Richard Gary Stewart (born March 23, 1938) is a

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former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1995 to 2003, and briefly served as 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’, � ...

under

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

Background

Stewart was educated at Banting Institute, receiving a Mortician Certificate, and worked for a time at Comstock Funeral Home in Peterborough. In 1974, he became president of G. Stewart Travel Services in Peterborough, which he continued to operate throughout his political career. He also served as a director of the Peterborough Civic Hospital.

Politics

Stewart became deputy

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

of the Township of Otonabee in 1985, and was a warden of

Peterborough County Peterborough County is located in Southern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Peterborough, which is independent of the county. The southern section of the county is mix of agriculture, urban and lakefront properties. The northern section of th ...

from 1992 to 1994. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate Sylvia Sutherland and incumbent

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Jenny Carter Jenny Carter (born December 26, 1931) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae. Backg ...

by a significant margin. He was a backbench supporter of

for the next four years. In the provincial election of 1999, Stewart was elected over Liberal

Jeff Leal John Jeffrey Leal (born December 13, 1954) is a Canadian politician who serves as the 63rd and current mayor of Peterborough. Previously, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the riding of P ...

by about 2,500 votes. He served as chief government

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and

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

from July 31, 2001 to April 14, 2002. When

Ernie Eves Ernest Larry Eves (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership upon Mike Harris's resignation as party leade ...

became premier in 2002 he was dropped from cabinet. In 2003, Stewart recommended that provincial governments stop enforcing the federal gun registry. In the 2003 provincial election, Stewart lost to Leal by over 6,000 votes in a rematch from 1999. Gary’s son Scott Stewart lost to Leal in the general election of 2014.

Parliamentary positions

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Gary 1938 births Living people People from Peterborough, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs 21st-century Canadian politicians