Wayne Lessard (born January 12, 1956) is former a
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 ...
in Ontario,
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 as 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:
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Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1997 to 1999.
Background
Lessard was educated at the
University of Windsor, and worked as a barrister and solicitor. In 1986, he has operated a private law practice specializing in workplace safety,
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
, criminal defence and other matters. He also served as an Assistant Crown Attorney and legal counsel for the Corporation of the City of Windsor.
Politics
He was elected to the
Ontario legislature
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 ...
in the
1990 provincial election, defeating incumbent
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 ...
Mike Ray by over 4,000 votes in the
riding of
Windsor—Walkerville
Windsor—Walkerville was a federal electoral district that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1988. It was located in the southwest corner of the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of E ...
.
The NDP won its first majority government in this election. Lessard was appointed as
parliamentary assistant from 1990 to 1995.
The NDP were defeated in the
1995 provincial election, and Lessard lost his seat to Liberal
Dwight Duncan by 380 votes.
He returned to the legislature two years later after winning 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 ...
in
Windsor—Riverside, called after the resignation of
Dave Cooke.
The province's electoral boundaries were radically altered between 1995 and 1999, and in the
1999 provincial election Lessard was forced to face Dwight Duncan again in the new riding of
Windsor—St. Clair. Despite having the support of the
Canadian Auto Workers
The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW; formally the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada) was one of Canada's largest and highest profile labour unions. In 2013, it merged with the Communications, Energy and ...
, he lost by more than 4,000 votes.
After politics
Lessard returned to his legal practice in Windsor for a short time and then became a Prosecutor for the City of Windsor.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessard, Wayne
1956 births
Living people
Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs
Politicians from Windsor, Ontario
University of Windsor alumni
University of Windsor Faculty of Law alumni