# Will Bouma

Willem Bouma MPP (born July 27, 1972) is a Dutch-Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the riding of Brantford—Brant as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Before becoming an MPP, Bouma practised optometry and was a member of the Brant County Council.

## Early life and optometry career

Born in the village of Rinsumageast in The Netherlands, Bouma's family moved to Ontario when he was four years old. His parents operated a dairy farm near Forest, Ontario. Bouma attended the University of Waterloo, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1995. He then studied at the Michigan College of Optometry, graduating in 1999. He practiced optometry in Michigan for seven years, but moved back to Ontario in 2006, settling in St. George, where he established an optometry office.

## Politics

Bouma served in several community positions before he ran for office, including the Brant County Committee of Adjustment; the Brant County Board of Health; and as president of the Brant Waterways Foundation.

### Brant County Council

In 2014, he ran for the Brant County Council in ward 1, which consists of the rural areas in the north of the municipality. Bouma placed second in the election, 28 votes behind incumbent councillor John Wheat, winning one of the two seats.

### Provincial Parliament

Bouma ran to succeed retiring MPP Dave Levac in the 2018 provincial election. He was nominated by the Brantford—Brant Progressive Conservative Riding Association on April 8, 2017. Bouma's campaign focused primarily on cost-of-living, healthcare, hydro prices, and taxation. Bouma defeated NDP candidate Alex Felsky in the June 7 election, winning by 635 votes (1.09%).
Bouma was sworn in on July 11, 2018. In June 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier.

#### Abortion controversy

Bouma, along with fellow Progressive Conservative MPPs Christina Mitas and Sam Oosterhoff, spoke at an anti-abortion rally in Queen's Park in May 2019. Bouma quoted from the Bible, while Oosterhoff pledged to "make abortion unthinkable in our lifetime". This drew criticism from parts of the Progressive Conservative Party, as well as the New Democratic Official Opposition. The Brantford—Brant NDP issued a statement calling Bouma's comments "archaic", and Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath said that she was "horrified" that the MPPs' participation in the demonstration. Following the rally, Premier Doug Ford said that he would not re-open the abortion debate. Demonstrators on both sides of the issue gathered outside of Bouma's office in Brantford on May 31, 2019.

## Personal life

Bouma lives in the town of St. George with his wife Joni and their five children. He is a member of the Free Reformed Churches of North America.

## Electoral record

vte2025 Ontario general election: Brantford—Brant :
| The 2025 general election will be held on February 27. |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Harvey Bischof | | | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Will Bouma | | | |
| | New Blue | Joshua Carron | | | |
| | Ontario Alliance | James Carruthers | | | |
| | None of the Above | Mike Clancy | | | |
| | Green | Karleigh Csordas | | | |
| | Libertarian | Rob Ferguson | | | |
| | Liberal | Ron Fox | | | |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | |
vte2022 Ontario general election: Brantford—Brant :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Progressive Conservative | Will Bouma | 20,738 | 44.17 | +2.17 | $67,092 |
| | New Democratic | Harvey Bischof | 13,283 | 28.29 | −12.62 | $113,139 |
| | Liberal | Ruby Toor | 6,083 | 12.96 | +3.41 | $33,966 |
| | Green | Karleigh Csordas | 3,174 | 6.76 | +2.05 | $20,258 |
| | New Blue | Tad Brudzinski | 2,089 | 4.45 | | $1,726 |
| | Ontario Party | Allan Wilson | 640 | 1.36 | +0.45 | $362 |
| | Canadians' Choice | Leslie Bory | 490 | 1.04 | +0.60 | $0 |
| | Libertarian | Rob Ferguson | 299 | 0.64 | −0.01 | $0 |
| | Independent | John Turmel | 157 | 0.33 | | $0 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,953 | 99.51 | +0.56 | $157,086 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 234 | 0.49 | -0.56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,187 | 42.05 | -15.12 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 111,276 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +7.39 |
| Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023."Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. |||||||
2018 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Will Bouma | 24,437 | 42.00 | +12.07 |
| | New Democratic | Alex Felsky | 23,802 | 40.91 | +13.76 |
| | Liberal | Ruby Toor | 5,553 | 9.54 | -28.08 |
| | Green | Ken Burns | 2,741 | 4.71 | +0.65 |
| | Ontario Party | Dave Wrobel | 534 | 0.92 | |
| | None of the Above | Nicholas Archer | 424 | 0.73 | |
| | Libertarian | Rob Ferguson | 379 | 0.65 | -0.08 |
| | Canadians' Choice | Leslie Bory | 258 | 0.44 | |
| | Pauper | John Turmel | 60 | 0.10 | -0.02 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 58,188 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | - |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2014 Brant County Council election, Ward 1 :
| Candidate | Vote | % |
| John Wheat | 956 | 20.69 |
| Will Bouma | 928 | 20.09 |
| Willie Morley | 754 | 16.32 |
| Dave Thomson | 490 | 10.61 |
| John MacApline | 448 | 9.70 |
| Ken Burns | 429 | 9.28 |
| John Bell | 411 | 8.90 |
| William Kelley | 112 | 2.42 |
| Ray Grummett | 92 | 1.99 |
| Source: County of Brant |||