Margaret Helen Harrington (born October 4, 1945) is a

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 ...

teacher and 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. She 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 of 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 ...

from 1990 to 1995.

Background

Harrington was educated at Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, receiving a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in Biochemistry. She worked as a secondary school teacher in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

after her graduation, and served as city councillor of the

Niagara Falls City Council The Niagara Falls City Council is the governing body of the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the mayor plus eight elected councillors representing the city as a whole. The last election was held in 2022, and the next ...

. In 1988, she was named Niagara Falls Woman of the Year. Her husband, Dick Harrington, ran for the federal and provincial

on three occasions. She and her husband had two children, Kevin and Jennifer.

Politics

Harrington ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, and finished second against

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Vince Kerrio Vincent George Kerrio (February 5, 1924 – October 30, 2009) was a businessperson and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1975 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the government ...

in the riding of

. She lost by 5,664 votes. Three years later, in the 1990 provincial election, she defeated Liberal candidate Wayne Campbell by almost 6,000 votes in the same riding. The NDP won a majority government and Harrington was appointed as

parliamentary assistant In British politics and some Commonwealth nations, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan staff member employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work ...

to the Minister of Housing from 1990 to 1993. She was then appointed as a Deputy

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. Shortly after the election, Harrington was accused of improprieties on voting day. She admitted to improperly adding two names to the voter's list. She claimed that she was mistaken about the rules for adding names to the list. The Ontario Elections Act states that people may be added to the voting list on a provincial election day only in rural polling divisions, not urban ones like Niagara Falls. Warren Bailie, Chief Election Officer ruled that no further action was required since Harrington won the election by more than two votes. In 1993 she came out against the government's proposal to build a casino in Niagara Falls but reversed her position a year later when she supported the plan. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Harrington finished third against Progressive Conservative

Bart Maves Bart Maves (born October 30, 1964) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003. In 2010, he was elected as a Regional Councillor representing Niagara Fall ...

in her bid for re-election. When

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

stepped down as party leader she supported

Tony Silipo Tony Silipo (August 10, 1957 – March 10, 2012) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1999 representing the New Democratic Party in the downtown Toronto riding of Dovercourt. In 1999 he was ...

for leader of the party.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Margaret 1945 births Living people Niagara Falls, Ontario city councillors Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs People from Warwick Women MPPs in Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century Canadian women politicians Women municipal councillors in Ontario