Erin O'Toole

Erin O'Toole
Photograph of O'Toole smiling. He is wearing a navy blue suit with a Canadian lapel pin.
O'Toole in 2021
Leader of the Opposition
In office
August 24, 2020 – February 2, 2022
Monarch
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
DeputyCandice Bergen
Preceded byAndrew Scheer
Succeeded byCandice Bergen
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office
August 24, 2020 – February 2, 2022
DeputyCandice Bergen
Preceded byAndrew Scheer
Succeeded byCandice Bergen (interim)
Minister of Veterans Affairs
In office
January 5, 2015 – November 4, 2015
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byJulian Fantino
Succeeded byKent Hehr
Member of Parliament
for Durham
In office
November 26, 2012 – August 1, 2023
Preceded byBev Oda
Succeeded byJamil Jivani
Shadow cabinet posts
2020–2021Shadow Minister for Middle Class Prosperity
2017–2020Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Personal details
Born
Erin Michael O'Toole

(1973-01-22) January 22, 1973 (age 51)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Rebecca Grant
(m. 2000)
Children2
Parent
Alma mater
Profession
  • Politician
  • lawyer
Websiteerinotoole.ca
Military service
Branch/serviceAir Command
Years of service
  • 1991–2000 (active)
  • 2000–2003 (reserve)
RankCaptain
Unit423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron
AwardsCanadian Forces' Decoration
Sikorsky Helicopter Rescue Award

Erin Michael O'Toole PC CD (born January 22, 1973) is a former Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham from 2012 to 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Official Opposition from 2020 to 2022.

Born in Montreal, O'Toole grew up in Port Perry and Bowmanville in Ontario. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1991 and studied at the Royal Military College (RMC) until 1995. He was commissioned in Air Command,[note 1] serving as an air navigator, eventually attaining the rank of captain. Following his active service, he received a law degree, practicing law for nearly a decade until he was elected to the House of Commons in a 2012 by-election. In 2015, O'Toole briefly served as veterans affairs minister in the Harper government. In 2017, he ran for the party's leadership, finishing third to winner Andrew Scheer.

After Scheer resigned as leader in late 2019, O'Toole ran a successful leadership campaign, defeating former Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay in the 2020 leadership election. O'Toole's domestic policies included support for the elimination of the federal deficit, the simplification of federal taxes, a low carbon savings account, and pipeline construction. In foreign policy, he advocated for a CANZUK agreement and a hard-line approach to the Chinese government. Although he positioned himself as a "true blue" conservative during the leadership race, O'Toole began embracing a more centrist approach, and reversed his previous opposition towards the federal carbon tax and assault weapons ban.

O'Toole lost the 2021 federal election to the Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with the Conservatives winning the same number of seats as they held before the election. Although O'Toole pledged to remain as leader, his attempts to move the Conservative Party to the centre gained criticism from a considerable number of party MPs, who ousted him on February 2, 2022, through a leadership review.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).


Developed by StudentB