# John Vanthof

John Vanthof MPP (/ˈvænθɔːf/ VAN-thoff, born c. 1963) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in 2011. He represents the riding of Timiskaming—Cochrane. On August 23, 2018 he was named one of the party's two Deputy Leaders alongside Sara Singh, and critic for Agriculture and Food, and for Rural Development. As of August 11, 2024, he serves as the House leader of the Official Opposition and as critic for Agriculture and Food, for Rural Affairs.

## Background

Vanthof was born and raised on a dairy farm near New Liskeard, Ontario. He is the nephew of veteran Progressive Conservative MPP Ernie Hardeman. Prior to entering politics he was president of the Temiskaming Federation of Agriculture, a farmer's lobby group. He was a vocal opponent of the proposal to ship garbage from Toronto and bury it at Adams Mine.

## Politics

In the 2007 provincial election, Vanthof ran as the New Democrat candidate in the riding of Timiskaming—Cochrane. He was defeated by incumbent Liberal David Ramsay by 634 votes. He tried again in 2011 this time winning against Liberal candidate Denis Bonin by 6,101 votes. He was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election defeating Liberal candidate Sébastien Goyer by 8,490 votes. In the 2018 provincial election he was re-elected by a margin of 10,646 votes over Progressive Conservative Margaret Williams. Vanthof was re-elected for a third time in the 2022 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Bill Foy.
In opposition, he served as his party's critic for Natural Resources and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

## Electoral record

vte2025 Ontario general election: Timiskaming—Cochrane :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | John Vanthof | 11,085 | 43.96 | +1.22 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Tory Delaurier | 9,549 | 37.87 | +2.64 |
| | Liberal | Rick Ellsmere | 2,446 | 9.70 | +2.68 |
| | Green | Kris Rivard | 1,359 | 5.39 | –1.13 |
| | New Blue | Stephen MacLeod | 777 | 3.08 | –2.10 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 25,216 | 99.27 | –0.05 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 185 | 0.73 | +0.05 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,401 | 51.55 | +8.94 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 49,278 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | –0.71 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
vte2022 Ontario general election: Timiskaming—Cochrane :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | John Vanthof | 9,735 | 42.74 | −18.46 | $39,902 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bill Foy | 8,024 | 35.23 | +12.79 | $36,553 |
| | Liberal | Brian Johnson | 1,600 | 7.02 | −1.99 | $0 |
| | Green | Kris Rivard | 1,485 | 6.52 | +3.89 | $8,064 |
| | New Blue | Garry Andrade | 1,181 | 5.18 | | $1,923 |
| | Ontario Party | Geoffrey Aitchison | 349 | 1.53 | | $0 |
| | Libertarian | Eric Cummings | 248 | 1.09 | +0.39 | $100 |
| | None of the Above | Jeff Wilkinson | 157 | 0.69 | | $0 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 22,779 | 99.32 | +0.45 | $85,519 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 157 | 0.68 | -0.45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,936 | 42.61 | -10.47 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 52,988 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | −15.63 |
| 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: Timiskaming—Cochrane :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | John Vanthof | 16,806 | 61.20 | +6.17 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Margaret Williams | 6,160 | 22.43 | +4.94 |
| | Liberal | Brian A. Johnson | 2,476 | 9.02 | -14.12 |
| | Northern Ontario | Shawn Poirier | 1,105 | 4.02 | +1.67 |
| | Green | Casey Lalonde | 723 | 2.63 | +0.64 |
| | Libertarian | Lawrence Schnarr | 191 | 0.70 | -0.05 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 27,461 | 100.0 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2014 Ontario general election: Timiskaming—Cochrane :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | John Vanthof | 14,651 | 55.03 | +4.91 |
| | Liberal | Sébastien Goyer | 6,161 | 23.14 | -2.78 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Peter Politis | 4,656 | 17.49 | -3.69 |
| | Northern Ontario Heritage | Gino Chitaroni | 625 | 2.35 | +0.80 |
| | Green | Cody Fraser | 529 | 1.99 | +0.75 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 26,622 | 100.00 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +3.85 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2011 Ontario general election: Timiskaming—Cochrane :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | John Vanthof | 12,633 | 50.12 | +9.57 |
| | Liberal | Denis Bonin | 6,532 | 25.92 | -16.98 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Randy Aulbrook | 5,337 | 21.18 | +7.63 |
| | Northern Ontario Heritage | Gerry Courville | 391 | 1.55 | |
| | Green | Tina Danese | 312 | 1.24 | -1.76 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 25,205 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 91 | 0.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,296 | 50.04 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 50,554 |
| | New Democratic gain from Liberal | New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | +13.28 |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
2007 Ontario general election: Timiskaming—Cochrane :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | David Ramsay | 11,588 | 42.90 | -16.66 |
| | New Democratic | John Vanthof | 10,954 | 40.55 | +22.07 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Doug Shearer | 3,659 | 13.55 | -6.83 |
| | Green | Patrick East | 811 | 3.00 | +1.43 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 27,012 | 100.00 |