Dalton McGuinty led his party to a second-consecutive majority government in October 2007. He is Ontario’s 24th Premier. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1990 in Ottawa South and has been re-elected four times.
During his years as a backbench MPP, he served as a critic for energy, colleges and universities, native affairs and the environment. In 1996, Dalton McGuinty was elected leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. His first election campaign as leader was in 1999, when the Liberal party received 40 per cent of the popular vote, winning 35 seats and adding nine new caucus members.
In the general election of 2003, Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals formed the government, taking 72 seats with 47 per cent of the vote. Premier McGuinty’s campaign to build a stronger Ontario for a stronger Canada led the country’s leading newsmagazine, Maclean’s, to call him “Mr. Ontario.”
Dalton McGuinty was born on July 19, 1955, and raised in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood. He credits his parents with teaching him the values and ethics that guide him as Premier. They passed on their commitment to education, family and community service to each of their 10 children. McGuinty’s mother, Elizabeth, is a retired nurse living in Ottawa. His father, Dalton Sr., was a teacher and professor who served as the Ottawa South MPP until he passed away in 1990. McGuinty shares his father’s deep belief in democracy, integrity and accountability in government.
Before entering politics, Dalton McGuinty practised law in Ottawa. He has a law degree from the University of Ottawa and a science degree from McMaster University in Hamilton. He met his wife Terri, an elementary school teacher, when they were both still high school students in Ottawa. They have been married since 1980 and have four grown children.