Stephen J. Clark (born November 7, 1960) is a 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 Ca ...
,
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 is the
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and 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 ...
. He represents the riding of
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes (french: Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands et Rideau Lakes) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Com ...
and has served as an
MPP
MPP or M.P.P. may refer to:
* Marginal physical product
* Master of Public Policy, an academic degree
* Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada
* Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa
* ''Merriweather Post Pavilion ...
since 2010. Clark served as
Opposition House Leader
The Opposition House Leader (french: Leader à la Chambre de l'opposition, link=no), officially known as Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada, is a member of the Official Opposition, not to be confused with the ...
from 2014-2015; Co-Deputy Leader, Official Opposition with
Sylvia Jones
Sylvia Jones (born ) is a Canadian politician who has served as the deputy premier of Ontario and Ontario minister of health since June 24, 2022. Jones sits as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Dufferin—Caledon, representing th ...
from 2015-2018; and Deputy Opposition House Leader from 2012-2014 and 2017-2018.
Biography
Clark was born in
Brockville
Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...
,
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 ...
, on November 7, 1960. He lives in Brockville with his wife Deanna.
Clark served three terms as mayor of
Brockville
Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...
from 1982 to 1991.
First elected at age 22, he was the youngest mayor in Canada at the time. He was also president of the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is a non-profit organization representing municipal and regional governments in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created on June 22, 1972 through a merger of the Ontario Municipal Associa ...
. He later worked as an advertising salesman for the ''
Brockville Recorder and Times
Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...
'', as an administrative assistant to
Bob Runciman
Robert William "Bob" Runciman (born August 10, 1942) is a veteran Canadian politician and former provincial Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Legislature. First elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1981, he held the seat cont ...
, and as the
chief administrative officer
A chief administrative officer (CAO) is a top-tier executive who supervises the daily operations of an organization and is ultimately responsible for its performance.
Government and non-profit
A CAO is responsible for administrative management of ...
for the township of
Leeds and the Thousand Islands
Leeds and the Thousand Islands is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The township is located along the Saint Lawrence River, and extends north into rural hamlets and villages ...
.
He was first elected as the MPP for
Leeds–Grenville in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on March 4, 2010 held to replace
Bob Runciman
Robert William "Bob" Runciman (born August 10, 1942) is a veteran Canadian politician and former provincial Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Legislature. First elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1981, he held the seat cont ...
who resigned to accept a position in the Canadian Senate.
[ He was easily re-elected in 2011 and in 2014 both with large pluralities.] In 2018, he was elected as the MPP for the riding of Leeds–Grenville–Thousands Islands and Rideau Lakes. In 2018, he was appointed as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing by Premier Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party since March 2018. He ...
.
In September 2018, as Municipal Affairs Minister, he introduced the Better Local Government Act (Bill 5) to align the City of Toronto's municipal ward boundaries with provincial and federal electoral districts. This legislation intended to reduce the size of Toronto city council to create a more efficient council. When this legislation was initially ruled unconstitutional, he supported the unprecedented step of invoking the notwithstanding clause
Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...
. Ultimately, The Ontario court of appeal
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...
accepted Ontario's position that the Better Local Government Act, 2018 did not infringe the Charter s. 2(b) freedom of expression rights of either municipal voters or candidates.
In January 2019, Clark proposed changes to the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan. The changes put an emphasis on transit-oriented development while allowing municipalities and developers to work together to build communities that address local needs and regional priorities, while maintaining protections for the Greenbelt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
, agricultural lands, the agri-food sector, and natural heritage systems.
Clark introduced the Municipal Modernization Program in March 2019 to improve local service delivery and efficiency in 405 small and rural municipalities in Ontario. He also developed the Audit and Accountability Fund to help the larger 39 municipalities and three school boards to conduct independent, financial reviews. To bolster municipal modernization efforts, Clark announced additional funding for municipalities in March 2020 to find ways to lower costs and improve services for residents and businesses as well as streamline development processes to increase the supply of housing.
On May 2, 2019, Clark introduced Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan and the More Homes, More Choice Act (Bill 108), to make it easier and faster to build housing of all types, and to reduce the cost of renting or buying a home in Ontario. The Bill followed extensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders in industry, the non-profit sector and members of the public. In addition to legislative changes, the Housing Supply Action Plan supported innovative ways to increase housing supply through a series of practical and informative guides on second suites, co-ownership, life leases and tiny homes.
In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark announced alongside Premier Doug Ford the historic one-time emergency $4 billion Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, municipalities experienced unprecedented cashflow and financial pressures from decreased revenues and increased service delivery costs. The Safe Restart Agreement funding will flow directly to municipalities to help them deal with COVID-19 related pressures, maintain critical services and protect vulnerable people as the province safely and gradually re-opened.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark worked closely with municipal partners across Ontario and introduced the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act (Bill 197), which received Royal Assent on July 21, 2020.
Electoral record
Cabinet posts
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Steve
1960 births
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
Mayors of Brockville
Canadian city managers and chief administrative officers
21st-century Canadian politicians