Paul Wessenger

Paul Wessenger (born December 25, 1937 in Brockville, Ontario) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995.

Wessenger was educated at the University of Toronto, receiving a law degree. He worked as a lawyer in Toronto for four and a half years, and then practiced in Barrie, Ontario for a further twenty-one years. From 1973 to 1976, he served as an alderman within Barrie. There is a street after him because of this.

He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, coming a close second to Progressive Conservative incumbent Art Evans in the riding of Simcoe Centre. He ran again in the 1977 provincial election, and lost to new PC candidate George Taylor by a greater margin.

Wessenger ran for the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the federal New Democratic Party in the 1980 federal election, but finished third in the riding of Simcoe South. He ran a third provincial campaign in the 1985 provincial election, but again finished third against PC candidate Earl Rowe.

The NDP won an unexpected majority government in the 1990 provincial election, and Wessenger, running for a fourth time in Simcoe Centre, defeated incumbent Liberal Bruce Owen by almost 3,000 votes. He served as parliamentary assistant to the Attorney General from 1991 to 1995, and to the Minister of Health for the remainder of his time in office.

In 1992, Wessenger and Jack Layton traveled the province to seek public consultation on changes to Ontario's Public Hospitals Act.

The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Wessenger finished a poor third against PC candidate Joe Tascona. He has not sought a return to provincial politics since this time, though he remains active in the NDP.