Indira Naidoo-Harris

Indira Naidoo-Harris is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018 who represented the riding of Halton. She served as a cabinet minister in the government of Kathleen Wynne. She served as the Minister of Education, Minister responsible for Early Years and Child Care, Minister of the Status of Women and Associate Minister of Finance responsible for the Ontario Registered Pension Plan.

Indira Naidoo-Harris
Naidoo-Harris in 2017
Ontario Minister of Education
In office January 17, 2018 – June 29, 2018
Preceded by	Mitzie Hunter
Succeeded by	Lisa Thompson
Ontario MPP for Halton
In office 2014–2018
Preceded by	Ted Chudleigh
Succeeded by	Parm Gill
Personal details
Born	Durban, South Africa
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Randy Harris
Children	Galen Naidoo Harris, Oriana Naidoo Harris
Residence	Milton, Ontario
Profession	Journalist

Background

Naidoo-Harris was born in Durban, South Africa under Apartheid. She immigrated to Canada as a child, and grew up in Alberta. She graduated from the University of Lethbridge and spent her early broadcasting career with NBC and PBS before moving to Ontario in the 1990s.[1]

Prior to the election, she was a CBC Radio newsreader and a CBC Television journalist.[2] She lives in Milton, Ontario with her husband Randy and their two children.[3]

Politics

Naidoo-Harris ran in the 2011 provincial election as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Halton. She was defeated by Progressive Conservative incumbent Ted Chudleigh by 3,148 votes.[4][5] She ran again in the 2014 election against Chudleigh this time defeating him by 5,726 votes.[6][7]

From 2014 to 2016 she was a Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. On June 13, 2016, she was named Associate Minister of Finance Responsible for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.[8][9] On August 24, 2016 she was transferred from the pension role to a new educational ministerial position responsible for early year education and child care.[10] In addition to her role as Minister Responsible for Early Years and Child Care, in January 2017, Minister Naidoo-Harris was also named Minister of the Status of Women. In January 2018, she was named Minister of Education and kept her role as Minister Responsible for Early Years and Child Care.[11]

Naidoo-Harris was nominated to run for re-election as the Liberal candidate for the newly formed riding of Milton but was defeated in the ensuing election.

Cabinet positions

Ontario Provincial Government of Kathleen Wynne
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Mitzie Hunter	Minister of Education 2018 (January - June)	Lisa Thompson
New position	Minister Responsible for Early Years and Child Care 2016 - 2018	none
Tracy MacCharles	Minister of the Status of Women 2017[lower-alpha 1] - 2018	Harinder Malhi

Electoral record

2018 Ontario general election: Milton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Parm Gill	18,249	41.67
	Liberal	Indira Naidoo-Harris	13,064	29.83
	New Democratic	Brendan Smyth	9,740	22.24
	Green	Eleanor Hayward	2,200	5.02
	Libertarian	Benjamin Cunningham	366	0.84
	Social Reform	Enam Ahmed	170	0.39
Total valid votes			43,789	99.09
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			403	0.91
Turnout			44,192
Eligible voters
Source: Elections Ontario[12]

After politics

In August 2019, Naidoo-Harris was appointed as the University of Guelph’s new Associate Vice-President of Diversity and Human Rights.[13]

Personal life

Naidoo-Harris is married and has two children. She moved to Ontario in the 1990s to work for CBC-TV’s The National and Midday News, and since then she has anchored for CBC, CTV, TVO and OMNI Television. Naidoo-Harris has won numerous awards for her work and volunteerism in national and international causes.

References

Notes

1. On January 12, 2017 assigned to role as minister responsible for women's issues. On February 14, 2017 this was upgraded to be a new ministry.

Citations

1. http://news.ontario.ca/profiles/en/indira-naidoo-harris
2. "Ontario election 2014: Seat changes highlight election night surprises". CBC News. June 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014.
3. Rao, Sunil (November 24, 2010). "Indira Naidoo-Harris plans public service entry". South Asian Focus. Brampton, Ont. p. 1.
4. Beattie, Samantha (June 13, 2014). "15-year Tory rein in Halton halted by Liberal". The Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014.
5. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
6. "General Election by District: Halton". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
7. Slaughter, Graham (June 12, 2014). "Liberal candidate Indira Naidoo-Harris wins Halton in Ontario election". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
8. Hennessey, Melanie (June 13, 2016). "Halton MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris named associate finance minister". Inside Halton. Metroland Media.
9. "Kathleen Wynne's shuffled cabinet features 40% women". CBC News. June 13, 2016.
10. Benzie, Robert (August 24, 2016). "Wynne taps Naidoo-Harris to be early years and child care minister". Toronto Star.
11. "Newsroom : Biography : Indira Naidoo-Harris". news.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
12. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
13. staff, 101 3 myFM News. "Former Milton MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris Has a New Role at the University of Guelph". 101.3 Milton Now. Retrieved 2019-12-11.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)
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• LinkedIn