Margaret Helen Harrington (born October 4, 1945) is a Canadian teacher and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

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 1990 to 1995.

Background

Harrington was educated at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

in Kingston, Ontario, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. She worked as a secondary school teacher in Niagara Falls after her graduation, and served as city councillor of the Niagara Falls City Council. In 1988, she was named Niagara Falls Woman of the Year. Her husband, Dick Harrington, ran for the federal and provincial

on three occasions. She and her husband had two children, Kevin and Jennifer.

Politics

Harrington ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, and finished second against Liberal

Vince Kerrio Vincent George Kerrio (February 5, 1924 – October 30, 2009) was a businessperson and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1975 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the government ...

in the riding of Niagara Falls. She lost by 5,664 votes. Three years later, in the 1990 provincial election, she defeated Liberal candidate Wayne Campbell by almost 6,000 votes in the same riding. The NDP won a majority government and Harrington was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the

Minister of Housing A Housing minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for Housing Policy. Country-related articles and lists * Australia: Minister for Housing ** Victoria: Minister for Housing ** Western Australia: Minister for ...

from 1990 to 1993. She was then appointed as a Deputy Speaker. Shortly after the election, Harrington was accused of improprieties on voting day. She admitted to improperly adding two names to the voter's list. She claimed that she was mistaken about the rules for adding names to the list. The Ontario Elections Act states people may be added to the voting list on a provincial election day only in rural polling divisions, not urban ones like Niagara Falls. Warren Bailie, Chief Election Officer ruled that no further action was required since Harrington won the election by more than two votes. In 1993 she came out against the government's proposal to build a casino in Niagara Falls but reversed her position a year later when she supported the plan. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Harrington finished third against Progressive Conservative

Bart Maves Bart Maves (born October 30, 1964) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003. In 2010, he was elected as a Regional Councillor representing Niagara Fal ...

in her bid for re-election. When

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

stepped down as party leader she supported

Tony Silipo Tony Silipo (August 10, 1957 – March 10, 2012) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1999 representing the New Democratic Party in the downtown Toronto riding of Dovercourt. In 1999 he was a ...

for leader of the party.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Margaret 1945 births Living people Niagara Falls, Ontario city councillors Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from Warwick Women MPPs in Ontario