page_title: Tim Hudak
section_title: Official opposition
hierarchical_section_title: Tim Hudak / Politics / Official opposition
caption_attribution_description: Tim Hudak teling the media that 70 of our candidates and MPPs are visiting 70 communities and 91 ridings to spread the message: Dalton McGuinty will raise our taxes
context_page_description: Timothy Patrick Hudak is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2016. He successively represented the ridings of Niagara South, Erie—Lincoln, and then Niagara West—Glanbrook. He served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. From 2009 to 2014, he was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Following the party's second loss under his leadership in the 2014 provincial election, he resigned as leader and was succeeded by interim leader Jim Wilson. After resigning his seat in the Ontario legislature in September 2016, Hudak became the Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Real Estate Association, which has its headquarters in Toronto.
context_section_description: In August 2009, shortly after taking power, Hudak criticized the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) after a string of controversies. The government had forced the resignation of several board members and, according to Canadian broadcaster CTV, Hudak "suggested the government was trying to pre-empt another eHealth-like scandal, and promised his party would "shine the light" on any Liberal misspending." Following Hudak's opposition, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan fired the corporation's CEO, Kelly McDougald, "for cause". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) also reported that a freedom-of-information request by Hudak's Tories was behind the shakeup. According to Hudak, the Liberals "knew it would be coming up in the opening session of the legislature, [so they] put it out today to head off the scandal.... But you're not going to stop the scandalous spending until [Premier Dalton] McGuinty sets the tone by firing one of his ministers."
  On September 10, 2009, Hudak delivered his first major speech as Party leader to the Economic Club of Canada. In his speech, Hudak attacked the Liberals for unnecessary spending at eHealth and OLG, as well as giving a $263-million grant to a video game developer.
  On October 19, 2009, Hudak launched a petition to support the new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH) in West Niagara. The petition called on the McGuinty government as well as the Minister of Health to stop the Hamilton-Niagara-Haldimand-Brant Local Health Integration Network from delaying the construction of the new hospital.
  In the midst of the fall 2009 legislative session, Hudak launched one of his first major platform pieces, the PC Caucus Small Business Jobs Plan, which he stated was essential to Ontario's economic recovery.  Also during the fall of 2009, Hudak and his party ramped up their opposition to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST, came into effect July 1, 2010, blended the previous eight per cent provincial sales tax with the five per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  By the end of 2009, polls indicated that under Hudak's leadership, the Ontario PC Party jumped from a distant second to a double-digit lead.
  The Party’s first year under Hudak’s leadership wrapped up with the Conservative’s Northern Ontario Jobs plan, a plan to restore jobs and economic growth to Ontario’s vast north. "The big picture here is that [when] developing economies like China and India grow, and the American economy rebounds, there will be a massive appetite for Ontario’s wood products and minerals and other resources", Hudak said.
  Hudak also criticized the McGuinty’s government’s approach on Ontario's nuclear industry. In line with his plan for the North, Hudak commented that “Reducing Northern Ontario's high energy costs is key to making industries there more profitable and preventing future mill closures.”
  In March 2010 by-elections, the Tories retained retired MPP Bob Runciman's riding of Leeds-Grenville, boosting their support by 19 points to 67 per cent of the vote. The party lost a second race in Ottawa West-Nepean to former Ottawa mayor and former MPP Bob Chiarelli, although they improved their showing over results of the 2007 election. In a third by-election held in Toronto Centre on the same day, the Progressive Conservative candidate came in third with fifteen percent of the vote.
  Later in April, Hudak and the Ontario PC party focused Question Period on Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN), a system of regional health authorities established by the McGuinty government. Offering examples of sole-sourced contracting, Hudak hammered the government for broken promises and removing money from front-line care. He said the amount of money paid out in six-figure salaries to LHIN executives and managers had nearly doubled since 2006, and promised to dissolve the LHINs if he were to win the Ontario general election in 2011.
  On Canada Day, 2010, the controversial harmonized sales tax (HST) came into effect across the province of Ontario. Tim Hudak responded by saying, “Dalton McGuinty will do what he does best
caption: Hudak speaking outside Queen's Park with PC candidates
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