Greg Sorbara

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Greg Sorbara bigraphy, stories - Ontario MPP

Greg Sorbara : biography

September 4, 1946 –

Gregory Sam "Greg" Sorbara, MPP (born September 4, 1946 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian politician. A member of the Ontario Liberal Party, he served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 until 1995, and then from 2001 until 2012, most recently representing the riding of Vaughan. Sorbara served as the Minister of Finance in the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty from 2003 to 2007.

He resigned on October 11, 2005, following a police investigation involving his family’s real estate development firm and was reinstated on May 23, 2006 after a judge ruled that there was no cause for including Sorbara’s name on a search warrant. Sorbara chaired the party’s successful 2007 election campaign but announced on October 26, 2007 that he was leaving the cabinet to spend more time with his family but would continue as a backbench MPP. On August 1, 2012, Sorbara announced that he was retiring from the legislature but would stay on as chair of the Liberal’s election campaign.

Politics (1985-1995)

Sorbara was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative William Hodgson in York North, a suburban riding north of Toronto. The Liberals under David Peterson were able to form a minority government after this election, and Sorbara was appointed Minister of Colleges and Universities and Minister of Skills Development on June 26, 1985.

Sorbara was re-elected in the redistributed riding of York Centre in the 1987 provincial election. On September 29, 1987, he became Minister of Labour with responsibility for Women’s Issues. Following a cabinet shuffle in August 1989, he became Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations.

In 1990, Sorbara was a vocal opponent of Peterson’s plans to call a snap election at just over two-and-a-half years into his mandate. He argued that the government should return to the electorate after a standard four-year cycle was completed, and run on the full record of its accomplishment. His objections were dismissed, and the Liberals were upset by the New Democratic Party in the election which followed. Sorbara had little difficulty defeating NDP candidate Laurie Orrett in his riding.

In 1992, Sorbara ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party as an "anti-establishment" candidate, claiming that the party had lost touch with its support base in the Peterson years. Although he is usually regarded as being on the right of the Liberal Party, Sorbara’s campaign incorporated both left-wing and right-wing elements, opposing the NDP’s labour laws but also promising to target poverty and homelessness in Ontario. He also spoke of in favour of government intervention in economic matters, arguing that growth could be best accomplished in partnership with the private sector. He finished third on the first ballot, and remained in this position until dropping from the race after the fourth ballot. Sorbara refused to support either Murray Elston or Lyn McLeod (the eventual winner) on the fifth and final ballot, and did not seek re-election in 1995.

From 1995 to 2003, Sorbara was a partner in The Sorbara Group, a prominent real estate and land development firm, and served as a director on the corporate board of Royal Group Technologies Inc. He was also director of the York United Way, as well as a Member of the Board of Alumni that governs York University.

Politics (1995-2012)

Sorbara supported Dalton McGuinty’s successful bid for the provincial party leadership at the 1996 leadership convention. He did not run in the 1999 provincial election, but was elected Party President over Alvin Curling in November 1999. He later won a 2001 by-election in the redistributed Greater Toronto Area riding of Vaughan—King—Aurora, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Joyce Frustaglio by almost 10,000 votes.

Sorbara’s return to the legislature was seen as a significant victory for the Liberals. Previously, the Progressive Conservative Party had dominated the suburban and commuter ridings around Toronto (the so-called "905 belt", referring to the region’s telephone code). Sorbara’s victory indicated that the Liberals were once again positioned to win seats in the region, and to threaten the Conservative hold on government accordingly. Sorbara himself was chosen to serve as Chair of the Liberal Party’s 2003 campaign.