# Jerry Ouellette

Jerry J. Ouellette (born January 30, 1959) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014, representing the riding of Oshawa. He served in the cabinet in the government of Ernie Eves.

## Background

Ouellette was born in Oshawa, Ontario. He graduated from Durham College in business administration. He managed a lumber operation and a national consulting firm. Ouellette is a former member of the governing board of Durham College, and a member of the Oshawa Naval Veterans Association. He is currently CEO of Chaga Health and Wellness.

## Politics

Ouellette was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating incumbent New Democrat Allan Pilkey in Oshawa by about 8,000 votes. He was re-elected by about 7,000 votes over Liberal Chris Topple in the 1999 provincial election, with the NDP falling to third place. He was re-elected in 2003, 2007, and 2011.
Ouellette supported Ernie Eves in the Progressive Conservative Party's 2002 leadership convention, and on April 15, 2002, was appointed Ontario Minister of Natural Resources. In this capacity, he was generally regarded as an ally of the province's fishing and hunting community.
In the 2003 provincial election, Ouellette faced a strong challenge from provincial union representative and NDP candidate Sid Ryan. This was Ryan's third unsuccessful bid for a provincial seat (1999, Scarborough-Centre; 2003 and 2007, Oshawa) and his fifth electoral loss having been twice defeated by Colin Carrie, Oshawa's Conservative candidate and MP, in 2004 and 2006. Ouellette struggled to retain his seat, winning the 2003 race by 1,019 votes. But the Progressive Conservatives lost the election and Ouellette moved to the opposition benches. Four years later, during the 2007 provincial election, Ouellette defeated Ryan a second time. He was re-elected in the 2011 provincial election.
In the 2014 provincial election he was defeated by New Democratic candidate Jennifer French by 7,692 votes.

## Electoral record

vte2025 Ontario general election: Oshawa :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Jennifer French | 20,367 | 45.87 | +3.80 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Ouellette | 18,442 | 41.53 | +1.29 |
| | Liberal | Viresh Bansal | 3,891 | 8.76 | –0.37 |
| | Green | Nicholas Sirgool | 916 | 2.06 | –1.96 |
| | New Blue | Joe Ingino | 644 | 1.45 | –1.02 |
| | Independent | Rahul Padmini Soumian | 142 | 0.32 | N/A |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 44,402 | 99.51 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 219 | 0.49 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,621 | 41.79 | +2.31 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 106,773 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +1.3 |
| Source(s) "VOTE TOTALS FROM OFFICIAL TABULATION" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2 March 2025. |||||||
2014 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Jennifer French | 22,227 | 46.70 | +10.52 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Ouellette | 14,532 | 30.53 | -11.72 |
| | Liberal | Esrick Quintyn | 9,052 | 19.02 | +1.53 |
| | Green | Becky Smit | 1,785 | 3.75 | +1.13 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 47,608 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 650 | 1.37 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,258 | 50.19 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 96,154 |
| | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | +11.12 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2011 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Ouellette | 16,719 | 42.25 | +3.23 |
| | New Democratic | Mike Shields | 14,316 | 36.18 | +3.26 |
| | Liberal | Jacquie Menezes | 6,921 | 17.49 | -3.91 |
| | Green | Stacey Leadbetter | 1,035 | 2.62 | -3.42 |
| | Libertarian | Matthew Belanger | 435 | 1.10 | |
| | Freedom | Ben Fudge | 147 | 0.37 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 39,573 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 162 | 0.41 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,735 | 44.26 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 93,679 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -0.02 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2007 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Ouellette | 15,977 | 39.02 | +1.7 |
| | New Democratic | Sid Ryan | 13,482 | 32.92 | -1.79 |
| | Liberal | Faelyne Templer | 8,762 | 21.40 | -2.64 |
| | Green | Alexander Kemp | 2,474 | 6.04 | +4.41 |
| | Family Coalition | Jeffrey Streutker | 253 | 0.62 | -0.36 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,948 | 100.0 |
2003 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Ouellette | 14,566 | 37.32 | -9.43 |
| | New Democratic | Sid Ryan | 13,547 | 34.71 | +12.09 |
| | Liberal | Chris Topple | 9,383 | 24.04 | -4.98 |
| | Green | Karen Tweedle | 636 | 1.63 | |
| | Freedom | Paul McKeever | 518 | 1.33 | |
| | Family Coalition | Dale Chilvers | 383 | 0.98 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 39,033 | 100.0 |
1999 Ontario general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Ouellette | 18,915 | 46.75 |
| | Liberal | Chris Topple | 11,740 | 29.02 |
| | New Democratic | Colleen Twomey | 9,154 | 22.62 |
| | Natural Law | Garry Kotack | 651 | 1.61 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,460 | 100.0 |

### Cabinet positions

Ontario provincial government of Ernie Eves :
| Cabinet post (1) |||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| John Snobelen | Minister of Natural Resources 2002–2003 | David Ramsay |