter, Jack (November 16, 1991). "Kid councillor becomes kid Reeve". The Kingston Whig - Standard. p. 1.
2. Gardiner, Nick (March 2, 2010). "Boy-wonder mayor back to his roots". Brockville Recorder and Times.
3. "McGuinty Liberals win narrow victory in Ottawa by-election". The Globe and Mail. March 4, 2010.
4. "Former politician scores upset win in Hamilton vote". The Globe and Mail, November 9, 1982.
5. "Steven Clark named new CAO of TLTI". Gananoque Reporter. July 14, 2009.
6. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
7. "General Election by District: Leeds—Grenville". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014.
8. "Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
10. "Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
11. "Ontario Newsroom | Salle de presse de l'Ontario". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
12. "COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
13. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)