Conservative Party candidates, 2004 Canadian federal election

The Conservative Party of Canada ran a full slate of candidates in the 2004 federal election, and won 99 seats out of 308 to form the Official Opposition. Many of the party's candidates have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here.

Manitoba

Bill Archer (Churchill)

Archer was born in 1957 in Saskatchewan and attended Winnipeg Bible College in the 1970s. He received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba in 1991, and became a partner with the Archer & Phillips Law Office in 1993. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/elections/fed2004/candidates/generated/46003_CON.html]

Archer volunteered for Progressive Conservative candidate Cecil Thorne for the 1999 provincial election in the northern election division of Thompson, [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/riding/216/] and was himself was the party's candidate in 2003. He worked as his own campaign manager, and campaigned against the taxation rates charged by local school boards.

Blair MacLean (Kingston and the Islands)

MacLean received 12,582 votes (23.12%), finishing second against Liberal incumbent Peter Milliken.

Riina DeFaria (Mississauga East—Cooksville)

DeFaria was the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for the riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville in the Canadian federal election, 2004. DeFeria also ran in the Canadian federal election, 2000 in the riding of Mississauga East for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada finishing a close third behind Jainstien Dookie of the Canadian Alliance and the winner Albina Guarnieri of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Mike Dupont (Nickel Belt)

Mike Dupont is a businessman and professional photographer in the Sudbury area. He was employed in mining from 1977 to 1987, when he started his own photography firm. In 2002, he took part in a photography session one mile underground at Sudbury's neutrino research facility. [Paul Couvrette, "A journey to the Earth's core", "Ottawa Citizen", 23 June 2002, A3.] He has chaired the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, and was appointed to the city's police services board in 2004. [Debbi Nicholson, "New season, new board for chamber", "Sudbury Star", 5 July 2001, A8; "New chamber executive sworn in", "Sudbury Star", 10 July 2003, A8; Bob Vaillancourt, "Dave Petryna selected to sit on police services board", "Sudbury Star", 14 January 2004, A5.]

Dupont was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada before 2003, when he supported the party's merger with the Canadian Alliance to create the Conservative Party of Canada. He originally sought the Conservative nomination for the Sudbury riding in the 2004 election, but lost to Stephen L. Butcher. [Harold Carmichael, "Conservatives, NDP pick candidates", "Sudbury Star", 29 March 2004, A3.] He later won the party nomination in Nickel Belt. [Bob Vaillancourt, "Conservative candidate puts focus on local issues", "Sudbury Star", 10 June 2004, A11.] He finished third against Ray Bonin, and commented that the riding's labour base made it impossible for the Conservatives to win. [Dupont was 47 at the time. See Harold Carmichael, "Couldn't break through: Dupont", "Sudbury Star", 29 June 2004, A6.]

Dupont won a community enhancement award later in 2004. [Laura Stradiotto, "Businesses made city a better place", "Sudbury Star", 21 October 2004, A1.] He ran for the Greater Sudbury Municipal Council in the 2006 election, but was defeated.

=Leo Bonomi (St. Catharines)=

Bonomi was born in St. Catharines. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from the University of Western Ontario, and has taken business and commerce training at the University of Windsor. He works as an investment advisor in the Niagara region for BMO Nesbitt Burns, and has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for over thirty-five years. Bonomi was 53 years old in 2004. [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/riding/183/#c2]

Bonomi defeated Cam Leach to win the Conservative nomination for St. Catharines. The Conservative Party targeted the riding, and Bonomi was favoured by some to win. Instead, he finished second against Liberal incumbent Walt Lastewka with 18,261 votes (34.71%).

Heather Jewell (Scarborough Southwest)

Jewell was born in 1962, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from York University. At the time of the election, she was head of the Condition of Broadcast License Closed-Captioning Department at Alliance Atlantis Communications. [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/191/] Her campaign website featured four-minute power ballad campaign anthem, composed by Rob Wells. The song included the lines, "Scarborough Southwest/is entitled to the very best/an inspired member of Parliament/who will champion our interests/and uphold our aspirations/in the nation's capital.... Oh you know it's Heather Jewell" ("National Post", 23 June 2004).

Jewell received 9,028 votes (23.78%), finishing second against Liberal incumbent Tom Wappel.

=Josh Cooper (Thornhill)=

Josh Cooper was the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Member of Parliament in 2004 representing Thornhill, Ontario.

He had won the nomination for the Canadian Alliance. After the merger of the Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, he was renominated.

Cooper is the Exectutive Director of the CJPAC. He is also owner of Par Golf Camp, and involved with the UJA Federation. He lost the election to Liberal candidate Susan Kadis by over 10,000 votes.

Loftus Cuddy (Toronto—Danforth)

Cuddy holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Toronto. He worked in defence insurance litigation for a year after his graduation, but switched to the plaintiff's side. For fifteen years before the 2004 election, he operated a practice in Toronto representing the interests of working-class people. He often worked pro bono in cases relating to social policy issues. Cuddy has been active in organizations such as the Royal Canadian Legion, the Holocaust Education Week Committee, and the Toronto Youth Symphony. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/elections/fed2004/candidates/generated/35094_CON.html] He was baptized as John Cuddy, but changed his name at age thirteen after becoming inspired by the writings of his great-great-grandfather, a Toronto minister.

Cuddy is the older brother of Jim Cuddy, the guitarist and vocalist of the rock group Blue Rodeo. His brother declined to endorse Loftus's campaign. This was not based on personal animosity, but because the younger Cuddy considered the Conservative Party to be too far to the right ("Globe and Mail", 26 May 2004).

Loftus Cuddy was on the left-wing of his party, and endorsed same-sex marriage during the 2004 election. [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/mini/CTVNews/1087872072448_37?s_name=election2004&no_ads=] He received 2,975 votes (6.21%), finishing third against New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton.

Ian MacNeil (Whitby—Oshawa)

MacNeil was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from St. Francis Xavier University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Bradford. He is a banker, and has served as an assistant to the Minister of International Trade. [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/riding/206/] He moved to Oshawa in 1998, and was thirty-six years old at the time of the election ("Toronto Star", 29 June 2004).

Whitby—Oshawa was a targeted seat for the Conservatives, but MacNeil was nonetheless defeated by Liberal incumbent Judi Longfield. He received 20,531 votes (36.06%).

Jordan Katz (Windsor West)

Katz was born in Windsor, Ontario, and was 32 years old at the time of the election. He studied economics at the University of Windsor, although he began working as a pit boss at Casino Windsor before completing his degree. He has also worked as a hotel chef ("Windsor Star", 25 May 2004), and is active with the Windsor Jewish Federation and the Canada Israel Committee. [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/riding/209/#rp] He won the Conservative nomination over Greg Novini in late March 2004 ("Windsor Star", 1-2 April 2004).

A "Windsor Star" poll taken during the campaign showed Katz with a narrow lead over New Democratic Party incumbent Brian Masse, although the reliability of the poll was disputed (5 & 11 June, 2004). A subsequent poll showed him in third place ("Windsor Star", 12 June 2004). Katz finished third against Masse with 8,348 votes (18.91%).

Katz is Jewish, and may have been the victim of anti-semitic vandalism during the campaign when some of his signs were spray-painted with Swastikas. It is not clear if the vandalism was directed against Katz on a personal level or against the Conservative Party, which has sometimes been depicted by its opponents as intolerant of minority groups. Signs belonging to Conservative candidate Rick Fuschi, who is not Jewish, were similarly defaced in a neighbouring riding. The vandalism was condemned by Canadian Jewish Congress leader Bernie Farber, who was quoted as saying, "Whether the target is Katz as a Jew or as a Conservative, the message is unacceptable. The idea of any Canadian comparing any Canadian political party with the Nazis is outrageous." ("Windsor Star", 15 June 2004).

Prince Edward Island

=Peter McQuaid (Cardigan)=

Peter McQuaid lost to Lawrence MacAulay of the Liberal Party of Canada. McQuaid received 6,889 votes to MacAulay's 11,064.

Footnotes