Harry Danford is a former politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He was a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1995 to 1999.

Danford worked as a farmer before entering politics, and was a member of the Hastings County Milk and Holstein Clubs. He was a member of the Rawdon

Rawdon, Ontario

Rawdon was a historic township in Hastings County in east-central Ontario, Canada.It was founded in 1798 and named after Sir Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings. In 1858, the village of Stirling was incorporated and so became a separate municipality...

 council, and served as the township's reeve. In the 1995 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1995

The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...

, Danford defeated incumbent NDP

Ontario New Democratic Party

The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...

 candidate Elmer Buchanan

Elmer Buchanan

Elmer Buchanan is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae...

 by 7,859 votes in the riding of Hastings—Peterborough

Hastings—Peterborough

Hastings—Peterborough was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario...

. He was a backbench supporter of Mike Harris

Mike Harris

Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...

's government for the next four years, and served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture and Food for this entire period.

During his time in the legislature, Danford also piloted a successful private member's bill

Private Member's Bill

A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...

 ( Bill 150) which designated June 19 as United Empire Loyalist Day in Ontario.

In 1996, the Harris government reduced the number of provincial ridings from 130 to 103. This forced many MPPs from the same party to face one another for re-nomination. Danford defeated fellow Tory

Tory

Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

 MPP Bill Vankoughnet

Bill Vankoughnet

William John Vankoughnet is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 1993, and a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 1999.Vankoughnet was educated at Loyalist...

 to win the Progressive Conservative nomination for the 1999 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1999

An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

 in Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington

Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington

Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 2003, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2007.-Description:...

, but lost to Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 Leona Dombrowsky

Leona Dombrowsky

Leona Dombrowsky is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the riding of Prince Edward—Hastings, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty....

by almost 2,000 votes. Danford returned to farming after his defeat.