Who is Tony Clement? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In January, Canadian Celebrities Born In January

Also Known As: Tony Peter Clement

Age: 63 Years, 63 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Lynne Golding

father: Peter Panayi

mother: Carol Ann

children: Alex Clement, Elexa Clement, Max Clement

Born Country: England

Political Leaders British Men

political ideology: Independent

City: Manchester, England

More Facts

education: University of Toronto - St. George Campus_1986, University of Toronto - St. George Campus - 1983, University College; Toronto, University of Toronto Faculty of Law

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Childhood & Early Life

Tony Peter Clement was born Tony Peter Panayi, on January 27, 1961, in Manchester, England, to Greek Cypriot father Peter Panayi and Jewish mother Carol Ann (née Drapkin). At age 4, Clement immigrated to Canada with his parents. His parents eventually divorced. His mother then married Ontario politician John Clement, and it seems that his stepfather adopted him, as he adopted the surname “Clement.”

Clement attended the ‘University of Toronto’ and obtained a political science degree in 1983 and a law degree in 1986. There, he was elected to the university's ‘Governing Council,’ first as an undergraduate and then as a law student. He served as the president of the ‘Progressive Conservatives’ on campus.

Glenn Babb, the South African ambassador to Canada, who made frequent public statements against the anti-apartheid movement during 1985–1987, was invited to speak by the new society created by Clement, following the withdrawal of an invitation by the ‘International Law Society’ due to the controversial nature of the subject. Clement backed the invitation of Babb on the grounds of free speech. Although four law professors tried to put a court injunction, the plea was rejected by the court. The whole incident earned Clement a lot of media attention in 1986. In 1988, Clement received a call from the ‘Ontario Bar.’

In 1990, Clement became the president of the ‘Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.’ He served the then-party leader Mike Harris as his ‘Assistant Principal Secretary’ from 1992 to 1995 and remained instrumental in drafting policy directives for the ‘Common Sense Revolution.’ In 1994, he ran for the ‘Metro Toronto Council’ from Parkdale-High Park but lost to David Miller.

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Tenure in Provincial Politics

During the provincial election of 1995, he got elected to the ‘Legislative Assembly of Ontario’ from Brampton South and assumed office as a member of the ‘Ontario Provincial Parliament’ on June 8, 1995. He served as a ‘Parliamentary Assistant’ for a couple of years before being inducted as the ‘Minister of Transportation of Ontario’ (MTO) on October 10, 1997.

He was re-elected from Brampton West–Mississauga and held office till September 2, 2003. This time, he served as the ‘Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks’ from June 17, 1999, to May 3, 2000, and implemented ‘Ontario's Drive Clean,’ a program that made it mandatory for vehicles in Ontario to go through regular emission tests. He also held office as the ‘Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing’ from October 25, 1999, to February 8, 2001. He became the ‘Minister of Health and Long-Term Care’ on February 8, 2001.

After ‘Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario’ leader Mike Harris declared his intent to resign, Clement ran for the leadership of the party but was unsuccessful. He then supported the winning candidate Ernie Eves, who after becoming the leader, retained Clement in the ‘Health’ portfolio.

Clement played an active role when the ailment known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin, broke out in the summer of 2003. He traveled to Geneva and was successful in pressing the ‘World Health Organization’ (WHO) to lift a travel ban to Canada's largest city. Clement faced a defeat against Vic Dhillon in the 2003 provincial election. Thereafter, he worked with ‘Bennett Jones LLP’ as a counsel. He also owned a small business and served as a visiting professor at the ‘University of Toronto’s ‘Faculty of Law.’

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Career in Federal Politics

He was part of the steering committee for the ‘United Alternative’ in 2000 and also served as the founding president of the ‘Canadian Alliance’ that was formed that year. In December 2003, the ‘Canadian Alliance’ and the ‘Progressive Conservative Party of Canada’ merged to form the ‘Conservative Party of Canada.’ Clement contested during the ‘Conservative Party of Canada’s first leadership election held in Toronto, Ontario, on March 20, 2004, which was eventually won by Stephen Harper.

He lost the 2004 federal election as the ‘Conservative Party’ candidate in Brampton West but won the 2006 federal election from Parry Sound–Muskoka. He assumed office as a member of the ‘House of Commons of Canada’ for Parry Sound–Muskoka, defeating Andy Mitchell in the elections held on January 23, 2006, and was inducted as the ‘Minister of Health’ by the new prime minister, Stephen Harper, on February 6, 2006. He held the position till October 30, 2008. As a health minister, Clement set up the independent not-for-profit organization ‘Canadian Partnership Against Cancer,’ declared a national strategy on autism, and played an instrumental role in launching the ‘Chemical Management Plan.’

He also served as the ‘Minister for FedNor’ from February 6, 2006, to July 2013. During his tenure in the ministry, ‘FedNor’ approved $398 million, backing 1,742 projects between February 2006 and January 2012.

He held office as the ‘Minister of Industry’ from October 30, 2008, to May 18, 2011. During his tenure, among other endeavors, Clement came up with the ‘Knowledge Infrastructure Program,’ worked on restructuring of ‘GM’ and ‘Chrysler,’ and initiated changes to the 2011 ‘Census.’ His last action drew considerable criticism.

Following the 2011 federal election, Clement succeeded Stockwell Day as the president of the ‘Treasury Board’ of the country and held office from May 18, 2011, to November 4, 2015.

Although the’ Conservative’ government faced defeat in the 2015 general election, Clement managed to retain his seat. The interim leader of the opposition, Rona Ambrose, inducted Clement as the opposition's critic for foreign affairs. On July 12, 2016, he quit the ‘Shadow Cabinet’ to contest in the 2017 ‘Conservative Party of Canada’ leadership election. However, he withdrew his candidature on October 12 that year, as he could not meet the fundraising targets he had set for his campaign.

He succeeded Alupa Clarke as the ‘Official Opposition Critic for Public Services and Procurement’ on August 30, 2017. Unfortunately, Clement got entangled in a “sexting” scandal, following which he filed his resignation from the post of the ‘Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice.’ He also resigned from his ‘House of Commons’ committee assignments in early November 2018. Party leader Andrew Scheer requested Clement to resign from the ‘Conservative’ caucus on November 7, 2018, after Clement faced more accusations of improper behavior. He honored the request made by Scheer and presently serves as an independent MP.

Family & Personal Life

Clement is married to Lynne Golding and has three children. Lynne is a partner and the chairperson of the ‘Health Law Practice’ division at ‘Fasken Martineau DuMoulin,’ an international business law firm. Clement lives in Port Sydney, Ontario.

He often spends time honing his skills in rock guitar and is also associated with the band ‘The Dock Spiders.’ He performs in jam sessions regularly and has played at a number of events.

Tony Clement Biography