Stephen Crawford (politician)
| Stephen Crawford MPP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Provincial Parliament for Oakville | |
|
Assumed office June 7, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin Flynn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mississauga, Ontario |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Najia Crawford |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | Oakville, Ontario |
| Occupation | Financial Executive |
Stephen Crawford is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.[1] He represents the riding of Oakville as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. He defeated incumbent Kevin Flynn, who had served as the Oakville MPP since 2003, and was most recently Ontario's Minister of Labour. Crawford is also the great grand nephew of famous Irish born Canadian writer, Isabella Valancy Crawford.
Early Life
Stephen Crawford was born in Mississauga, Ontario to his parents William and Diane Crawford. He grew up in Mississauga, the youngest of 3 children and attended Lorne Park Secondary School.
Education
Crawford attended the University of Western Ontario to study Political Science, and then went to University of Toronto for Business. After university he then went on to earn his Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designation.
Business Career
After completing his education, Crawford worked as a financial advisor at Midland Walwyn. He went on to become a senior executive and senior equity partner at Acuity Funds Ltd. The company became one of the fastest growing asset management firms in Canada, growing to almost $10 billion in managed assets. The company was acquired by AGF Management Ltd. in 2011. After Acuity, Crawford became a senior executive and helped transition and build O'Leary Funds LP before it was purchased by Canoe Financial in 2016.
Personal Life
Crawford resides in Oakville, Ontario, where he lives with his wife Najia and children. He is a member of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, 100 Guys Who Care-Oakville, and the Royal Canadian Military Institute. He is also a vocal supporter of Plan Canada's "Because I am a Girl" campaign, which focuses on empowering young girls rights to education, and heath-care globally.
Political Career
Crawford ran for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario nomination in the summer of 2017, defeating his opponents in the second round of voting.
In the 2018 Ontario General Election, Crawford ran against Liberal candidate, and long time incumbent, Kevin Flynn. Also running in the election was, NDP candidate Lesley Sprague, Green Party candidate Emily De Sousa, and Libertarian Party candidate Spencer Oklobdzija.
Crawford beat Kevin Flynn in the election by 4510 votes, ending his 15 year tenure as Oakville's MPP.
On Thursday August, 9th 2018, Crawford was named the Chair of the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee.
Electoral Record
| Ontario general election, 2018 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Stephen Crawford | 24,837 | 43.7 | +5.95 | ||||
| Liberal | Kevin Flynn | 20,327 | 35.7 | −13.67 | ||||
| New Democratic | Lesley Sprague | 9,424 | 16.6 | +8.55 | ||||
| Green | Emily De Sousa | 1,986 | 3.5 | −0.29 | ||||
| Libertarian | Spencer Oklobdzija | 297 | 0.5 | −0.27 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 56,871 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[2] | ||||||||
References
- ↑ Peter Edwards, "PCs Crawford and Gill defeat Liberal cabinet ministers in Oakville and Milton". Toronto Star, June 7, 2018.
- ↑ "Candidate Search". Elections Ontario. Retrieved 18 May 2018.