Stephen Crawford (politician)

Stephen John Crawford[1] MPP is a Canadian politician who currently serves as the Associate Minister of Mines in Ontario.

Stephen Crawford
Associate Minister of Mines
Assumed office
June 6, 2024
MinisterGeorge Pirie
Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Finance
In office
June 2, 2022 – June 6, 2024
MinisterPeter Bethlenfalvy
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Oakville
Assumed office
June 7, 2018
Preceded byKevin Flynn
Personal details
BornMississauga, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
SpouseNajia Crawford
Children4
Residence(s)Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
University of Toronto
OccupationFinancial Executive

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election[2] and again in the 2022 provincial election.[3] He represents the riding of Oakville as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Early life

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Stephen Crawford was born in Mississauga, Ontario, to his parents William and Diane Crawford. He grew up in Mississauga, the youngest of three children and attended Lorne Park Secondary School.[4]

Education

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Crawford attended the University of Western Ontario where he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He also holds a Business Diploma from the University of Toronto, and a Leadership Program Certificate from Queen's University. Crawford also earned his Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation.[4]

Business career

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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.[5]

Political career

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In 2017, Crawford ran for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario nomination in the riding of Oakville, 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.[6][7] Crawford defeated Flynn by 4,510 votes, ending his 15-year tenure as Oakville's MPP.[8]

On August 9, 2018, Crawford was named the chair of the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee.[9]

On November 21, 2018, Crawford announced his first private members bill, Bill 55, also known as the Safeguarding Our Information Act, 2018. In a 2018 editorial, he said the purpose of the bill was to prevent government institutions from accessing the private financial data of Ontario residents without their consent.[10][11]

On June 26, 2019, Crawford was named the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure. He served in this role from 2019-2021.[12]

On June 21, 2021, Crawford sent a letter to Oakville Mayor Rob Burton urging the town to request a Ministerial Zoning Order to protect Glen Abbey Golf Course from a proposed development.[13] The development was cancelled in July 2021.[14][15]

In July 2021, Crawford was appointed to the role of Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy, a position he held until 2022.[16]

On June 29, 2022, Crawford was sworn in as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance.[16] On June 6, 2024, he became Associate Minister of Mines as part of Ontario's Ministry of Mines.[17]

Personal life

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Crawford resides in Oakville, Ontario with his wife Najia and children.[4]

Crawford is the great grand-nephew of famous Irish-born Canadian writer, Isabella Valancy Crawford.[18]

Awards and recognition

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In 2019, Crawford and fellow MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos were presented with keys to the Town of Oakville "for their work on the regional review process and strong representation of the voice of Oakville residents".[19]

In 2021, Crawford received a second key to the Town of Oakville, alongside Premier Doug Ford and fellow MPPs Triantafilopoulos and Steve Clark, for their role in saving the Glen Abbey Golf Course.[20]

Electoral record

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2022 Ontario general election: Oakville
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Stephen Crawford 21,162 45.44 +1.77
Liberal Alison Gohel 17,554 37.69 +1.95
New Democratic Maeve McNaughton 3,154 6.77 −9.80
Green Bruno Sousa 2,416 5.19 +1.70
None of the Above Stephen Kenneth Crawford 846 1.82  
New Blue Mark Fraser Platt 764 1.64  
Ontario Party Alicia Bedford 497 1.07  
Freedom Silvio Ursomarzo 129 0.28  
Moderate Andrew Titov 47 0.10  
Total valid votes 46,569 100.0  
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 334
Turnout 46,903 50.29
Eligible voters 92,702
Progressive Conservative hold Swing −0.09
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.
2018 Ontario general election: Oakville
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Stephen Crawford 24,837 43.67 +5.90
Liberal Kevin Flynn 20,327 35.74 −13.69
New Democratic Lesley Sprague 9,424 16.57 +8.63
Green Emily De Sousa 1,986 3.49 −0.31
Libertarian Spencer Oklobdzija 297 0.52 −0.27
Total valid votes 56,871 100.0  
Source: Elections Ontario[21]

References

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  1. ^ @ONPARLeducation (July 13, 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Peter Edwards, "PCs Crawford and Gill defeat Liberal cabinet ministers in Oakville and Milton". Toronto Star, June 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Brean, Joseph (June 4, 2022). "PC leader Doug Ford bucks history to set Conservative seat count record in Ontario election". National Post. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Meet Stephen Crawford". PC Caucus Services. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "Canada's Acuity Investment Management launches 130/30 vehicle | Hedgeweek". www.hedgeweek.com. June 8, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  6. ^ Landau, Richard (July 9, 2017). "Stephen Crawford nominated Provincial PC Candidate". Oakville News. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Marychuk, Marta (August 3, 2017). "Stephen Crawford to run for Ontario PC Party in Oakville". Inside Halton. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  8. ^ Edwards, Peter (June 7, 2018). "PCs Crawford and Gill defeat Liberal cabinet ministers in Oakville and Milton". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Oakville MPP elected chair of finance and economic affairs committee". August 14, 2018.
  10. ^ "Bill 55, Safeguarding our Information Act, 2018". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  11. ^ Crawford, Stephen (December 20, 2018). "All Ontarians deserve a robust consumer protection law". Inside Halton. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "Oakville MPP named parliamentary assistant to infrastructure minister". June 28, 2019.
  13. ^ Arnott, Kim (June 21, 2021). "MPP Crawford pushes town to formally request an MZO to save Glen Abbey". Oakville News. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  14. ^ "Oakville's Glen Abbey golf course saved from development after Ontario minister intervenes". CBC News.
  15. ^ "Oakville honours Premier Doug Ford for role in saving Glen Abbey Golf Course | inHalton". insauga | Local Online News. April 5, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Stephen Crawford (Oakville)". Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Galvin, Elizabeth McNeill (June 30, 1994). Isabella Valancy Crawford: We Scarcely Knew Her. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-1473-1.
  19. ^ Rostoski, Damian (December 2, 2019). "Key to the Town of Oakville presented to each Oakville MPPs". Oakville News. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  20. ^ "Premier, municipal affairs minister and residents awarded for role in saving Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Course". thestar.com. April 4, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  21. ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 8. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
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