Wayne J. Gates is a Canadian politician who has represented

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2014. A member of the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Ontario; abbr. ONDP or NDP) is a social-democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Ontario following th ...

(NDP), he was elected in a February 2014 by-election in and would be re-elected in subsequent general elections.

Background

Prior to entering provincial politics, Gates was a City Councillor for the City of Niagara Falls, and president of a

Unifor Unifor is a general trade union in Canada and the largest private sector union in Canada. It was founded in 2013 as a merger of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions, and consists of 310,000 workers a ...

local in the

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

. He also served as the campaign chair for the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

, was a member the Yellow Shirt Brigade to save the Fort Erie hospital, member of the city's recreation committee, Project Share volunteer, and member of the Ontario Health Coalition.

Political career

Gates ran as the federal New Democratic Party's candidate in

in the 2004 federal election and the 2006 federal election finishing third both times. He was elected as a city councillor in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 2010. In February 2014, he was elected in a provincial

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 the riding of

. He defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Bart Maves by 962 votes. He was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election defeating PC candidate Bart Maves by 7,424 votes. Gates is the only New Democrat in history to be re-elected in the Niagara Falls riding and holds the record for highest vote tally of any candidate ever in the Niagara Falls provincial riding, at 24,123 votes. He surpassed that record in 2018 by winning 30,161 votes. Gates has served in several critic portfolio roles as part of the Ontario NDP caucus, including Transportation, Economic Development, and Consumer Services. He is currently one of the Official Opposition's critics for labour issues in the caucus and is the lead critic for worker's health & safety issues. In 2016, he scored a major victory by winning unanimous support for his motion to address lengthy wait times for MRI services in Niagara. He continues to advocate for healthcare issues, is a major proponent for the building of the New Niagara Falls Hospital, and has tabled legislation for universal coverage for PSA testing in Ontario.

Electoral record

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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 ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Wayne Canadian trade unionists Living people New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Niagara Falls, Ontario city councillors Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs 21st-century Canadian politicians Year of birth missing (living people)