Stephen J. Clark (born November 7, 1960) is a Canadian politician who has represented
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes 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 ...
since 2010. A member of the
Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Clark was the
minister of municipal affairs and housing from 2018 until 2023, when he resigned from
provincial cabinet amid the
Greenbelt scandal. Clark was mayor of
Brockville
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...
from 1982 to 1991. Today, Clark is the Commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy, Government House Leader, and Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier.
Personal life
Clark was born in
Brockville, Ontario
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...
, on November 7, 1960. He lives in Brockville with his wife Deanna.
Municipal politics
Clark served three terms as mayor of
Brockville
Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...
from 1982 to 1991.
First elected at age 22, he was the youngest mayor in Canada at the time. He was also president of the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is a non-profit organization representing municipal and regional governments in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created on June 22, 1972 through a merger of the Ontario Municipal Associa ...
. He later worked as an advertising salesman for the ''
Brockville Recorder and Times'', as an administrative assistant to
Bob Runciman, and as the
chief administrative officer for the township of
Leeds and the Thousand Islands.
Provincial politics
He was first elected as the MPP for
Leeds–Grenville in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
on March 4, 2010, held to replace
Bob Runciman who resigned to accept a position in the Canadian Senate.
[ He was easily re-elected in 2011 and in 2014 both with large pluralities.] In 2018, he was elected as the MPP for the riding of Leeds–Grenville–Thousands Islands and Rideau Lakes. In 2018, he was appointed as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing by Premier Doug Ford
Douglas Robert Ford Jr. (born November 20, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 26th and current premier of Ontario and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2018. He represents the Toronto rid ...
. He resigned this position on September 4, 2023.
In September 2018, as Municipal Affairs Minister, he introduced the Better Local Government Act (Bill 5) to align the City of Toronto's municipal ward boundaries with provincial and federal electoral districts. This legislation intended to reduce the size of Toronto city council to create a more efficient council. When this legislation was initially ruled unconstitutional, he supported the unprecedented step of invoking the notwithstanding clause. Ultimately, The Ontario court of appeal
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently mistakenly referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal) (ONCA is the abbreviation for its neutral citation) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode H ...
accepted Ontario's position that the Better Local Government Act, 2018 did not infringe the Charter s. 2(b) freedom of expression rights of either municipal voters or candidates.
In January 2019, Clark proposed changes to the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan. The changes put an emphasis on transit-oriented development while allowing municipalities and developers to work together to build communities that address local needs and regional priorities, while maintaining protections for the Greenbelt, agricultural lands, the agri-food sector, and natural heritage systems.
Clark introduced the Municipal Modernization Program in March 2019 to improve local service delivery and efficiency in 405 small and rural municipalities in Ontario. He also developed the Audit and Accountability Fund to help the larger 39 municipalities and three school boards to conduct independent, financial reviews. To bolster municipal modernization efforts, Clark announced additional funding for municipalities in March 2020 to find ways to lower costs and improve services for residents and businesses as well as streamline development processes to increase the supply of housing.
On May 2, 2019, Clark introduced Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan and the More Homes, More Choice Act (Bill 108), to make it easier and faster to build housing of all types, and to reduce the cost of renting or buying a home in Ontario. The Bill followed extensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders in industry, the non-profit sector and members of the public. In addition to legislative changes, the Housing Supply Action Plan supported innovative ways to increase housing supply through a series of practical and informative guides on second suites, co-ownership, life leases and tiny homes.
In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Clark announced alongside Premier Doug Ford the historic one-time emergency $4 billion Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, municipalities experienced unprecedented cashflow and financial pressures from decreased revenues and increased service delivery costs. The Safe Restart Agreement funding will flow directly to municipalities to help them deal with COVID-19 related pressures, maintain critical services and protect vulnerable people as the province safely and gradually re-opened.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark worked closely with municipal partners across Ontario and introduced the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act (Bill 197), which received Royal Assent on July 21, 2020.
Clark resigned from cabinet during the 2023 Greenbelt scandal, after a report from the Ontario integrity commissioner recommended Clark be reprimanded for not properly overseeing the process to select lands for housing development.
Electoral record
Cabinet posts
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Steve
1960 births
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
Mayors of Brockville
Canadian city managers and chief administrative officers
21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
20th-century mayors of places in Ontario