Mike Sullivan (Canadian politician)

Mike Sullivan
Member of Parliament
for York South—Weston
In office
May 2, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded byAlan Tonks
Succeeded byAhmed Hussen
Personal details
Born
Michael D. Sullivan

(1952-11-09) November 9, 1952 (age 72)
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Political partyNew Democrat
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
OccupationUnion representative

Michael D. Sullivan (born November 9, 1952) is a former Canadian politician. He was a New Democratic member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015 who was elected to represent the Toronto riding of York South—Weston.

Background

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Sullivan grew up in Windsor, Ontario.[1] He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1973. From February 1974 to November 1984, he worked for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) where he was radio master control operator. From 1984 until his election to the House of Commons in 2011, Sullivan was a national representative for the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) and later the Communications Energy and Paperworkers (CEP), where he worked with CBC as well as Sun Media and Torstar newspapers.

Left to right: Megan Leslie, Rathika Sitsabaiesan and Mike Sullivan at the New Democratic Party Caucus strategy session in Saskatoon

Politics

Sullivan first ran for the NDP in York South—Weston in the 2008 federal election. He lost to Liberal incumbent Alan Tonks by 6,430 votes.[2] He ran again in 2011, this time defeating Tonks by 2,580 votes.[3][4]

He served as the NDP's Deputy Critic for Housing and Disability Issues in the 41st Canadian Parliament. In the 2015 election, Sullivan lost his seat to Liberal candidate Ahmed Hussen by 7,622 votes.[5]

After losing his seat, he endorsed Charlie Angus in the 2017 New Democratic Party leadership election.[6]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election: York South—Weston
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Ahmed Hussen 20,093 46.0 +13.2 –
New Democratic Mike Sullivan 13,281 30.4 -9.7 –
Conservative James Robinson 8,399 19.2 -5.1 –
Libertarian Stephen Lepone 1,041 2.4 – –
Green John Johnson 892 2.0 -0.8 –
Total valid votes/expense limit 43,706 100.0     $203,157.28
Total rejected ballots 362 0.82 +0.02
Turnout 44,068 62.63 +9.53
Eligible voters 70,361
Liberal gain from New Democratic Swing +11.45
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Mike Sullivan 14,122 40.1 +12.1 –
Liberal Alan Tonks 11,542 32.8 -13.8 –
Conservative Jilian Saweczko 8,559 24.3 +3.9 –
Green Sonny Day 975 2.8 -2.3 –
Total valid votes/expense limit 35,198 100.0
Total rejected ballots 288 0.8 +0.1
Turnout 35,486 53.10 +2.4
Eligible voters 66,807 – –
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +12.95
2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Alan Tonks 16,071 46.6 -10.5 $48,748
New Democratic Mike Sullivan 9,641 28.0 +6.7 $46,118
Conservative Aydin Cocelli 7,021 20.4 +3.0 $27,300
Green Andre Papadimitriou 1,757 5.1 +1.3 $2,977
Total valid votes/expense limit 34,490 100.0 $80,783
Total rejected ballots 241 0.7
Turnout 34,731 50.7
Liberal hold Swing -8.6

References

  1. ^ "Mike Sullivan official bio" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  2. ^ "Greater Toronto Area Results". The Toronto Star. October 15, 2008. p. U2.
  3. ^ "Riding results from across Canada". Edmonton Journal. May 3, 2011. p. A6.
  4. ^ "Election 2011: York South—Weston". The Globe and Mail. May 2, 2011.
  5. ^ "Canada Votes". The Toronto Star. October 20, 2015. pp. GT13–GT15.
  6. ^ Grenier, Éric (September 10, 2017). "Who's backing whom in the NDP leadership race — and what that means". CBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  7. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for York South—Weston, 30 September 2015
  8. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine