Neil James Lumsden[1] MPP (born December 19, 1952) is a Canadian politician and retired professional football player. Lumsden was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2022 provincial election. He serves as Minister of Sport.

Neil Lumsden
Lumsden in 2024
Minister of Sport
Assumed office
June 24, 2022
PremierDoug Ford
Preceded byLisa MacLeod
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
Assumed office
June 2, 2022
Preceded byPaul Miller
Personal details
Born (1952-12-19) December 19, 1952 (age 71)
London, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
EducationCrescent School (Toronto)
Football career
No. 32
Career information
StatusRetired
CFL statusNational
Position(s)FB, RB
UniversityOttawa Gee-Gees
CFL draft1976, round: Territorial Protection
Drafted byToronto Argonauts
Career history
As administrator
1996–1999Hamilton Tiger-Cats
As player
19761978Toronto Argonauts
19781979Hamilton Tiger-Cats
19801985Edmonton Eskimos
Career highlights and awards
As player
As GM
  • Grey Cup champion (1999)
Records
  • 410 points CIS career
  • 148 points in a CIS season (1975)
Career stats

Lumsden played his entire professional career in the Canadian Football League (CFL), mostly as a fullback and also as a running back for the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Eskimos from 1976 to 1985.

Early life

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Lumsden played high school football at Northern Secondary School and graduated from Crescent School in Toronto.[citation needed]

Football career

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Some of his career highlights include the Vanier Cup with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in 1975, being the eastern conference nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie in 1976, losing out to John Sciarra of the BC Lions, and winning three Grey Cup Championships with Edmonton Eskimos from 1980 to 1982, and again being a Grey Cup winner in 1999 as General Manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In the 1981 Grey Cup game Lumsden with 8 receptions for 91 yards plus a carry for 2 yards was selected as the Outstanding Canadian being awarded with the Dick Suderman Trophy.[citation needed]

In ten seasons, Lumsden played in 141 regular season games and carried the ball 767 times for 3,755 yards and 36 touchdowns. He also had 180 receptions for 1,729 yards and 15 more touchdowns. He was called several times during his career to fill in as a placekicker and punter.[citation needed]

Post-CFL career

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Lumsden worked briefly in cycling when he was appointed COO of the Hamilton, Ontario, UCI Road World Championships in 2003. This was only the fourth time the road cycling world championships had taken place outside Europe.[citation needed]

Lumsden now heads Drive Marketing,[2] a sports marketing firm and a division of OK&D Marketing Group[3] of Burlington, Ontario.

Lumsden acted as Honorary Chairman of the 2008 Desjardins Vanier Cup in Hamilton, Ontario.[citation needed]

In 2014, Lumsden was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.[4]

Political career

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In 2022, he was nominated to run as a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the provincial electoral riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.[5][6] He was then elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2022 provincial election.[7] He was appointed Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport in June 2022.[8] In June 2024, he became Minister of Sport.[9]

Personal life

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His son Jesse Lumsden was also a CFL football player who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos, and Calgary Stampeders before retiring in 2011. He is now a member of the Canadian Olympic Bobsled Team.[citation needed]

In 2015, he and his daughter, Kristin Lumsden, a makeup artist/skincare specialist living and working in Toronto, competed in the third season of The Amazing Race Canada. In the first six legs, they placed 10th, 6th, 1st, 6th, 7th, and 6th. In the seventh leg, they placed last in 7th place and were eliminated from the show.[citation needed]

Electoral history

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2022 Ontario general election: Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Progressive Conservative Neil Lumsden 12,166 34.60 +5.78 $47,580
New Democratic Zaigham Butt 9,614 27.34 −23.82 $82,230
Liberal Jason Farr 7,411 21.07 +8.99 $73,616
Independent Paul Miller 2,411 6.86   $8,083
Green Cassie Wylie 1,740 4.95 +0.67 $381
Ontario Party Domenic Diluca 1,052 2.99   $4,627
New Blue Jeffery Raulino 693 1.97   $11,785
Electoral Reform Cameron Rajewski 79 0.22   $0
Total valid votes/Expense limit 35,166 98.74 +0.08 $121,750
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 449 1.26 –0.08
Turnout 35,615 40.95 –12.11
Eligible voters 86,774
Progressive Conservative gain from Independent Swing +14.80
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

References

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  1. ^ "Neil James Lumsden". January 5, 2024.
  2. ^ "Drive Marketing". Archived from the original on October 8, 2007.
  3. ^ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2006.
  4. ^ Robb, Peter (September 20, 2014). "Neil Lumsden and Moe Racine set to enter football Hall". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  5. ^ "Neil Lumsden Nominated as Ontario PC Candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek – PC Party of Ontario". January 27, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "Neil Lumsden to run for the Ontario PCs in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek - Hamilton | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "PC Neil Lumsden wins in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek". The Toronto Star. June 2, 2022. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Rookie Hamilton MPP and former CFL star Neil Lumsden named to Doug Ford's cabinet". The Hamilton Spectator. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  9. ^ Jones, Allison; Casey, Liam (June 6, 2024). "Ontario Premier Doug Ford shuffles cabinet". CBC News. Toronto, Ontario. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.