Jonah Schein (born ) is a former politician in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. He was a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

member in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

in the Toronto

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta **District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

riding from 2011 to 2014. Prior to winning the 2011 provincial election, he was also an unsuccessful candidate for municipal office in part of the same electoral district in the 2010 City of Toronto elections.

Background

Schein was born in Toronto in 1974. He worked as a social worker and community organizer dealing with food issues as part of ''The Stop Community Food Centre'' between 2005 and 2010.

Politics

In 2010 Schein ran as a candidate for

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

, finishing second to Cesar Palacio in Ward 17. He helped campaign for fellow New Democrat, Andrew Cash in the federal

district during the winter and spring of 2011, leading up to the 2 May 2011 election, which saw Cash win, a first for the NDP in the federal district. With Cash's support, he ran for the provincial NDP's nomination and became their candidate. The incumbent MPP,

Tony Ruprecht Tony Ruprecht (born 12 December 1942) is a Canadian former 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 serve ...

surprised the media and the district with his sudden announcement that he would not run in the 2011 provincial election. This left the seat wide-open, and Schein did not have to face the politician that held riding, or parts of it before it became Davenport, since 1981. In the fall of 2011, Schein ran against Liberal candidate Cristina Martins. One of the main issues in the campaign was the airport rail link along the district's western border, and why it was not going to utilize electric trains. Schein campaigned for an immediate electrification against the Liberals idea of diesel first and electrification later. Schein won by 1,414 votes becoming the first New Democratic to win the provincial district under its current boundaries. Since being elected, he came out in favour of re-establishing the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

's (TTC) provincial operating funding, which covered approximately 50 percent of the TTC's budget, prior to 1997. The subsidy was cut by former Premier

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC ...

's government, in the late 1990s, around the same time that his

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downloaded services to the newly amalgamated City of Toronto. In the 2014 election he ran against Martins again, this time being defeated by 2,041 votes. On 18 August 2014, New Democratic Party Leader

Andrea Horwath Andrea Lynn Horwath (; born October 24, 1962) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 58th List of mayors of Hamilton, Ontario, mayor of Hamilton since 2022. Horwath served as the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) from 200 ...

appointed Schein as Special Adviser on Urban Issues. Schein consulted on issues such as public transit, cycling, vulnerable workers and tenant protection. Critics argued that this was a move to shore up support in urban areas where they did poorly in the 2014 election.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schein, Jonah 1974 births Jewish Canadian politicians Living people Politicians from Toronto Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario