Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
About Dalton McGuinty
- Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., (born July 19, 1955) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 24th Premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013.
- He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nearly 70 years earlier.
- In 2011, he became the first Liberal premier to secure a third consecutive term since Oliver Mowat (1872–1896), after his party was re-elected in that year's provincial election. McGuinty was born in Ottawa.
- He studied science at university but ended up taking a law degree and practised law in Ottawa.
- His father was a professor and served as a provincial politician from 1987 to 1990.
- In 1990, his father suffered a heart attack while shovelling snow and died.
- A provincial election was called for later that year and McGuinty decided to run in his father's place.
- He was elected as a Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in an election in which the Liberal government was defeated unexpectedly by the opposition Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP).
- He served in opposition for the next five years. In 1995 he was re-elected but remained in opposition since the Progressive Conservatives won the election.
- The leader of the party, Lyn McLeod, was blamed for the loss as most polls pointed to a Liberal win.
- McLeod resigned as leader in 1996 and McGuinty put his name forward for the party's leadership election.
- Although Gerrard Kennedy was the front-runner in the race, McGuinty who came fourth on the first ballot ended up winning the leadership on the fifth ballot.
- Critics called McGuinty 'Harris-lite', but his supporters argued that a right-leaning leader like McGuinty was necessary to compete against the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) of Premier Mike Harris.
- McGuinty lost the 1999 election but won a resounding majority in 2003 when Ontario turned against the governing Tories. From 2003 to 2007, McGuinty's government increased spending for health and education.
- He won another majority in 2007 against new PC leader John Tory.
- Although McGuinty suffered in the polls, his opponent mis-stepped badly by promoting a policy of public funding for private religious schools, a position that was not favoured by the voters.
- McGuinty's second term was deeply affected by the 2008 financial crisis which saw government revenues plummet.
- In addition a scandal developed around a new plan to update health care records called eHealth Ontario.
- Just prior to the 2011 election another controversy developed around the construction of gas powered electrical plants that were widely opposed by local residents.
- The gas plants happened to be located in key Liberal ridings and just before the election, McGuinty cancelled the projects.
- The cost to cancel the projects was close to $1 billion and the move was seen as pandering to the electorate in a few electoral districts.
- These issues dogged McGuinty through the election campaign.
- The Liberals won but were reduced to a minority. In the new government, the PCs under leader Tim Hudak were the opposition party with NDP leader Andrea Horwath holding the balance of power.
- McGuinty continued as premier for another two years but the continuing gas plant issue refused to go away.
- He prorogued the legislature early in October 2012 and stepped down as premier.
- He was succeeded as Liberal leader by Kathleen Wynne in February 2013 and he resigned his own seat in June 2013.
- Shortly after leaving the legislature he was named a senior fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
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