Home    Dalton    Biography

Dalton McGuinty is Ontario's 24th Premier. First elected to the Ontario legislature in 1990, he led the Liberal party to a majority government in 2003. In 2011, he led the Ontario Liberal Party to a historic third mandate, the first time a Liberal Premier has done so in 125 years.

Premier McGuinty is committed to making Ontario’s publicly funded education the very best in the world. Since becoming Premier, peace and progress have returned to Ontario’s public school system. Children are getting the individual attention they need thanks to smaller classes and more teachers. And now, the McGuinty government is phasing in full-day kindergarten for four and five year olds. It provides kids with a strong foundation for future learning, so they can go on to postsecondary education and get a good job.

Under McGuinty’s leadership in health care, Ontarians now have shorter wait times, stronger hospitals, and improved access to primary care with more doctors and nurses, family health teams and nurse-practitioner led clinics. Since 2003, nearly 1 million more Ontarians have access to a family doctor.

When faced with the global economic crisis, McGuinty took action. With the Open Ontario Plan, the government is renewing its commitment to post-secondary education, creating 20,000 more spaces and opening the doors to more international students. Open Ontario also means investing in infrastructure to create jobs now while improving the quality of life for Ontario families in the future. And by moving to a value-added single sales tax, Ontario will become an even more attractive place for businesses to invest and create jobs.

Open Ontario also means leading the way into new markets, such as clean energy and water technology. The Green Energy Act, passed in 2009 will make Ontario a manufacturing hub for clean energy technology and our province will become exporters of windmills and solar panels to the rest of North America. The Water Opportunities Act will build on our solid foundation to sell clean water technology and expertise around the world.

Born on July 19, 1955, Dalton McGuinty was raised in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood. One of ten children in a close family, he credits his parents with teaching him the values and ethics that guide him as Premier. Before entering politics, Dalton McGuinty practised law in Ottawa. He met his wife, Terri when they were both high school students in Ottawa. They have been married since 1980 and have four grown children.