Andrea Horwath

Andrea Horwath (born October 24, 1962) is a Canadian politician, MPP and community development coordinator. She currently serves as the Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and Leader of the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. She also is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Hamilton Centre, and was won the leadership of the Ontario New Democrats in the 2009 leadership election.

Andrea Horwath MPP
38th Leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario
Incumbent
Assumed office June 29, 2018
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Doug Ford
Lieutenant Governor	Elizabeth Dowdeswell
Preceded by	Vic Fedeli
Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office March 7, 2009
Deputy	Jagmeet Singh Sara Singh John Vanthof
Preceded by	Howard Hampton
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Hamilton Centre Hamilton East (2004–2007)
Incumbent
Assumed office May 13, 2004
Preceded by	Dominic Agostino
Hamilton City Councillor
In office December 1, 1997 – June 16, 2004 Serving with Ron Corsini (1997–2000)
Preceded by	Vince Agro Bill McCulloch
Succeeded by	Bob Bratina
Constituency	Ward Two
Personal details
Born	(1962-10-24) October 24, 1962 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	New Democratic
Domestic partner	Ben Leonetti (c. 1985–2010)
Children	1
Alma mater	McMaster University
Occupation	Community development coordinator
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Provincial politics

By-election

Horwath was first elected in the 2004 by-election of the provincial riding of Hamilton East.

2007 election

In the 2007 Ontario election, Horwath ran in the new riding of Hamilton Centre and won it.

2009 NDP leadership

On November 7, 2008, Horwath officially launched her campaign to become the leader of the Ontario New Democrats. The leadership election was held March 6–8, 2009 and she won all three election ballots.

2011 election

The 2011 provincial election saw a rise for the NDP under Horwath however still in third place. The party was balanced out, with a Dalton McGunity minority government.

2014 election

In the 2014 provincial election, the NDP was able to continue its seat count of 21, however the Liberals still won a majority government.

2018 election

Horwath running a third time, against the Liberal government led by Kathleen Wynne and a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario led by Doug Ford. Horwath promised to introduce a provincial dental plan and prescription drugs. She also promised a child care plan and return Hydro One to public ownership by buying back privately held shares. She also promised to close the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station immediately, while the other party leaders have pledged to keep it open until 2024.

The party's support in public opinion polls increased in May 2018, leading to greater media attention and greater scrutiny for Horwath and her party. She ultimately led the party to official opposition status in the Legislature, the second highest number of seats in the party's history.