Michael Levitt (politician)

Michael Levitt is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of York Centre in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2020 as a member of the Liberal Party.

Michael Levitt
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for York Centre
In office
October 19, 2015  September 1, 2020
Preceded byMark Adler
Succeeded byYa'ara Saks
Personal details
Born (1970-05-09) May 9, 1970[1]
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political partyLiberal
ResidenceToronto, Ontario
Alma materMcGill University

Background

Born and raised in Scotland, Levitt came with his family to Canada when he was 14.[2]

Levitt served as Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group.[3]

Before running for office, Levitt was a founding member of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, co-chaired Liberal Friends of Israel, and served as a Partner and Vice-President of Business Development for the Benjamin Group in Toronto, a company providing lifecycle services to Toronto's Jewish community.[4] He has also served on the boards of Mount Sinai Hospital and the Koffler Centre for the Arts, both located in Toronto.[5]

Political career

Levitt was first elected to Parliament in the 2015 federal election, defeating the Conservative incumbent, Mark Adler.[6][7] He was re-elected in the 2019 federal election.[8]

On August 4, 2020, Levitt announced he would be resigning as an MP, effective September 1, 2020, to become the President and CEO of the Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies.[9]

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: York Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalMichael Levitt21,68050.2+3.32
ConservativeRachel Willson15,85236.7-7.29
New DemocraticAndrea Vásquez Jiménez4,2519.8+2.47
GreenRebecca Wood1,4033.2+1.40
Total valid votes/Expense limit 43,186100.0
Total rejected ballots 665
Turnout 43,85162.5
Eligible voters 70,133
Source: Elections Canada[10][11]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalMichael Levitt20,10946.9+13.7
ConservativeMark Adler18,89344.0-4.5
New DemocraticHal Berman3,1487.3-8.6
GreenConstantine Kritsonis7941.8-0.5
Total valid votes/Expense limit 42,944100.0   $198,299.74
Total rejected ballots 319
Turnout 43,263
Eligible voters 64,297
Source: Elections Canada[12][13]

References

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