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Elinor Caplan, PC (born May 20 , 1944 in Toronto , Ontario ) is a retired politician and businesswoman in Ontario, Canada . She served in the Legislative Assembly Of Ontario from 1985 to 1997 , and was a Member Of Parliament in the Canadian House Of Commons from 1997 to 2004 . A Liberal , she served as a Cabinet Minister in the provincial government of David Peterson and the federal government of Jean Chrétien . Caplan was educated at Centennial College . Her husband, Wilfred Caplan , sought election to the provincial legislature in the 1977 Election , but was defeated. Caplan first ran for office herself in 1978 , when she was elected to the North York municipal council. She ran for the provincial legislature in the 1981 Election , but lost to Progressive Conservative David Rotenberg in the constituency of Wilson Heights . She was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 Election , defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent John Williams by over 4,000 votes in the North York riding of Oriole . The Liberal Party formed a Minority Government after this election, and Caplan was appointed as Chair Of The Management Board Of Cabinet on June 26 , 1985 . She resigned her portfolio on June 16 , 1986 , following accusations of a conflict of interest relating to her husband's business dealings; while protesting her innocence, she claimed she had lost the confidence of the house. Caplan was subsequently exonerated by a parliamentary commission. Caplan won a landslide re-election victory in the Provincial Election Of 1987 , and returned to Peterson's cabinet on September 29 , 1987 as Minister Of Health . She held this position until the Liberals were unexpectedly defeated by the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1990 Election . Caplan defeated NDP candidate Lennox Farrell by just over 2,000 votes in the 1990 campaign, and remained a prominent figure in the official opposition, serving as Deputy House Leader in 1994 - 95 . In the 1995 Election , Caplan narrowly retained her seat against a challenge from Progressive Conservative Paul Sutherland . She served as Chief Opposition Whip from 1995 to 1996 , and retired from the legislature on May 1 , 1997 . (She was succeeded as the MPP for Oriole by her son, David Caplan , who now serves as a cabinet minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty .) In 1996 , she supported Joseph Cordiano for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. Caplan was elected to the federal House of Commons in the 1997 Election , defeating her closest opponent by more than 14,000 votes in the riding of Thornhill . She served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Of Health in 1998 - 99 , and was appointed to cabinet as Minister Of Citizenship And Immigration on August 3 , 1999 . There was some speculation that Caplan would be challenged by David Rotenberg in the 2000 Federal Election , but this ultimately came to nothing. Facing an inexperienced opponent from the Canadian Alliance , she was easily re-elected. After a cabinet shuffle on January 15 , 2002 , Caplan was appointed Minister Of National Revenue . She was dropped from cabinet when Paul Martin replaced Chrétien as Prime Minister in December 2003 . She did not seek re-election in the 2004 Election . In late 2004 , Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty appointed Caplan to lead a provincial inquiry into the state of home-care medical services. Caplan is Jewish , and is a longtime member of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO , a women's Zionist organization. EXTERNAL LINKS
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