Yasir Naqvi

Yasir Abbas Naqvi (Urdu: یاسر عباس نقوی) (born 25 January 1973) is a former Pakistani-Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007 to 2018 who represented the riding of Ottawa Centre. He was President of the Ontario Liberal Party and served in several cabinet positions in the government of Kathleen Wynne, including as Attorney General.[1]

Yasir Naqvi
Member of Provincial Parliament for Ottawa Centre
In office
10 October 2007  6 June 2018
Preceded byRichard Patten
Succeeded byJoel Harden
39th Attorney General of Ontario
In office
13 June 2016  29 June 2018
PremierKathleen Wynne
Preceded byMadeleine Meilleur
Succeeded byCaroline Mulroney
More...
Personal details
Born (1973-01-25) 25 January 1973
Karachi, Pakistan
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal
Children2
ResidenceOttawa, Ontario, Canada
OccupationLawyer

Background

Naqvi was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1988 at the age of 15.[2][3] Naqvi settled in the Niagara Falls, Ontario-area and attended McMaster University and the University of Ottawa Law School. He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2001 and began practising in international trade law at Lang Michener LLP, eventually becoming a partner.[3] He left Lang Michener in 2007 to join the Centre for Trade Policy and Law at Carleton University. He was President of the Liberal Party of Ontario.[4]

The Ottawa Citizen named Naqvi as one of its "People to Watch in 2010", with a profile in the 9 January 2010 Saturday Observer headlined "Yasir Naqvi, he's a firecracker".[5] Ottawa Life magazine also included him in its Tenth Annual "Top 50 People in the Capital" list for 2010.[2] In a September 2011 column, Adam Radwanski of The Globe and Mail called Naqvi "possibly the hardest-working constituency MPP in the province."[6]

Prior to entering politics he volunteered with a number of community associations including the Centretown Community Health Centre and the Ottawa Food Bank.[2]

Politics

Naqvi ran in the 2007 provincial election as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Ottawa Centre. He defeated NDP candidate Will Murray by 2,094 votes.[7] He was re-elected in 2011 and 2014.[8][9]

He was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Rick Bartolucci, the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, in the cabinet announcement of 30 October 2007.[10] On 3 October 2008, he was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Revenue Dwight Duncan. On 24 June 2009 a cabinet shuffle moved John Wilkinson into the role of Minister of Revenue and Naqvi was kept on as his Parliamentary Assistant. On 2 September 2010 Naqvi was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky.[11]

Naqvi introduced six Private Member's Bills - the "Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act",[12] the "City of Ottawa Amendment Act", the "Escaping Domestic Violence Act", the "College and University Student Associations Act, the "Enhancing Red Light Camera System Enforcement Act", and the "Protection of Public Participation Act". Parts of the City of Ottawa Amendment Act were passed as part of the 2010 budget and parts of the Escaping Domestic Violence Act were passed in March 2016 as part of the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act. On 17 September 2009, Naqvi introduced a co-sponsored notion with NDP member France Gélinas declaring the third week of February "Kindness Week", inspired by a successful Kindness Week initiative underway in Ottawa.[13] Naqvi also co-sponsored Toby's Act with NDP MPP France Gelinas and PC MPP Christine Elliott which added gender identity and gender expression to the Ontario Human Rights Code.

In March 2013, an article appeared in the Toronto Sun which claimed that Naqvi had endorsed an Islamist book on men physically punishing their wives.[14] The following day in the National Post, Naqvi denied having endorsed the book. The Post reported that "Naqvi acknowledged that he wrote a letter of support for the book two years ago, but says he didn't read it…. The minister says he also didn't authorize the use of his name or comments in the "reviews" section of the book."[15]

In February 2013, when Kathleen Wynne took over as Premier, she appointed Naqvi to her first cabinet as Minister of Labour.[16] After the June 2014 election, Naqvi was moved to the position of Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and Government House Leader.[17] On 13 June 2016 he assumed the role of Attorney General following a cabinet shuffle.[18]

Naqvi unsuccessfully sought a fourth mandate in the June 2018 Ontario general election.[19] He came in second behind New Democrat Joel Harden.[20]

Cabinet positions

Ontario provincial government of Kathleen Wynne
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
Madeleine Meilleur Attorney General
2016-2018
Caroline Mulroney
Madeleine Meilleur Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
2014–2016
David Orazietti
Linda Jeffrey Minister of Labour
2013–2014
Kevin Flynn
Special Parliamentary Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
John Milloy Government House Leader
2014-2018
Todd Smith

Electoral record

2018 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticJoel Harden29,67546.08+25.69
LiberalYasir Naqvi21,11132.78-18.89
Progressive ConservativeColleen McCleery10,32716.03-2.08
GreenCherie Wong2,2663.52-4.22
None of the AboveMarc Adornato4370.68
LibertarianBruce A. Faulkner3850.60-0.96
CommunistStuart Ryan1100.17-0.35
Canadians' ChoiceJames Sears920.14
Total valid votes 64,403100.0  
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +22.29
Source: Elections Ontario[21]
2014 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalYasir Naqvi27,68952.02+4.86
New DemocraticJennifer McKenzie10,89420.47−8.74
Progressive ConservativeRob Dekker9,67818.18−0.21
GreenKevin O'Donnell4,1637.82+3.42
LibertarianBruce A. Faulkner5250.99+1.08
CommunistLarry L. Wasslen2830.53+0.21
Total valid votes 53,232 100.0   +5.74
Liberal hold Swing +6.80
Source(s)
"Election Night Results – General Election Results by District – 062, Ottawa Centre – Unofficial". Elections Ontario. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
2011 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYasir Naqvi23,64646.81+11.90$ 102,168.00
New DemocraticAnil Naidoo14,71529.13−1.7783,779.02
Progressive ConservativeRob Dekker9,25718.33−1.5927,933.58
GreenKevin O'Donnell2,1844.32−8.035,902.64
IndependentKristina Chapman3090.61 3,418.00
LibertarianMichal Zeithammel2400.48 0.00
CommunistStuart Ryan1600.32−0.07394.11
Total valid votes / Expense Limit 50,511 100.00 −3.41 $ 112,575.19
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 290 0.57 −0.13
Turnout 50,801 53.74 −4.51
Eligible voters 94,533   +4.57
Liberal hold Swing +6.34
Election signs for the major party Ottawa Centre candidates during the 2007 election.
2007 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalYasir Naqvi18,25534.91−10.19$ 74,103.43
New DemocraticWill Murray16,16130.90+7.9276,746.81
Progressive ConservativeTrina Morissette10,41619.92−2.7741,039.06
GreenGreg Laxton6,45812.35+4.629,967.33
Family CoalitionDanny Moran5160.99 627.00
IndependentRichard Eveleigh2830.54 70.00
CommunistStuart Ryan2040.39−0.23928.61
Total valid votes/Expense Limit 52,293 100.0   +5.79 $ 97,635.24
Total rejected ballots 366 0.70 −0.02
Turnout 52,659 58.25 +2.62
Eligible voters 90,403   +1.00

References

  1. "Yasir Naqvi | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". www.ola.org. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  2. Lochhead, Kimberly; Hartley, Jen; Cornforth, Rob. "Tenth Annual TOP 50 People in the Capital". Ottawa Life. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010.
  3. Coyle, Jim (30 October 2009). "Life in politics a 'badge of honour'". Toronto Star.
  4. "Executive Council". Ontario Liberal Party. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  5. "Yasir Naqvi — 'He's a firecracker". Ottawa Citizen. 9 January 2010.
  6. "The race that could make Ottawans forget federal politics for a while". The Globe and Mail. 8 September 2011.
  7. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 10 October 2007. p. 10 (xix). Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  8. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 6 October 2011. p. 12. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  9. "General Election by District: Ottawa Centre". Elections Ontario. 12 June 2014.
  10. Ferguson, Rob; Benzie, Robert (31 October 2007). "Premier goes for new blood; Expanded 28-member cabinet has eight ministers from Toronto, three from 905 area". Toronto Star. p. A13.
  11. "Parliamentary Assistants Ready For New Portfolios". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2 September 2010.
  12. "Ottawa MPP to introduce own SCAN legislation". Ottawa Citizen. 2 June 2008.
  13. "Choose to be Kind!". United Way of Ottawa. 8 January 2013.
  14. "Book on Islam condoning hitting wives features letter from Ontario labour minister". Toronto Sun. 11 March 2013.
  15. "Ontario labour minister says he didn't read book on Islam condoning spousal abuse before writing letter of support". National Post. 12 March 2013.
  16. "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. 12 February 2013. p. A3.
  17. Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (24 June 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
  18. "Yasir Naqvi appointed Ontario's AG as Kathleen Wynne shuffles cabinet". CBC News. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  19. Dickson, Janice (28 May 2018). "Door-knocking with Naqvi: once a safe Liberal seat, now rife with uncertainty". CTV News. BellMedia. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  20. Britneff, Beatrice. "Ottawa voters turf Naqvi, Chiarelli in Ontario election". Global News. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  21. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 6. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
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