Tony Ruprecht
Encyclopedia
Tony Ruprecht is a former Canadian
politician. His first elected position was as an alderman
in the old Toronto City Council
, in the late 1970s. He became a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
in 1981, and served in premier David Peterson
's cabinet as minister without portfolio
from 1985 to 1987. Ruprecht represented Toronto
's Parkdale
and then Davenport
constituencies for the Liberal Party of Ontario for 30 years. On July 5, 2011, he announced that he was leaving politics and would not seek re-election in the October 2011 provincial election
.
. He was educated at Laurentian University
in Sudbury, Ontario (receiving a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1969), Wichita State University
(1971) and Miami University
, doing Ph.D.
work at the latter institution from 1971 to 1973. He taught in the Political Science
department at York University
, teaching public administration and municipal governance.
He has authored two books: The Graduate School Game (1976) and Toronto's Many Faces (1990) now in its 5th edition. The latter book being an overview of Toronto's multicultural communities. Ruprecht is also a member of the Knights of Malta. He has received a number of honours from Portugal
, Poland
, Estonia
and Philippines
.
, for the October 16, 1978 by-election. He lost the nomination to future Toronto mayor, Art Eggleton
. He began his political career at the municipal level, when alderman Tony O'Donohue
decided to run for mayor in the 1978 Toronto municipal election
. His mayoral campaign meant that he would not seek re-election in his Ward 2 seat, in the Parkdale and Brockton
part of Toronto's west-end. Ruprecht decided to run for the vacant alderman position in August. On November 13, 1978, he was elected as one of the Ward's two alderman from a field of ten candidates. By receiving the most votes, he became the senior alderman for Ward 2 on Toronto City Council and Metropolitan Toronto Council. He won re-election as the senior alderman in the November 10, 1980 Toronto municipal election
.
, representing the Parkdale
constituency. He defeated incumbent New Democratic Party MPP, Jan Dukszta
, by nearly 1,000 votes. Ruprecht was re-elected by a much greater margin in the 1985 election
.
The Liberals formed government after the election, and on June 26, 1985 Ruprecht was appointed as a minister without portfolio
responsible for Disabled Persons and Multiculturalism. He was re-elected by a landslide the 1987 election
, but was subsequently dropped from cabinet.
The Liberal government called an early election and were defeated by the New Democratic Party (NDP), who formed the government following the 1990 provincial election
. Ruprecht managed to retain Parkdale by 523 votes over NDP candidate Sheena Weir, even though most surrounding constituencies were won by the NDP on September 6, 1990. On June 8, 1995, he was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1995 election
, as the NDP lost much of its support throughout the province. The Progressive Conservatives
won the provincial election, and Ruprecht remained in opposition serving as critic for Citizenship. During his years on the Opposition bench Ruprecht also served variously as Critic for Tourism, Disibilities and Associate Critic for Labour.
In 1996, Ruprecht was the only Liberal MPP outside of Ottawa
to support Dalton McGuinty
's bid for party leader prior to the actual leadership convention
. McGuinty was chosen leader after five ballots.
' Progressive Conservative government changing Ontario's provincial electoral boundaries to match the federal ones for the 1999 Ontario general election
, the Legislature was reduced to 103 seats, from 130. This boundary change meant that the previous constituencies were redistributed into several of the new ones and incumbent MPPs would have to decide where they would stand for re-election as their old constituencies no longer existed. Ruprecht initially planned to run in the newly created Parkdale—High Park
constituency in the 1999 provincial election, but stood aside for star candidate Gerard Kennedy
. Kennedy was forced to step aside for former leadership rival Joseph Cordiano
in the newly created York South–Weston
constituency, because Liberal party leader McGuinty's policies dealing with redistribution and sitting MPPs was to give the senior MPP first choice, and Cordiano was the more senior of those two. Instead, Ruprecht ran in the neighbouring Davenport constituency. It contained the eastern portion of his old Parkdale constituency. He was not appointed as the Liberal candidate, as he had to defeat human-rights lawyer Rocco Galati
, at a nomination meeting on July 21, 1998, before he could run in the election. There was a controversy over the nomination process, and Galati unsuccessfully sued the Liberal party, the constituency association, and Ruprecht.
Ruprecht's main opponent in the 1999 campaign was another displaced incumbent MPP, the NDP's deputy leader, Tony Silipo
. What the Toronto Star
dubbed "The battle of the Tonys" was expected to be a very close race between Silipo and Ruprecht. Election night, June 3, was anti-climatic, as Ruprecht easily won with a 4,932 vote plurality. The Progressive Conservatives managed to lose all their seats in the old city of Toronto, but nevertheless, won the provincial election, and Ruprecht remained in opposition.
Ruprecht was elected for a seventh time in the 2003 election
, defeating NDP candidate Jordan Berger by over 8,000 votes on October 2, 2003. The McGuinty-lead Liberals formed government following this election after having been in Opposition for 13 years. Despite being the only MPP outside of Ottawa to support McGuinty's leadership campaign, Ruprecht was not appointed to cabinet, but he was appointed Vice-Chair of the legislature's Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.
In April 2006, Ruprecht was criticized for being absent from the Ontario legislature for extended periods of time while vacationing in Cuba
. The MPP acknowledged that since the previous fall he had made four trips to Cuba for a cumulative period of seven weeks. He defended these trips saying he was travelling to the island to receive lessons in Spanish
and Portuguese
in order to better be able to communicate with his constituents.
In the 2007 provincial election
, Ruprecht's margin was reduced to less than 2,000 votes. He has announced that he will not be standing in the provincial election being held October 6, 2011.
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...
politician. His first elected position was as an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
in the old Toronto City Council
Toronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
, in the late 1970s. He became a 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...
in 1981, and served in premier David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
's cabinet as minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
from 1985 to 1987. Ruprecht represented Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's Parkdale
Parkdale (provincial electoral district)
Parkdale was a provincial electoral district electing Members of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The provincial district was created in 1914 and abolished in 1997 and redistributed into the Parkdale—High Park, Davenport and Trinity—Spadina districts for the 1999...
and then Davenport
Davenport (provincial electoral district)
Davenport is a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.It was created in 1999 from parts of Oakwood, Dovercourt, Parkdale, High Park—Swansea and a small part of York South....
constituencies for the Liberal Party of Ontario for 30 years. On July 5, 2011, he announced that he was leaving politics and would not seek re-election in the October 2011 provincial election
Ontario general election, 2011
The 40th Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011 to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party will form a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario serving as the Official Opposition and the Ontario New...
.
Background
Ruprecht moved to Canada with his family in 1949 after attending school in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was educated at Laurentian University
Laurentian University
Laurentian University , was incorporated on March 28, 1960, is a mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada....
in Sudbury, Ontario (receiving a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1969), Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
(1971) and Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
, doing Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
work at the latter institution from 1971 to 1973. He taught in the Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
department at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, teaching public administration and municipal governance.
He has authored two books: The Graduate School Game (1976) and Toronto's Many Faces (1990) now in its 5th edition. The latter book being an overview of Toronto's multicultural communities. Ruprecht is also a member of the Knights of Malta. He has received a number of honours from Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Toronto alderman
Ruprecht made his foray into politics by seeking the Liberal Party of Canada's nomination in the federal Parkdale electoral districtParkdale (electoral district)
Parkdale was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1979. It included the community of Parkdale in the western part of Toronto...
, for the October 16, 1978 by-election. He lost the nomination to future Toronto mayor, Art Eggleton
Art Eggleton
Arthur "Art" C. Eggleton, PC is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and Mayor of Toronto, and is currently a Senator representing Ontario.-City council:...
. He began his political career at the municipal level, when alderman Tony O'Donohue
Tony O'Donohue
Anthony "Tony" O'Donohue is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:Born in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland , O'Donohue graduated as a civil engineer from University College, Galway in 1954...
decided to run for mayor in the 1978 Toronto municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 1978
The Toronto municipal election of 1978 held on Monday, November 13, 1978, was the first seriously contested mayoralty race in Toronto, Canada, since David Crombie took office in the 1972 election...
. His mayoral campaign meant that he would not seek re-election in his Ward 2 seat, in the Parkdale and Brockton
Brockton Village
Brockton Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It comprises a section of the old Town of Brockton which was annexed by the City of Toronto in 1884. The town encompassed the area from Bloor Street on the north, Dufferin Street on the east, High Park on the west and ranged from...
part of Toronto's west-end. Ruprecht decided to run for the vacant alderman position in August. On November 13, 1978, he was elected as one of the Ward's two alderman from a field of ten candidates. By receiving the most votes, he became the senior alderman for Ward 2 on Toronto City Council and Metropolitan Toronto Council. He won re-election as the senior alderman in the November 10, 1980 Toronto municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 1980
The 1980 Toronto municipal election was held on November 10, 1980 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.Art Eggleton narrowly...
.
Parkdale constituency (1981–1999)
Ruprecht was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1981 provincial electionOntario general election, 1981
The Ontario general election of 1981 was held on March 19, 1981, to elect members of the 32nd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, representing the Parkdale
Parkdale (electoral district)
Parkdale was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1979. It included the community of Parkdale in the western part of Toronto...
constituency. He defeated incumbent New Democratic Party MPP, Jan Dukszta
Jan Dukszta
Janusz Romwald Dukszta is a Polish-born Toronto psychiatrist and former Ontario New Democratic Party MPP in the Ontario legislature. He and his brother, Andrzej, escaped with their mother from Poland near the end of World War II and settled in London where they were educated at Christ College,...
, by nearly 1,000 votes. Ruprecht was re-elected by a much greater margin in the 1985 election
Ontario general election, 1985
The Ontario general election of 1985 was held on May 2, 1985, to elect members of the 33rd Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada...
.
The Liberals formed government after the election, and on June 26, 1985 Ruprecht was appointed as a minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
responsible for Disabled Persons and Multiculturalism. He was re-elected by a landslide the 1987 election
Ontario general election, 1987
The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...
, but was subsequently dropped from cabinet.
The Liberal government called an early election and were defeated by the New Democratic Party (NDP), who formed the government following the 1990 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
. Ruprecht managed to retain Parkdale by 523 votes over NDP candidate Sheena Weir, even though most surrounding constituencies were won by the NDP on September 6, 1990. On June 8, 1995, he was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1995 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...
, as the NDP lost much of its support throughout the province. The Progressive Conservatives
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...
won the provincial election, and Ruprecht remained in opposition serving as critic for Citizenship. During his years on the Opposition bench Ruprecht also served variously as Critic for Tourism, Disibilities and Associate Critic for Labour.
In 1996, Ruprecht was the only Liberal MPP outside of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
to support Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
's bid for party leader prior to the actual leadership convention
Leadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
. McGuinty was chosen leader after five ballots.
Davenport constituency (1999–2011)
Due to Premier Mike HarrisMike 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...
' Progressive Conservative government changing Ontario's provincial electoral boundaries to match the federal ones for the 1999 Ontario general 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....
, the Legislature was reduced to 103 seats, from 130. This boundary change meant that the previous constituencies were redistributed into several of the new ones and incumbent MPPs would have to decide where they would stand for re-election as their old constituencies no longer existed. Ruprecht initially planned to run in the newly created Parkdale—High Park
Parkdale—High Park (provincial electoral district)
Parkdale—High Park is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999....
constituency in the 1999 provincial election, but stood aside for star candidate Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada...
. Kennedy was forced to step aside for former leadership rival Joseph Cordiano
Joseph Cordiano
Joseph Cordiano is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and a cabinet minister in the government of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty.-Early life:...
in the newly created York South–Weston
York South—Weston (provincial electoral district)
York South—Weston is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999.Its Member of Provincial Parliament is Liberal Laura Albanese.-Geography:...
constituency, because Liberal party leader McGuinty's policies dealing with redistribution and sitting MPPs was to give the senior MPP first choice, and Cordiano was the more senior of those two. Instead, Ruprecht ran in the neighbouring Davenport constituency. It contained the eastern portion of his old Parkdale constituency. He was not appointed as the Liberal candidate, as he had to defeat human-rights lawyer Rocco Galati
Rocco Galati
Rocco Galati is a Canadian lawyer who specializes in terrorism cases.In 2001, he defended Delmart Vreeland at trial.He was Abdurahman Khadr's first lawyer...
, at a nomination meeting on July 21, 1998, before he could run in the election. There was a controversy over the nomination process, and Galati unsuccessfully sued the Liberal party, the constituency association, and Ruprecht.
Ruprecht's main opponent in the 1999 campaign was another displaced incumbent MPP, the NDP's deputy leader, Tony Silipo
Tony Silipo
Tony Silipo is a former Canadian politician.Silipo was educated at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall at York University, and began practising law in 1984...
. What the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
dubbed "The battle of the Tonys" was expected to be a very close race between Silipo and Ruprecht. Election night, June 3, was anti-climatic, as Ruprecht easily won with a 4,932 vote plurality. The Progressive Conservatives managed to lose all their seats in the old city of Toronto, but nevertheless, won the provincial election, and Ruprecht remained in opposition.
Ruprecht was elected for a seventh time in the 2003 election
Ontario general election, 2003
The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, defeating NDP candidate Jordan Berger by over 8,000 votes on October 2, 2003. The McGuinty-lead Liberals formed government following this election after having been in Opposition for 13 years. Despite being the only MPP outside of Ottawa to support McGuinty's leadership campaign, Ruprecht was not appointed to cabinet, but he was appointed Vice-Chair of the legislature's Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.
In April 2006, Ruprecht was criticized for being absent from the Ontario legislature for extended periods of time while vacationing in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The MPP acknowledged that since the previous fall he had made four trips to Cuba for a cumulative period of seven weeks. He defended these trips saying he was travelling to the island to receive lessons in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
in order to better be able to communicate with his constituents.
In the 2007 provincial election
Ontario general election, 2007
The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10, 2007 to elect members of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, winning 71 out of a possible 107 seats with 42.2% of the popular...
, Ruprecht's margin was reduced to less than 2,000 votes. He has announced that he will not be standing in the provincial election being held October 6, 2011.