- Charles Sousa
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The Honourable
Charles Sousa
MPPMPP for Mississauga South Incumbent Assumed office
October 30, 2007Preceded by Tim Peterson Minister of Labour Incumbent Assumed office
December 16, 2010Preceded by Peter Fonseca Personal details Born September 27, 1958
Toronto, OntarioPolitical party Ontario Liberal Party Alma mater Wilfrid Laurier University (B.B.A.)
The University of Western Ontario (M.B.A.)Occupation Entrepreneur
BusinesspersonWebsite Charles Sousa Charles Sousa (born on September 27, 1958 in Toronto, Ontario) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the riding of Mississauga South, and is the province's Minister of Labour in the Cabinet of Premier Dalton McGuinty. Prior to his appointment to Cabinet in December 2010, Sousa served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade
Sousa grew up in Mississauga, and is currently living in Clarkson with his wife Zenaida and their three children.
Contents
Business Career and Community Involvement
Education
Charles Sousa graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1982 with an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration. In 1991, he completed a fellowship at the Institute of Canadian Bankers. He then earned an Executive MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1994.
Business Career
Before joining government, Sousa worked at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Financial Group for more than 20 years. Among his roles was Director of Business Development - Commercial Financial Services, Director of Government & Community Affairs promoting RBC's strategic initiatives and Senior Manager of Marketing at RBC Dominion Securities’ head office. Prior to working with RBC , he owned and operated a factoring company that offered financial services to small businesses.
Community Involvement
Sousa has been a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, a director with the American Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Toronto Board of Trade. In 2003, he was appointed to represent Canada as a director to the International Chamber of Commerce. He is a past president of the Federation of Portuguese-Canadian Business & Professionals and member of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Toronto (EUCOCIT). He was also an ambassador for the Credit Valley Hospital Foundation and an honourary Chair of the Rainbow Ball Foundation.
In 2003, Sousa received a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his service to the community. In 2009, he was inducted as a Commander (Comendador) to the Order of Merit (Portugal).
Political Career
Sousa ran against sitting Mississauga South MP Paul Szabo for the federal Liberal nomination in 2004, but was defeated in a tightly fought campaign. He ran for the federal Liberal nomination in Mississauga-Erindale in 2006 but was defeated as well. He served as co-chair of future PC leader John Tory's campaign for mayor of Toronto in the 2006 election, being part of the leadership of the group "Grits for Tory."
2007 Election
Sousa won the riding in the 2007 provincial election, defeating incumbent Tim Peterson. Formerly a Liberal, Peterson had crossed the floor in March 2007 to join the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party). Analysts had expected the vote to be extremely close — however, Sousa ultimately won the riding with 46.8 per cent of the popular vote, and by a margin of just over 5,000 votes more than Peterson.
Member of Provincial Parliament
Sousa sits on the Cabinet Committees on Economic & Environmental Resources Policy and Legislation & Regulations. He was previously a member of the Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs and has held the positions of Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development & Trade and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Government & Consumer Services.
In 2008, Sousa introduced a private member's bill to track and report industrial, commercial and institutional (IC&I) waste. He also introduced a private member's bill to improve Financial literacy education. As a parliamentary assistant, Sousa ushered the passage of Open for Business legislation to make it easier and faster to conduct business in Ontario. He also facilitated passage of the Payday Loans Act to protect Ontario consumers against predatory lending.
In 2011, Charles introduced an passed Bill 160 - the Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act to create a Chief Prevention Officer and a new prevention council within Ontario's Ministry of Labour. He also introduced and received unanimous support for Bill 181, the Fire Protection and Prevention Amendment Act (2011), addressing protection for Ontario firefighters and duty of fair representation.
Sousa chairs an industry caucus at Queen’s Park and sat on the Clarkson Airshed Study Advisory Committee, as well as the Petro-Canada Public Liaison Committee. He also sits on the Lakeview and Port Credit community advisory committees.
Electoral Record
Ontario general election, 2007 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Liberal Charles Sousa 19,195 46.8% +3.0% Progressive Conservative Tim Peterson 14,114 34.4% -8.8% New Democrat Ken Cole 3,745 9.1% -0.7% Green David Johnston 3,627 8.8% +6.4% Family Coalition Samantha Toteda 345 0.8% -0.6% External links
- Charles Sousa 2011 Election Campaign Website
- Charles Sousa official MPP Site
- Charles Sousa Ontario Liberal Party biography
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario biography
Categories:- Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
- Living people
- 1958 births
- Canadian people of Portuguese descent
- University of Western Ontario alumni
- Wilfrid Laurier University alumni
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