Peter Zygmunt Milczyn (born ) is a former politician in

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 C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was a

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 ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018 who represented the west

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

riding of

Etobicoke—Lakeshore Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It covers the southern part of the Eto ...

. He was a member of cabinet in the government 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 ...

. He was Minister of Housing from 2017 to 2018. Previously, he was a

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

from 2000 to 2014.

Background

Milczyn was born in

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

. His parents, Wes Milczyn and Maria Graf, emigrated from Poland in 1963. His mother worked as a journalist in Poland. He attended

Etobicoke Collegiate Institute Etobicoke Collegiate Institute (ECI, Etobicoke CI), previously known as Etobicoke High School is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Islington neighbourhood of the former suburb of Etobicoke. It is overseen by the Tor ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

where he obtained a degree in architecture. He set up his own design firm, but his interest in urban planning issues propelled him into politics. His wife, Rose Milczyn, is a former municipal civil servant who was appointed to

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

in August 2022 as a temporary caretaker councillor following the resignation of Michael Ford.

Politics

Municipal

Milczyn ran for a seat on the

city council in 1991. He came third behind winner Alex Faulkner. He ran again in 1994 and beat out eight other contenders in Ward 2 after Faulkner retired from politics. In 1993, he became president of Etobicoke—Lakeshore

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

riding association. He quit this position, however, when then Liberal Party leader Jean Chrétien appointed

Jean Augustine Jean Augustine (born September 9, 1937) is a Grenada-born Canadian politician. She was the first Black Canadian woman to serve as a federal Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament. From 1993 to 2006, Jean Augustine was a Liberal membe ...

to run as the party's candidate in the riding in the 1993 Canadian federal election. This decision overrode his association's recommendation of Mary Sopta as the candidate. The Liberal party felt that Sopta's Serbo-Croatian background would create tension. Milczyn characterized that as "racist". Milczyn complained that Augustine was being appointed as the Liberal candidate only because she was black. He said, "It's only a factor with me inasmuch as it upsets me that they're using it (color) as a factor." With the merger of Etobicoke and other municipalities to form the new City of Toronto, he ran, but failed to win a seat on Toronto city council in 1997. In the 2000 municipal election he ran again and this time defeating incumbent Blake Kinahan in a close race. He backed

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014. After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 200 ...

for

Mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

in the 2003 municipal election.

Provincial

Milczyn ran as the

candidate in the

provincial by-election, caused by the resignation of

Laurel Broten Laurel C. Broten (born 1967) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2013, who represented the Toronto riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore. She served in the cabinet ...

, which was held August 1, 2013. He was defeated by fellow Toronto councillor

Doug Holyday Douglas Charles Holyday (born 1942) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario before b ...

, running for the Progressive Conservatives. In the 2014 general election he faced Holyday again this time defeating him by 6,548 votes. He served as a

Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

to the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. On July 31, 2017, Milczyn was promoted to cabinet and appointed as Minister of Housing.

Cabinet positions

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milczyn, Peter 1965 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian people of Polish descent Living people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Etobicoke Toronto city councillors University of Toronto alumni