Deborah Drake Matthews is a former Canadian politician who served as the 10th
deputy premier of Ontario
The deputy premier of Ontario (french: vice-première ministre de l'Ontario) is a minister of the Crown and senior member of the provincial Executive Council (Cabinet). The office was first created in 1977 is conferred on the advice of the premi ...
from 2013 to 2018. A member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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This is a li ...
, Matthews was the
member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for
London North Centre
London North Centre (french: London-Centre-Nord; formerly known as London—Adelaide) is a federal electoral district in the city of London in the province of Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 19 ...
from 2003 to 2018, and was a
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
from 2008 to 2018 in the governments of
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian 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 nea ...
and
Kathleen Wynne
Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...
.
Early life and education
Matthews was born in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
. She is the third of nine children born to
Donald Jeune Matthews, former president of the
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003.
From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...
. Her mother was Joyce Eleanor Matthews, and her sister is
Shelley Peterson, the wife of former Ontario Premier
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.
Backgro ...
.
She graduated from St. George’s Public School and
A.B. Lucas Secondary School
A.B. Lucas Secondary School is a secondary school located at the northern end of London, Ontario, Canada.
The school was named after A.B. Lucas, who was recognized for his contribution to education in London. In April 1962, Hugh Murray became the ...
. She studied at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
where she earned a PhD in
social demography. Her doctoral dissertation was entitled the "Consequences of immigrant concentration in Canada, 2001–2051." She worked at a number of positions in private business and also taught at the University of Western Ontario. Matthews was honoured twice on the University Students' Council Teaching Honour Roll at the University of Western Ontario.
Political career
Matthews has been involved in the Liberal Party since 1975, when she helped run Peterson's campaign in the old riding of
London Centre
London Centre is a defunct Ontario provincial electoral district that was abolished in 1996. Its most notable representative was former Liberal Premier David Peterson, and was located in London, Ontario.
Boundaries
Just prior to the 1975 electio ...
. She co-chaired the Liberal Party's provincial campaigns in the elections of
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
. Matthews was elected as President of the Ontario Liberal Party in 2003 and held the post until resigning in late 2006.
2003 election
In the
2003 election, Matthews defeated
Progressive Conservative cabinet minister
Dianne Cunningham
Dianne Esther Cunningham (born December 5, 1939) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1988 to 2003, and a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Ha ...
by almost 7,000 votes.
On October 23, 2003, she was appointed the parliamentary assistant to the
minister of community and social services,
Sandra Pupatello
Sandra Pupatello (née Pizzolitto; born October 6, 1962) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2011 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, serving as a Minister in the government of ...
.
2007 election and in cabinet
Matthews was re-elected in the
2007 election.
She was appointed as the minister of children and youth services and minister responsible for women's issues after the election.
On December 4, 2008, Matthews introduced Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy as chair of the Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction. The long-term reduction plan set a target to reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over 5 years. On October 7, 2009, Matthews was named the
minister of health and long-term care to replace
David Caplan
David Richard Caplan (November 15, 1964 – July 24, 2019) was a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the ridings of Oriole and Don Valley East from 1997 to 2011 ...
.
2011 election
Matthews was re-elected in the
2011 election,
and was re-appointed as health minister on October 20, 2011.
In 2012, Matthews came under pressure because of revelations at
Ornge
Ornge (formerly Ontario Air Ambulance Corporation and Ontario Air Ambulance Service) is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation and registered charity that provides air ambulance and associated ground transportation services for the province of ...
, Ontario's air ambulance service. Members of the opposition Progressive Conservative and
New Democratic parties called for her to resign. In response to the revelations at Ornge, Matthews announced an
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...
(OPP) investigation. During the Liberal Party leadership race in 2013, she was an early supporter of
Kathleen Wynne
Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...
's candidacy to lead the party.
2014 election
Following her re-election in 2014,
Matthews was shuffled from health to a revamped role as
president of the Treasury Board
The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury B ...
.
On June 13, 2016, she retained her position as deputy premier and was also appointed as
minister of advanced education and skills development. She was additionally responsible for digital government. Matthews left cabinet on January 17, 2018, having declined re-election in the 2018 election.
Cabinet positions
Electoral record
References
Notes
Citations
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Deb
1953 births
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians
Deputy premiers of Ontario
Health ministers of Ontario
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
Politicians from London, Ontario
University of Western Ontario alumni
Women government ministers of Canada
Women MPPs in Ontario