Margaret Helen Harrington (born October 4, 1945) is a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. She was a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1990 to 1995.

Background

Harrington was educated at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

, receiving a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree in Biochemistry. She worked as a secondary school teacher in Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...

 after her graduation, and served on the Niagara Falls city council. In 1988, she was named Niagara Falls Woman of the Year. Her husband, Dick Harrington, ran for the federal and provincial New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 on three occasions.

Politics

Margaret Harrington first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1987

The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...

, and finished second against Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 Vince Kerrio

Vince Kerrio

Vince George Kerrio was a businessperson and politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1975 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson...

 in the riding of Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls (electoral district)

Niagara Falls is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953.It consists of the city of Niagara Falls and the towns of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie....

. Three years later, in the 1990 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1990

The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....

, Harrington defeated Liberal candidate Wayne Campbell by almost 6,000 votes in the same riding. The NDP won a majority government and Harrington was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Housing from 1990 to 1993. She was then appointed as a Deputy Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

.

Shortly after the election, Harrington was accused of improprieties on voting day. She admitted to improperly adding two names to the voter's list. She claimed that she was mistaken about the rules for adding names to the list. Justice Warren Bailie ruled that no further action was required since Harrington won the election by more than two votes.

In 1993 she came out against the government's proposal to build a casino in Niagara Falls.

The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election

Ontario general election, 1995

The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...

, and Harrington finished third against Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 Bart Maves

Bart Maves

Bart Maves is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a Regional Councillor representing Niagara Falls for the 2010-2014 term and was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003.Before running for office himself, Maves worked as a legislative...

 in her bid for re-election.

When Bob Rae

Bob Rae

Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

 stepped down as party leader she supported Peter Kormos

Peter Kormos

Peter Kormos is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A former lawyer, he was first elected as an Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the Welland constituency in a 1988 provincial by-election. He replaced veteran NDP legislator Mel...

 for leader of the party.

Electoral Record

|-

|Margaret Harrington
|align="right"|13,884
|align="right"|46.37
|align="right"|
|-

|Wayne Campbell
|align="right"|7,979
|align="right"|26.65
|align="right"|
|-

|Norm Puttick
|align="right"|3,896
|align="right"|13.01
|align="right"|
|-

|Ted Wiwchar
|align="right"|3,141
|align="right"|10.49
|align="right"|
|-

|Art Klassen
|align="right"|674
|align="right"|2.25
|align="right"|
|-

|Donald MacDonald-Ross
|align="right"|365
|align="right"|1.22
|align="right"|
|}

External links