Eric Hoskins

The Honourable
Eric Hoskins
OC MSC MPP
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for St. Paul's
Assumed office
September 17, 2009
Preceded by Michael Bryant
Personal details
Born Eric William Hoskins
(1960-11-29) November 29, 1960
Simcoe, Ontario
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Samantha Nutt
Occupation Politician

Eric William Hoskins, OC MSC MPP (born November 29, 1960) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who has represented the downtown Toronto riding of St. Paul's since 2009. He has served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. Since 2014, he has served as the Minister of Health and Long Term Care. In 2013 he contended for the leadership of the Liberal Party which was won by Kathleen Wynne.

A medical doctor and former president of War Child Canada, Hoskins was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2008 for his humanitarian work.

Education

After he attended Simcoe Composite School[1] for high school, Hoskins completed a B.Sc. degree in Chemistry at McMaster University in 1982 and graduated with an M.D. degree from McMaster University Medical School in 1985. Subsequently, Hoskins was awarded a Rhodes scholarship and continued his studies at the University of Oxford where he completed a Ph.D. degree in public health and epidemiology.[2] Hoskins also holds a MSc degree from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and a postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics from The University of Aberdeen. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.[3][4]

Working in conflict areas

From 1987-1990, Hoskins lived and worked in Sudan providing humanitarian relief to Ethiopian refugees in eastern Sudan, and to displaced civilians in southern Sudan.[5] In 1991, Hoskins co-founded the International Study Team, and led a group of international experts to examine the impact of war on the civilian population in Iraq.[6] The study provided a detailed humanitarian assessment of post-Gulf War Iraq.

Having seen the impact of war on Iraqi children, Hoskins lobbied the Canadian government to release over 2 million dollars of frozen Iraqi assets held in Canadian banks, and spent the following two years overseeing the purchase and distribution of food and medicine to tens of thousands of at-risk Iraqi children.[7]

In 1997, Hoskins was asked to join the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, as his Senior Policy Advisor. While at the Department of Foreign Affairs, he was responsible for contributing to Canadian foreign policy in the areas of human rights, human security, humanitarian affairs, peace building, war-affected children and Africa.[8] He later also served as an Advisor to the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations, and has been involved in setting United Nations policy on issues concerning the protection of children living with war.[8]

War Child Canada

Hoskins is the co-founder and former president of War Child Canada, a multimillion-dollar Canadian charitable organization that works to raise funds for relief and development programs in support of war-affected children around the world.[9][10] Working alongside his wife, War Child Executive Director Samantha Nutt, Hoskins helped the organization develop international relief programs and spread awareness of the issues facing war-affected children.[11] He worked with the United Nations and non-governmental organizations in some of the world's worst conflict areas including Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Burundi, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[8]

As President of War Child Canada, Hoskins was a frequent contributor to Maclean's magazine on war-related issues. He was a regular commentator on CTV, CBC and other major broadcast networks concerning the impact of war on civilians.[12]

Awards and recognition

At the age of 33, Hoskins became the youngest recipient of the United Nations Association in Canada's Lester B. Pearson Peace Medal and was later awarded the Meritorious Service Cross by the Governor General of Canada in the name of the Queen of Canada for his work in war-torn communities around the world.[7][13]

In addition to receiving the United Nations Association in Canada's Lester B. Pearson Peace Medal and the Meritorious Service Cross, Hoskins has been awarded the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Citation for Citizenship, Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award, and a McMaster University Distinguished Alumni Award.[14]

Hoskins and his wife, Samantha Nutt, received Honorary Doctorates of Law from McMaster University in May 2005 for their work promoting human rights and their role in delivering humanitarian assistance to some of the world's most vulnerable populations. Hoskins also has honorary degrees from Brock and Niagara Universities.[8]

In April 2008, Hoskins was made an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaëlle Jean for his humanitarian work.[15]

Politics

On April 21, 2007, Hoskins was chosen as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk for the 2008 Federal election. On October 14, 2008, he was defeated by Conservative incumbent Diane Finley.[16][17]

On August 12, 2009, Hoskins was nominated as the provincial Liberal candidate in the St. Paul's by-election.[18] On September 19, 2009, he defeated Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy running for the Progressive Conservatives.[19] On January 18, 2010, he was named the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.[20]

In the 2011 Ontario election, Hoskins was easily re-elected defeating PC candidate Christine McGirr by 16,076 votes.[21] After the election he was appointed as Minister of Children and Youth Services.[22]

He resigned on November 9, 2012 to stand as a candidate in the Ontario Liberal Party leadership election.[23] He was eliminated after the first ballot and he endorsed Kathleen Wynne, the eventual winner.[24] On February 11, 2013 he was appointed Minister of Economic Development, Trade & Employment.[25] He was re-elected in June 2014,[26] and was appointed as the Minister of Health and Long Term Care.[27]

Cabinet positions

Provincial Government of Kathleen Wynne
Cabinet Posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Deb Matthews Minister of Health and Long Term Care
2014–present
Incumbent
Brad Duguid Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment
2013–2014
Brad Duguid
Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty
Cabinet Posts (2)
Predecessor Office Successor
Laurel Broten Minister of Children and Youth Services
2011–2012
Teresa Piruzza
Michael Chan Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
2010–2012
Charles Sousa

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2011: St. Paul's
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalEric Hoskins 25,052 58.41
Progressive ConservativeChristine McGirr 8,971 20.92
New DemocraticDavid Hynes 7,121 16.60
GreenJudith Van Veldhuysen 1,172 2.73
LibertarianJohn Kittredge 332 0.77
FreedomMike Rita 88 0.21
SocialistKeith Pinto 83 0.19
Northern Ontario HeritageDavid Vallance 73 0.17
St. Paul's Provincial By-election - September 17, 2009
Resignation of Michael Bryant
Party Candidate Votes % ±
LiberalEric Hoskins 13192 47.60
Progressive ConservativeSue-Ann Levy 7851 28.33
New DemocraticJulian Heller 4677 16.88
GreenChris Chopik 1515 5.47
LibertarianJohn Kittredge 161 0.58
Special NeedsDanish Ahmed 95 0.34
IndependentMarius Frederick 84 0.30
FreedomPaul McKeever 61 0.22
IndependentJohn Turmel 52 0.19
IndependentRajendra Rama 24 0.09
Haldimand—Norfolk - Canadian federal election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±
ConservativeDiane Finley 19,657 40.8% -7.5% $67,583
LiberalEric Hoskins 15,577 32.4% -1.9% $72,913
New DemocraticIan Nichols 5,549 11.5% -1.3% $5,509
IndependentGary McHale 4,821 10.0% $22,798
GreenStephana Johnston 2,041 4.2% +0.7% $2,581
Christian HeritageSteven Elgersma 501 1.0% 0.0%
Total valid votes/Expense limit 48,146100%$85,391
Majority 4,0808.48%
Total rejected ballots 248
Turnout 48,394 %

References

  1. "SCS dunking for dollars". Simcoe Reformer.
  2. "The Irma M. Parhad Programme Profile on Eric Hoskins". University of Calgary. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012.
  3. "Liberal.ca :: Meet Your Liberal Candidate". liberal.ca. Archived from the original on October 1, 2008.
  4. "Ontario Liberal leadership candidate: Eric Hoskins". thestar.com. January 6, 2013.
  5. "International Doctoring and Entertaining: Samantha Nutt and Eric Hoskins". Peace Magazine.
  6. "Our common responsibility: The impact of a new war on Iraqi children". Relief Web.
  7. 1 2 "Pearson Peace Prize Profile on Eric Hoskins". United Nations Association in Canada. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "War Child Canada president named to Order of Canada". McMaster University.
  9. "2010 Annual Report" (PDF). War Child International. 2010.
  10. "About Us". War Child Canada.
  11. "War Child Canada co-founders to receive honorary degrees at 2005 Brock Fall Convocation". Brock University.
  12. "A Bloody Road to Peace". Maclean's Magazine. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011.
  13. "Eric Hoskins leads assessment in Sudan". War Child International.
  14. "Profile of Eric Hoskins" (PDF). Brickenden Speaker's Bureau. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2012.
  15. "Media Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada.
  16. "Ontario Results". The Toronto Star. October 15, 2008. p. U2.
  17. "OVR / ROS". elections.ca.
  18. Benzie, Robert (August 13, 2009). "Doctor gets nod in St. Paul's".
  19. "Liberals win easily in St. Paul's byelection". Toronto Star. September 17, 2009.
  20. Kenyon, Wallace (January 19, 2010). "Sweeping changes hit Queen's Park; Liberal Cabinet". National Post. p. A8.
  21. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 15.
  22. "Ontario's new cabinet". Toronto Star. October 21, 2011. p. A18.
  23. "Hoskins officially joins Ontario Liberal leadership race". The City Centre Mirror. Willowdale, Ont. November 13, 2012. p. 1.
  24. Benzie, Robert; Ferguson, Rob; Brennan, Richard (January 27, 2013). "Wynne triumphs, makes history: Opponents deliver victory for 'spectacular' candidate". Toronto Star. p. A1.
  25. "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. February 12, 2013. p. A3.
  26. "General Election by District: St. Paul's". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014.
  27. Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (June 24, 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
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