Theobald Butler "Toby" Barrett (born November 3, 1945) was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the district of Haldimand—Norfolk for the Progressive Conservative Party from 1995 until 2022.

Background

Barrett was born in

Port Dover, Ontario Port Dover is an unincorporated community and former town located in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is the site of the recurring Friday the 13th motorcycle rally. Prior to the War of 1812, this community ...

in 1945. His grandfather was

Theobald Butler Barrett Theobald Butler Barrett (July 24, 1894 – March 26, 1969) was a Canadian politician. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1945 as a Member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to represent the riding of Norfolk. He wa ...

, Member of the

Canadian Parliament The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...

for

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

from 1945 to 1949. Barrett received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

in 1968, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree from the

Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affil ...

in 1974. He later worked as a teacher of High School agriculture, and has been a partner in Farmleigh Farms since 1980. He is a past president of the Norfolk Farm Safety Association, and a member of the Norfolk Federation of Agriculture.

Politics

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating Liberal Rudy Stickl and incumbent

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

Norm Jamison Norman Johnston Jamison (May 25, 1950 – October 3, 2017) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995. He died on October 3, 2017, of liver cancer at the age ...

in the riding of

. He was re-elected in 1999 in the redistributed riding of Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant. In 2003 he was re-elected again defeating Liberal candidate Rob Esselment by about 3,000 votes. Barrett supported

Jim Flaherty James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. First elected to the Legislative Assemb ...

's unsuccessful bid to succeed

Ernie Eves Ernest Larry Eves (born June 17, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 23rd premier of Ontario from 2002 to 2003. A Progressive Conservative, he took over the premiership upon Mike Harris's resignation as party leade ...

as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2004. In the

2007 Ontario general election The 2007 Ontario general election was held on October 10, 2007, to elect members ( MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, ...

, Barrett was easily re-elected, defeating Liberal candidate Lorraine Bergstrand by 26,100 votes to 9,500 votes in the newly redrawn riding of Haldimand-Norfolk. He was re-elected in the 2011 and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

elections. Barrett served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry under 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 since June 2018 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Cons ...

. Barrett did not run in the 2022 election. When he announced his retirement, his longtime executive assistant

Bobbi Ann Brady Bobbi Ann Brady is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2022 provincial election. She represents Haldimand—Norfolk as an Independent. Prior to her election to the legislature, Brady worked as ex ...

planned to run for the nomination to replace him as the PC candidate, but after the party's central office directly appointed

Haldimand County Haldimand County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Despite its name, it is no longer a county by definition, as all m ...

mayor Ken Hewitt as its new candidate without consulting the local electoral district association, Brady opted to run against Hewitt as an independent, with Barrett's endorsement and participation in her campaign. Brady ultimately won the election, and was the only independent to win a seat.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Toby 1945 births Living people Ontario Agricultural College alumni People from Norfolk County, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs University of Guelph alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians