Bryon J. Wilfert (born July 14, 1952) is a former

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician. He was a Liberal member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1997 to 2011 who represented the GTA riding of Richmond Hill until his defeat during the 2011 federal election.

Background

Wilfert has

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

, and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degrees from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, as well as a degree in public administration from St. Lawrence College in Kingston. In June 2011, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Japan's second highest honour, by

Emperor Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

Politics

Federal politics

Wilfert was elected to the House of Commons in the 1997 federal election, scoring an easy victory in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

riding of Oak Ridges. He was re-elected by an increased majority in the election of 2000, and won another easy victory in his new riding in the 2004 election. In the 2011 election, he was defeated by Conservative Party candidate Costas Menegakis by 4,407 votes. Wilfert served as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in 2002–03 and was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment after the 2004 election. During the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session and 3rd Session, Wilfert introduced two private members bills in 2009 and 2011, which both failed to pass beyond the first of seven stages known as "Introduction and First Reading". After the election in 2006, Wilfert was appointed as

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

critic of Foreign Affairs (Asia-Pacific). Wilfert was the Caucus Liaison in the successful 2006 Liberal leadership bid by Stéphane Dion and previously served as his parliamentary secretary during his tenure as Minister of the Environment.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilfert, Bryon 1952 births Canadian schoolteachers Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Richmond Hill, Ontario Politicians from Toronto Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class University of Toronto alumni 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada