Mark Adler (politician)

Mark Adler (born March 17, 1962) is a former Canadian politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015. He represented the Toronto riding of York Centre.

Mark Adler
Member of Parliament
for York Centre
In office
May 2, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded byKen Dryden
Succeeded byMichael Levitt
Personal details
Born (1962-03-17) March 17, 1962 (age 62)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyConservative
SpouseAlison
Children2
ResidenceToronto
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
ProfessionBusinessman

Background

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Adler attended William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute, graduating in 1981. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1984 and Carleton University Graduate School of Public Administration in Ottawa. He worked for Canadian Institute of International Affairs and was a trade representative in the Government of Ontario's office in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2003 he founded and chaired the Economic Club of Toronto.[1]

Politics

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Adler was elected to the Canadian Parliament in the 2011 federal election, when he defeated the Liberal incumbent Ken Dryden.[2] In January 2014, he travelled with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a trip to Israel. During a visit to the wailing wall, he urged an aide to the prime minister to allow him to get a photograph with Harper. He said, "It's the re-election! This is the million-dollar shot." The aide declined his request.[3]

Adler was criticized during the 2015 federal election campaign for putting "son of a Holocaust survivor" on an election poster.[4] Adler has also claimed in biographical and campaign materials to be the first child of Holocaust survivors elected to the House of Commons. Former MP Raymonde Folco, who sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal from 1997 to 2011 and is also a child of survivors, challenged this claim.[4] The claim was removed from Adler's campaign page in August 2015. Adler's campaign manager Georgeanne Burke said the claim was "an honest mistake," since Folco "never spoke publicly about her background."[5] Asked about Adler's behaviour, Folco told the Canadian Jewish News that she found it "disgusting" for Adler "to use the Holocaust in this way, for personal ends."[5]

In the 2015 federal election, Adler did not succeed in his bid for re-election, with Liberal candidate Michael Levitt winning.[6]

Electoral record

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2015 Canadian federal election: York Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Michael Levitt 20,109 46.9 13.7
Conservative Mark Adler 18,893 44.0 -4.5
New Democratic Hal Berman 3,148 7.3 -8.6
Green Constantine Kritsonis 794 1.8 -0.5
Total valid votes/expense limit 42,944 100.0     $198,299.74
Total rejected ballots 319
Turnout 43,263
Eligible voters 64,297
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Mark Adler 20,356 48.5 10.5 $79,794.56
Liberal Ken Dryden 13,979 33.3 -10.2 $73,675.98
New Democratic Nick Brownlee 6,656 15.9 3.8 $409.63
Green Rosemary Frei 979 2.3 -4.1 $342.41
Total valid votes/Expense limit 41,970 100.0 $83,892.08
Total rejected ballots 350 0.1
Turnout 42,320 60.3 7.6
Eligible voters 70,216

References

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  1. ^ Hannon, Gerald (July 14, 2008). "A policy wonk living in geek heaven". The Globe and Mail.
  2. ^ "York Centre: Adler takes formerly safe Liberal seat". Archived from the original on June 3, 2011.
  3. ^ Maher, Stephen (January 22, 2014). "Trip all about election". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A2.
  4. ^ a b Donnelly, Aileen (17 August 2015). "Conservative MP criticized for advertising that he is the 'son of a holocaust survivor' on campaign poster". National Post. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b Csillag, Ron (August 17, 2015). "Is Mark Adler really the first MP born of Holocaust survivors?". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  6. ^ Maloney, Ryan (20 October 2015). "6 Controversial Tory Incumbents Who Lost (And 2 Who Didn't)". Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for York Centre, 30 September 2015
  8. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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