The Honourable
Stephen Lecce
MPP
Ontario Minister of Education
Assumed office
June 20, 2019
PremierDoug Ford
Preceded byLisa Thompson
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure
In office
June 29, 2018 – June 20, 2019
PremierDoug Ford
Succeeded byStephen Crawford
Deputy Government House Leader
In office
July 23, 2018 – June 20, 2019
PremierDoug Ford
Succeeded byAmy Fee
Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier
In office
July 31, 2018 – June 20, 2019
PremierDoug Ford
Succeeded byWill Bouma
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for King—Vaughan
Assumed office
June 7, 2018
Preceded byRiding established
Personal details
Born
Stephen Francis Lecce

(1986-11-26) November 26, 1986
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Residence(s)Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario
Occupation
  • Politician
  • consultant
WebsiteCampaign website
Constituency website

Stephen Francis Lecce MPP (Italian: [ˈlettʃe]; born November 26, 1986) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Ontario minister of education since June 20, 2019. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Lecce is the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for King—Vaughan, representing the riding in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since his election in 2018. Before running for office, Lecce worked in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) as the director of media relations during Stephen Harper's tenure.

Early life

Lecce was born in Vaughan, Ontario, the son of Italian immigrants who came to Canada in the late 1950s.[1] At age 13, he worked then-PC MPP Al Palladini's successful re-election campaign in 1999.[2]

Education and early career

Lecce attended St. Margaret Mary Catholic Elementary School in Woodbridge, St. Michael's College School in Toronto, and later the University of Western Ontario, completing a Bachelor of Arts in political science. There, he was elected and served as president of UWO's University Students' Council.[3] While studying at Western University, he was initiated into the Sigma Chi Fraternity, eventually serving as the Western Chapter's president.[4]

After graduation, Lecce joined the Prime Minister's Office under Stephen Harper. Lecce was hired following a personal interaction with Harper in his capacity as president of Western's University Students' Council.[5] At the PMO, Lecce served as deputy director of communications before being promoted to director of media relations.[6][7]

Lecce owns a public relations consultancy firm.[2]

Political career

Lecce ran as a Progressive Conservative in King—Vaughan and won with 29,136 votes (56.62%).[2][8] On June 29, 2018, Lecce became the parliamentary assistant to Monte McNaughton, the minister of infrastructure.[9] On July 31, Lecce became parliamentary assistant to the premier.[10]

On June 20, 2019, he was sworn in as Ontario's minister of education.[11] Beginning in October 2019,[12] labour disputes between the provincial government and Ontario's four largest teachers unions (ETFO, OSSTF, OECTA, and AEFO), have caused rotating strike action. A joint strike by all four unions on February 21, 2020, marked the first province-wide closure of schools since 1997 strikes against the Harris government.[13] Earlier that month, on February 4, New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath called for Doug Ford to fire Lecce as education minister,[14] however, Ford assured that Lecce would remain in office.[15] On February 12, Lecce called the decision for the four largest teachers unions to hold the joint strike an "irresponsible choice."[16]

On March 12, 2020, Lecce announced that all publicly funded schools in Ontario would be closed for two weeks after March Break due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario,[17] however, the schools did not reopen as planned.[18] On May 19, Lecce announced that schools would not reopen until the following school year in September.[19] On July 30, Lecce announced a $309 million plan for the resumption of public education in September.

Lecce introduced Bill 28, known as the Keeping Students in Class Act,[20] which was passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on November 3, 2022, amid ongoing labour negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).[21] CUPE had given notice of job action October 30 after negotiations broke down with the Ministry of Education, and would have been in a legal strike position on November 4.[22] Bill 28 imposes a contract on CUPE, and makes it illegal to strike, setting fines of $4000 for workers.[22]

The bill invokes the notwithstanding clause, shielding it from being struck down by the courts by allowing the bill to operate despite the right to collective bargaining granted by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[22][23] The legislation was widely condemned, including by opposition parties, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti, the Ontario Bar Association, and other unions including those which had previously endorsed the PC Party.[23][24][25]

Despite Lecce's bill, CUPE went on strike anyways, resulting in province-wide protests in support of education workers against the government,[26][27] and the government challenging CUPE at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.[27] On November 7, 2022, Premier Doug Ford announced that the PCs would rescind Bill 28.[28] It was announced that a tentative deal with CUPE was reached on December 11, 2022.[29]

Electoral record

2022 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeStephen Lecce23,43957.55+0.93
LiberalGillian Vivona11,48828.21+4.87
New DemocraticSamantha Sanchez2,8406.97-8.42
New BlueMichael Di Mascolo1,4003.44
GreenRen Guidolin1,1042.71-0.70
Ontario PartyNeil Killips3090.76
ModerateTatiana Babitch1470.36+0.07
Total valid votes 40,727
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots
Turnout 39.72%
Eligible voters 102,502
Source: Elections Ontario[30]
2018 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeStephen Lecce29,13656.62+24.34
LiberalMarilyn Iafrate12,01223.34-27.97
New DemocraticAndrea Beal7,92115.39+3.70
GreenGreg Locke1,7543.41+0.43
TrilliumRoman Evtukh2520.49
LibertarianYan Simkin2350.46
ModerateTatiana Babitch1510.29
Total valid votes 100.0  
Source: Elections Ontario[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Stephen Lecce, Stephen Harper's Boy Wonder, Comes Of Age Under Doug Ford". msn.com. December 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Kopun, Francine (June 7, 2018). "King-Vaughan picks PC candidate Stephen Lecce". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Believin' in Stephen". usc.uwo.ca. April 7, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018.
  4. ↑ "News Briefs". usc.uwo.ca. April 7, 2009. Archived from the original on August 12, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Q&A: Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce". Toronto Life. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  6. ↑ "Harper's Boy Wonder Comes Of Age Under Ontario Premier Ford". HuffPost. 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  7. ↑ "Ontario PCs nominate ex-Harper adviser in controversial nomination". www.ipolitics.ca. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  8. 1 2 "Election Night Results /Résultats du soir de l'élection". Elections Ontario. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Walsh, Marieke. "Former federal MPs appointed to cabinet and parliamentary assistant posts under Ford". iPolitics. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Doug Ford on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  11. ↑ "Rookie MPP Stephen Lecce Takes on a Tough Education File". thestar.com. June 20, 2019.
  12. ↑ "CUPE education workers, Ontario government reach tentative deal to avoid strike". globalnews.ca. October 6, 2019.
  13. ↑ Alphonso, Caroline; Gray, Jeff (February 20, 2020). "Ontario's teachers' unions walk off job together in provincewide strike". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Horwath calls on Ford to hit the reset button on education, fire Stephen Lecce". ontariondp.ca. February 4, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Doug Ford urged to fire education minister as teachers escalate job action". thestar.com. February 4, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ontario's 4 major teachers unions to hold joint 1-day provincewide strike on Feb. 21". cbc.ca. February 12, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Ontario to shut down publicly funded schools for 2 weeks after March Break over COVID-19 concerns". cbc.ca. March 12, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Ontario schools will not reopen April 6, premier says". March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Ontario shuts schools until September because of COVID-19 pandemic". cbc.ca. May 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  21. ↑ "Ontario education workers set to strike Friday despite new law making it illegal". CP24. 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  22. 1 2 3 "Ontario government tables legislation to prevent strike by CUPE education workers". CBC News. October 30, 2022.
  23. 1 2 "Can anyone block Ontario legislation designed to impose a contract on education workers? | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  24. ↑ "'They're wrong': Union that supported Ford speaks out in defense of education workers". toronto.citynews.ca. November 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  25. ↑ "Canadian bill would fine workers $4,000 for each day they strike". the Guardian. 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  26. ↑ "Ontario CUPE strike: Day 1 of strike draws in solidarity for education workers, backlash against Ford and $100,000 donation". ca.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  27. 1 2 "Strike or political protest? Ontario takes education workers' union to labour board amid Friday walkout". CBC News. November 4, 2022.
  28. ↑ "CUPE announces end to strike after Doug Ford offers to rescind education law". CTV Toronto. 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  29. ↑ "Ontario Newsroom". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  30. ↑ "Candidates in: King—Vaughan (045)". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
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