Home > Greg Sorbara

In his younger years, Sorbara was active in a number of philanthropic and environmental pursuits. He left the University of Toronto without graduating in the 1960s to work with street youth in Vancouver, and spent a number of years working as an organic farmer in the British Columbia interior. He subsequently returned to Toronto, completed his education at York University, Glendon CollegeGlendon College is a federated school of York University in Toronto, Ontario. Glendon is a bilingual liberal arts faculty, with its own campus. It is unique in Canada, in that it is the only educational institution where all students receive education in and Osgoode HallFor the educational institution see Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall is the name for a landmark building in downtown Toronto which houses the Ontario Court of Appeal and the headquarters of the Law Society of Upper Canada. The buildings also housed th, and worked as a lawyer. He was President of The Sorbara Group (a prominent developing firm owned by his family), and has been a director of Royal Group Technologies and the York United Way, as well as being a Member of the Board which governs York University.

Sorbara was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial electionDavid Peterson's Liberals, with support from Bob Rae's New Democrats, form a minority government despite having fewer seats than Frank Miller's Progressive Conservatives. This election ended 42 years of Conservative rule, during which the Tories retained, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative William Hodgson in York NorthYork North was a Canadian electoral district that existed from Confederation in 1867 until being broken up in 2003 into the two new ridings of Newmarket—Aurora and York—Simcoe with another small section going to Oak Ridges—Markham. The riding covered the, a commuter riding located just north of Toronto. The Liberals under David PetersonDavid Peterson was the twentieth Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990, and the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years. He was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1943, and earned degrees from the University of Western Ontario (B. and the were able to form a minority government after this election, and Sorbara was appointed Minister of Colleges and Universities and Minister of Skills Development on June 26June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. Events 684 Benedict II becomes Pope. 1483 Richard III becomes king of England. 1819 The bicycle is patented. 1924 American occupying forces leav, 19851985 is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January events January 1 Creation of the Internet's Domain Name System. January 17 British Telecom annouces they are going to abolish the famous red telephone boxes. January 23 A debate in the House of Lor.

Sorbara was re-elected in the redistributed riding of York Centre in the 1987 provincial election. On September 29, 1987, he became Minister of Labour with responsibility for Women's Issues . Following a cabinet shuffle in August 1989, he became Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations .

In 1990, Sorbara was a vocal opponent of David Peterson's plans to call a snap election at just over two-and-a-half years into his mandate. He argued that the government should return to the electorate after a standard four-year cycle was completed, and run on the full record of its accomplishment. His objections were dismissed, and the Liberals were upset by the New Democratic Party in the election which followed (although Sorbara had little difficulty defeating NDP candidate Laurie Orrett in his riding).

In 1992, Sorbara ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party as an "anti-establishment" candidate, claiming that the party had lost touch with its support base in the Peterson years. Although he is usually regarded as being on the right of the Liberal Party, Sorbara's campaign incorporated both left-wing and right-wing elements, opposing the NDP's progressive labour laws but also promising to target poverty and homelessness in Ontario. He also spoke of in favour of government intervention in economic matters, arguing that growth could be best accomplished in partnership with the private sector. He finished third on the first ballot, and remained in this position until dropping from the race after the fourth ballot. Sorbara refused to support either Murray Elston or Lyn McLeod (the eventual winner) on the fifth and final ballot, and did not seek re-election in 1995.

In 1996, Sorbara was a prominent supporter of Dalton McGuinty's successful bid to become leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. He did not seek a return to office in 1999, but was elected Party President in November 1999. He later won a 2001 by-election in the redistributed Greater Toronto Area riding of Vaughan--King--Aurora , defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Joyce Frustaglio by almost 10,000 votes.

Sorbara's return to parliament was seen as a very significant victory for the Liberal Party. Previously, the Progressive Conservative Party had dominated the suburban and commuter ridings around Toronto (the so-called "905 belt", referring to the region's telephone code). Sorbara's victory indicated that the Liberal Party was once again positioned to win seats in the riding, and to threaten the Conservative hold on government accordingly. Sorbara himself was given a prominent role in designing the Liberal Party's 2003 campaign.

The Liberals were, in fact, victorious in the 2003 election, and Sorbara (who was re-elected without difficulty) was appointed Minister of Finance on October 23, 2003.

Sorbara became involved in a potentially serious conflict-of-interest controversy not long after his appointment. In late 2003, the Ontario Securities Commission informed his staff about an investigation into Royal Group Technologies Ltd. (which Sorbara joined as a company director in 1994) two months before the probe became public knowledge. Sorbara was subsequently informed of the investigation by a staff worker, and did not consult McGuinty concerning the potential for a conflict of interest.

There were calls for the minister to resign after the controversy became public knowledge, though he refused. Sorbara was cleared of any wrongdoing by the provincial integrity commissioner in August 2004, although many (including some in the Liberal Party) have questioned his judgement in this matter.

Sorbara is known to be a fiscal conservative, although he continues to support the principle of government intervention and is not considered to be a social conservative. In November 2004, he announced plans to eliminate the provincial deficit by the 2007- 08 year.

Many believe that Sorbara intends to run for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party again after McGuinty steps down.