Dalton McGuinty

Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr. ( born July 19, 1955 in Ottawa ) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. From 23 October 2003 to 11 February 2013, was Prime Minister of the Province of Ontario. After John Sandfield Macdonald, who reigned from 1867 to 1871, he was only the second Catholic in this office. McGuinty from 1996 to 2013 Chairman of the Ontario Liberal Party and represented the constituency since 1990 Ottawa South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. In fiscal policy, he is considered a moderate conservative, while he represents liberal positions in the social sciences and social policy. Six months after his resignation as Prime Minister, he resigned as deputy.

Private life

His parents are politician and professor Dalton McGuinty, Sr., who had been 1987-1990 Member of Parliament for Ottawa South, and the nurse Elizabeth McGuinty. As the son of an English father and a French-speaking mother McGuinty grew up bilingual. It has nine siblings; his younger brother David McGuinty represents since 2003 the constituency of Ottawa South in the Canadian House of Commons.

McGuinty studied biology at McMaster University and then made ​​a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Ottawa before he was working as a lawyer. He is married since 1980 with the kindergarten teacher Terri McGuinty, whom he had met in high school; the couple has four children.

Provincial policy

At the legislative elections on September 6, 1990 Dalton McGuinty was elected in the constituency of Ottawa South to succeed his father, who had died six months earlier. The Liberal government of David Peterson suffered against the social-democratic Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP ), a surprising defeat and McGuinty was the only new Member of the Liberal. McGuinty was opposition spokesman on energy, environment, colleges and universities. Without problems he made on 8 June 1995, the re-election. His party remained in opposition, since the NDP government was replaced by a government of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

On December 1, 1996 McGuinty was elected by the Assembly of Delegates in the fifth round as the new Chairman of the Ontario Liberal Party. His choice was rather surprising since he had lain in the first ballot only in fourth place. During his time as leader of the official opposition, McGuinty has been described by critics as little often charismatic and little practiced in dealing with the media. In the elections on 3 June 1999, the Liberals were indeed striking to gain voter shares, but this time being brought little seat gains due to the majority voting system.

McGuinty was able to consolidate his position as party chairman in the sequence and succeeded to establish the party as the main alternative to the Conservatives. The chances of a victory rose, as the governing Progressive Conservative Party was involved in several controversies. Prime Minister Mike Harris resigned in 2002. His successor, Ernie Eves was unable to regain the favor of the voters.

During the 2003 election campaign the Liberals from the beginning carried away in the polls and created on October 2, a landslide election victory. McGuinty's party won a share of the vote from 46.4 % and won 72 of 103 seats in the Legislative Assembly, twice as many as four years earlier. The office of Prime Minister stepped McGuinty on 23 October 2003.

Prime minister

Shortly after taking office, McGuinty's government increased expenditure in the public health. To finance this, they also increased the compulsory health insurance contributions. In order for the Liberal Party broke right at the beginning a central campaign promise, namely the renunciation of tax increases. This measure led to a short-term popularity fading.

The second, presented in May 2005 state budget called for major investments in education. This allows the government another one of her campaign promises a balanced budget by fiscal year 2007/ 08, the earliest one year later meet as originally planned. The government was able to achieve with the unions on important issues an agreement, so that the wave of strikes that had rocked the previous conservative government, gradually subsided.

McGuinty endorses the possibility of termination of pregnancy; his government passed in February 2005, a law that allows same-sex marriage. This Ontario paved the way for the other Canadian provinces and territories followed suit in the course of half a year. In June 2006, the provincial government announced a 20 -year plan for the renewal of all power plants, the levels of expenditure in the amount of 46 billion dollars. McGuinty's government is the first Ontario since the 1970s, which openly supported the construction of new nuclear power plants.

In the elections on 10 October 2007, the share of the vote of the Ontario Liberal Party declined, although by slightly more than four per cent, but this resulted in a single seat loss. McGuinty is the first Liberal Prime Minister of Ontario since Mitchell Hepburn in the 1930s, which was confirmed in his office. The share of the vote fell again in the elections on 6 October 2011; the Liberals missed an absolute majority for a mandate and McGuinty formed a minority government. The liberals hoped, but to achieve the absolute majority in two by-elections on September 6, 2012 yet, but the desired seat profits failed to materialize. On 15 October 2012, he announced he would resign as soon as his party had chosen a successor. The Congress of Liberals voted on January 26, 2013 Kathleen Wynne to the new party chairman. McGuinty was handed the office on February 11 and came back on June 12 as a deputy.