Michael Coteau

Michael Coteau is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who, since 2011, has represented the riding of Don Valley East in Toronto. He served in cabinet in the government of Kathleen Wynne from 2013 to 2018. The Liberal party was defeated in the 2018 Ontario general election, and Coteau was one of seven Liberals re-elected. He serves as the MPP for the riding of Don Valley East and is the Ontario Liberal Party Critic for Infrastructure, Energy, Labour, Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. He placed second in the 2020 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election with 16.9% of the vote.[1]

Michael Coteau

MPP
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
Assumed office
October 6, 2011
Preceded byDavid Caplan
ConstituencyDon Valley East
Personal details
Born1972 (age 48–49)
Huddersfield, England
Political partyLiberal
Height1.95 m
Spouse(s)Lori
Children2
ResidenceToronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma materCarleton University
OccupationEducator, Small Business Owner

Background

Coteau was born in Huddersfield, England. His father is from Grenada and his mother is British. He came to Canada with his parents in 1976 and grew up in social housing in Flemingdon Park in North York. Coteau's family was low- income and he had to borrow the money needed to cover his university application fee from a friend's father. He applied to Carleton University and graduated with a degree in history and political science.[2]

After graduation, he taught English in South Korea.[3]

Career

Coteau was a Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 17, winning elections in 2003, 2006, and 2010.[2] As a trustee, he advocated for student nutrition, community use of space and the use of educational technology.[2] He initiated the 'Community Use of Schools' motion that cut user fees and made schools more accessible to groups that offer programs for children.[2] He helped introduce nutritional changes in schools that supported healthy food programs and increased awareness of student hunger.[2] In addition to his work as a trustee, Coteau served as the executive director and chief executive officer of a national adult literacy firm, and worked as a community organizer in the Malvern area of Scarborough, Ontario with the United Way.[4] He also owned and operated his own small business.

Provincial politics

In 2011 he ran provincial election in the riding of Don Valley East. He won the election beating PC candidate Michael Lende by 7,645 votes.[5] He was re-elected in 2014.[6]

The Liberals won a minority government and Coteau was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the minister of tourism and culture. In 2013, after Kathleen Wynne replaced Dalton McGuinty as premier, Coteau was named Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.[7] He was one of ten members of the Wynne's cabinet with no prior cabinet experience.[8] In June 2014, Coteau was made Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport by Premier Kathleen Wynne, as well as Minister Responsible for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games.[9] He made headlines advocating for children to be able to play street hockey. On February 16, 2016, it was announced that Coteau would add responsibility for anti-racism, responsible for establishing various anti-racism programs.[10] On June 13, 2016, he was appointed Minister of Children and Youth Services, and in particular worked collaboratively with parents to deliver a reformed Ontario Autism Program.[11] He also was subsequently appointed Minister of Community and Social Services, holding down three separate portfolios for the government.

In 2018, Coteau defeated Conservative candidate Denzil Minnan Wong, Toronto's deputy mayor, to win his third election in the North Toronto constituency.[12] He is one of the seven Liberal MPPs in the Legislature.

In June 2019, Coteau entered the race for leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. Coteau said he had "a different vision" and would "restore decency to our politics".[13] At the leadership convention on March 7, 2020, he received 16.9% of the vote, finishing second behind the winner, Steven Del Duca.[14]

Cabinet positions
Ontario provincial government of Kathleen Wynne
Cabinet posts (4)
Predecessor Office Successor
Helena Jaczek Minister of Community and Social Services
2018 (January–June)		 Position abolished[lower-alpha 1]
Tracy MacCharles Minister of Children and Youth Services
2016-2018
Also responsible for Anti-Racism issues		 Position abolished[lower-alpha 1]
Michael Chan Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
2014–2016
Also responsible for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games		 Eleanor McMahon
Michael Chan Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
2013–2014		 Michael Chan

Electoral record
2018 Ontario general election: Don Valley East
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMichael Coteau13,01235.93%−19.78
Progressive ConservativeDenzil Minnan-Wong11,98433.09%+6.30
New DemocraticKhalid Ahmed9,93727.44%+14.41
GreenMark Wong9172.53%−1.11
LibertarianJustin Robinson2360.65%–
FreedomWayne Simmons1310.36%−0.48
Total valid votes 100.0  
Liberal hold Swing −13.04
Source: Elections Ontario[15]
2014 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMichael Coteau19,25355.77+4.69
Progressive ConservativeAngela Kennedy9,22726.73-0.46
New DemocraticAkil Sadikali4,49213.01-5.59
GreenChristopher McLeod1,2643.66+1.47
FreedomWayne Simmons2870.83+0.48
Total valid votes 34,523100.0  
Liberal hold Swing +2.58
Source: Elections Ontario[6]
2011 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalMichael Coteau16,34251.08-4.54
Progressive ConservativeMichael Lende8,60426.89+1.86
New DemocraticBob Hilliard5,95318.61+7.95
GreenAren Bedrosyan7422.32-2.72
Family CoalitionRyan Kidd1880.59+0.03
FreedomWayne Simmons1640.51+0.23
Total valid votes 31,993100.00

References

Notes
  1. Lisa MacLeod appointed as Minister of Children, Community and Social Services

Citations
  1. "Former cabinet minister Steven Del Duca elected new Ontario Liberal leader".
  2. https://www.michaelcoteau.com/bio
  3. Benzie, Robert; Ferguson, Rob (November 21, 2011). "Rookie MPPs poised to take their seats as legislature opens". The Guelph Mercury. p. B7.
  4. Peat, Don (October 6, 2011). "Tories fail to break through in GTA". Toronto Sun. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  5. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  6. "General Election by District: Don Valley-East". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2014.
  7. "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. February 12, 2013. p. A3.
  8. Benzie, Robert (February 11, 2013). "Wynne's Liberal cabinet to include 10 rookie ministers in sweeping shuffle". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  9. Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (June 24, 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
  10. "Ontario Establishing an Anti-Racism Directorate". Government of Ontario. February 16, 2016.
  11. "Kathleen Wynne's shuffled cabinet features 40% women". CBC News. June 13, 2016.
  12. https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/06/07/in-don-valley-east-liberals-veteran-michael-coteau-leads-longtime-city-councillor-denzil-minnan-wong.html
  13. https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2019/06/16/michael-coteau-enters-race-to-lead-ontario-liberals.html
  14. Gibson, Victoria (March 7, 2020). "Steven Del Duca named Ontario Liberal leader in first-ballot victory". iPolitics. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  15. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
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