Leona Dombrowsky

Leona Dombrowsky
Ontario MPP
In office 2007–2011
Preceded by	Ernie Parsons
Succeeded by	Todd Smith
Constituency	Prince Edward—Hastings
In office 1999–2007
Preceded by	Harry Danford
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Constituency	Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington
Personal details
Born	April 29, 1957 Belleville, Ontario
Political party	Liberal

Leona Dombrowsky (born April 29, 1957) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2011 who represented the ridings of Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington and Prince Edward—Hastings. She served as a cabinet minister in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Background

Dombrowsky was born in Belleville, Ontario and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1979. She was elected as a Catholic School trustee on the Hastings-Prince Edward Separate School Board in 1985, and served as its Chair from 1991 to 1996. In 1998, she was elected to the amalgamated Algonquin-Lakeshore Catholic District School Board. She was also a Director of the Ontario Catholic Trustees Association during this period, and served on the Tweed Parks & Recreation Committee from 1991 to 1997. As of 2012, she serves as a justice of the peace.^[1]

Politics

Dombrowsky was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1999, as a Liberal in the rural riding of Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington (which surrounds the city of Kingston, Ontario) defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Harry Danford by about 2,000 votes.^[2] The election was won by the Progressive Conservatives; despite her lack of experience, Dombrowsky soon emerged as a prominent voice in the opposition benches, serving as Official Opposition Critic for Community, Family and Children's Services and Deputy House Leader.

The Liberals won the provincial election of 2003, and Dombrowsky was re-elected by about 8,000 votes over her Progressive Conservative opponent.^[3] On October 23, 2003, she was appointed Minister of the Environment.^[4] In this capacity, she was responsible for overseeing changes to the province's water supply system (the safety of which was called into question after a tragic outbreak of e-coli in Walkerton, Ontario). Dombrowsky's ministry hired more full-time water inspectors and also called for the phasing out of coal-fired electrical generating plants.

On June 29, 2005 Dombrowsky became Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.^[5] On January 18, 2010, Dombrowsky was named Minister of Education.^[6]

In the 2011 election, she lost her seat to Progressive Conservative Todd Smith.^[7]

Cabinet positions

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Todd Smith	18,732	42.1%
	Liberal	Leona Dombrowsky	15,688	35.3%
	New Democratic	Sherry Hayes	7,400	16.6%
	Green	Treat Hull	2,044	4.6%
	Family Coalition	Neal Ford	260	0.6%
	Independent	Andrew Skinner	209	0.5%
	Republican	Trueman Tuck	115	0.3%

Ontario general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leona Dombrowsky	20,982	46.4%
	Progressive Conservative	Eric DenOuden	14,823	32.8%
	New Democratic	Jodie Jenkins	6,249	13.8%
	Green	Jim Arkilander	2,660	5.9%
	Family Coalition	Vito Luceno	384	0.9%
	Republican	Trueman Tuck	167	0.4%

Ontario general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leona Dombrowsky	21,548	51.89	+5.15
	Progressive Conservative	Barry F. Gordon	13,709	33.01	-9.51
	New Democratic	Ross Sutherland	4,286	10.32	+3.43
	Green	Adam Scott	1,311	3.16	+1.84
	Family Coalition	John-Henry Westen	673	1.62	+0.42

Ontario general election, 1999
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Leona Dombrowsky	20,395	46.74
	Progressive Conservative	Harry Danford	18,553	42.52
	New Democratic	Allan Mcphail	3,008	6.89
	Green	Cathy Vakil	576	1.32
	Family Coalition	John-henry Westen	524	1.2
	Natural Law	Peter Leggat	382	0.88
	Independent	Karl Walker	200	0.46

References

1. Fisher, Peter (September 2, 2014). "Dombrowsky's dismissal of stunt driving charge appealed". Peterborough Examiner.
2. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. June 3, 1999. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
3. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
4. "Premier Dalton McGuinty and his 22-member cabinet were sworn in Thursday". Canadian Press NewsWire. October 23, 2003. p. 1.
5. "Cabinet shuffle focuses on health care, education; McGuinty to head new Research and Innovation ministry". The Record (Kitchener, Ont). June 30, 2005. p. A5.
6. Kenyon, Wallace (January 19, 2010). "Sweeping changes hit Queen's Park; Liberal Cabinet". National Post. p. A8.
7. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 14.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History