Does your provincial elected representative really matter? That’s not a debate question. There is only one answer: yes.
Your member of provincial parliament can be the difference between progress or status quo on a host of local issues. There are thousands of issues that MPPs could tackle, and a myriad of ways they can influence the direction of the government. That’s why this Ontario election is fascinating.
The June 2 Ontario election could continue a trend, started in 2018, of bringing many new voices to Queen’s Park. The last times Ontario communities had so many new representatives were in the 1990 and 1995 elections that brought Bob Rae and Mike Harris to power, respectively.
In 2018, over half of MPPs were new to Queen’s Park.
With 19 incumbents already not running and the 20th running under an independent banner, there are already guaranteed to be more new MPPs in 2022 than the mandate extending elections of 1999, 2007, and 2014. Those elections saw voters stick with a premier and party already in power and many incumbent MPPs remained.
Even if the 2022 election sends Premier Doug Ford back to office, the legislature and cabinet will almost certainly look different. Cabinet posts vacated by veteran politicians like Christine Elliott and Rod Phillips may be turned over to political neophytes like former Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders running in Don Valley West.
Should the NDP build on their gains from 2018, it would be interesting to see what newly elected MPPs like Sol Mamakwa and Doly Begum bring to more prominent government roles. Gemma Grey-Hall, a new candidate in Windsor for the New Democrats replacing a retiring incumbent, is also one to watch in the spring election.
The real wild card for new voices at Queen’s Park will be the success of the Ontario Liberal Party. Since 1990, they have averaged 45 MPPs per election. In 2018, the Liberals won only seven seats — the worst result in the party’s history.
At the time this article was published, only nine Liberal candidates have been an elected provincial representative before. Steven Del Duca, the leader of the Liberals, is the most notable of the candidates with experience at Queen’s Park. He has largely focused on recruiting a team of new candidates that come from the worlds of local government, advocacy, and business — such as the likes of candidates Jeff Lehman, Jill Promoli, Marilyn Raphael and Stephanie Bowman. As elected representatives, they would bring unique experiences that would elevate important issues in caucus and legislative debates.
If you are skeptical that one MPP can make a difference, I will note some recent examples. Cheri DiNovo’s dogged determination to increase the minimum wage resulted in a commitment from the government of the day. Yasir Naqvi worked persuasively to end race-based carding by police, a policy that has now been expanded to other areas of the country. Laurie Scott’s efforts to end human trafficking have been embraced by governments of different stripes in Ontario. Finally, I would be remiss to not encourage you to listen to the voice of Ontario’s lone Green Party MPP, Mike Schreiner, who has been a constant advocate for a more sustainable province.
When Ted Arnott and Gilles Bisson – the two longest-serving MPPs – were elected to the provincial legislature, I was just getting started in elementary school. My old boss and current chair of Niagara Region Jim Bradley was an MPP for over 40 years. The veteran MPPs bring experience and know it takes time and the right mix of opportunities to advance issues.
There’s no doubt many current MPPs will use their growing savvy to help them return to Queen’s Park after June 2.
But pay attention to the new voices campaigning for your vote — they just might make a difference.
Brian Teefy is a director in StrategyCorp’s Public Affairs practice, with 16 years of experience in politics and public policy. Brian has advised two Ontario Premiers and numerous Ontario cabinet ministers on environmental, land-use and housing policy.
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The views, opinions and positions expressed by all QP Briefing columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of QP Briefing.
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Op-ed: Ontario election certain to bring new voices to Queen’s Park

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