# Dan Harris (politician)

Dan Harris (born August 3, 1979) is a Canadian New Democratic Party politician, who represented the riding of Scarborough Southwest from 2011 to 2015. He served as the NDP's Critic for Post-Secondary Education.

## Background

Harris grew up in east end Toronto. Before being elected, he worked as an IT technician and "Site Lead for VoIP Services and Implementation" at the Kearl Oil Sands Project for Unified Systems Group. He has previously worked at the University of Toronto Students' Union as D.R.O. for their March 2010 Student Elections. As Web Coordinator at the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the summer of 2008. As a Manager of the Ontario NDP Fundraising PhoneBank in 2007–08. As the Support Team Leader at Web Networks 2001–2006 (part-time from 2005 to 2006 while attending classes). As a C.S.R. Telerep at Answer Plus (an inbound call centre) in 1999–2000. Harris also worked as a Jr. Assistant and Assistant at N.Y.A.D. Not Your Average Daycare from 1995 to 1999.
His father David Harris was a teacher in Scarborough for 28 years until he retired in 2015. His family has a military tradition, since his great-grandfather served in both world wars. His grandmother was in the Canadian Women's Army Corps. His great-uncle, Bill Riley, was in the service in the Second World War and served in Europe.

## Education

Harris attended French language schools in Toronto until college, graduating from elementary school at École George Étienne Cartier in Toronto and École Secondaire Catholique Mgr-de-Charbonnel in North Toronto for secondary school. He also attended Seneca College, studying computer programming and analysis. In the fall of 2016 he took a graphic design program at Concordia University.

## Politics

Harris first ran for office during the 2000 election in Scarborough Southwest, placing fourth behind Liberal incumbent Tom Wappel. He tried again in the 2004 and 2006 elections, and also ran for Ward 35 in the 2006 Toronto municipal elections. Harris did not contest the 2008 federal election, but tried again in 2011—this time defeating Liberal incumbent Michelle Simson.
Harris was named Deputy Critic for Science and Technology on June 2, 2011. In the summer of 2012 Harris was named Deputy Industry Critic then on August 9, 2013, he became the Critic for Post-Secondary Education.
In February 2015 Harris was among a group of NDP MPs accused by the Board of Internal Economy (BOIE) of misspending taxpayers dollars by funding NDP satellite offices after the 2011 election. Harris was initially ordered to pay back $141,467 to Canadian taxpayers. The NDP indicated its intention to challenge the ruling in federal court. In December 2015 Harris was exonerated by the House of Commons after providing proof that the Liberal and Conservative dominated BOIE had improperly charged him for staff working in his constituency office doing parliamentary work.
In the 2015 Canadian federal election, Harris lost his riding to former Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.

## Electoral record

vte2015 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Southwest :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Bill Blair | 25,586 | 52.47 | +23.13 | $153,155.47 |
| | New Democratic | Dan Harris | 11,574 | 23.73 | -11.14 | $48,940.84 |
| | Conservative | Roshan Nallaratnam | 10,347 | 21.22 | -10.46 | $64,631.85 |
| | Green | Tommy Taylor | 1,259 | 2.58 | -1.48 | $5,572.61 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 48,766 | 100.0 | | $205,220.58 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 277 | 0.56 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,043 | 67.96 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 72,164 |
| | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +17.13 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Dan Harris | 14,113 | 35.04% | +16.29% |
| | Conservative | Gavan Paranchothy | 12,828 | 31.85% | +2.34% |
| | Liberal | Michelle Simson | 11,701 | 29.05% | -12.77% |
| | Green | Stefan Dixon | 1,636 | 4.06 | -5.43% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,278 | 100% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | – | 59.1% |
vte2006 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Southwest :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Tom Wappel | 19,930 | 47.83 | −1.63 | $31,803 |
| | Conservative | Vincent Veerasuntharam | 10,017 | 24.04 | +0.26 | $68,687 |
| | New Democratic | Dan Harris | 9,626 | 23.10 | +0.79 | $18,101 |
| | Green | Valerie Philip | 1,827 | 4.38 | +0.38 | |
| | Independent | Trevor Sutton | 147 | 0.35 | | |
| | Communist | Elizabeth Rowley | 120 | 0.29 | −0.15 | $280 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,667 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 189 | 0.45 | −0.11 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,856 | 62.37 | +5.21 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 67,109 |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
vte2004 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Southwest :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Tom Wappel | 18,776 | 49.46 | −10.36 | $47,511 |
| | Conservative | Heather Jewell | 9,028 | 23.78 | −4.59 | $63,040 |
| | New Democratic | Dan Harris | 8,471 | 22.31 | +12.05 | $21,397 |
| | Green | Peter Van Dalen | 1,520 | 4.00 | | not listed |
| | Communist | Elizabeth Rowley | 168 | 0.44 | | $300 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 37,963 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 215 | 0.56 | −0.10 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,178 | 57.16 | +3.73 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 66,797 |
| Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000. |||||||
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
vte2000 Canadian federal election: Scarborough Southwest :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Tom Wappel | 21,466 | 60.01 | +6.61 | $47,146 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ellery Hollingsworth | 5,251 | 14.68 | +1.01 | $14,019 |
| | Alliance | Nabil El-Khazen | 4,912 | 13.73 | −6.72 | $30,429 |
| | New Democratic | Dan Harris | 3,638 | 10.17 | −1.05 | $10,666 |
| | Canadian Action | Walter Aolari | 336 | 0.94 | | $4,886 |
| | Communist | Dora Stewart | 165 | 0.46 | | $202 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 35,768 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 237 | 0.66 | −0.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,005 | 53.43 | −9.52 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 67,382 |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||