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Anthony Peter "Tony" Clement, PC , BA , LL.B. , (born January 27 , 1961 in Manchester , England ) is a Conservative Canadian Politician . He was a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party Of Canada after its formation from the merger of the old Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties in 2004 , but lost to Stephen Harper . In May 2005 , Clement won the Conservative nomination to run in Parry Sound—Muskoka in the 2006 Federal Election , against incumbent Liberal Cabinet Minister Andy Mitchell . Clement narrowly defeated Mitchell, winning by only 28 votes. He was appointed as the Minister Of Health , the same position he held late in the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves governments in Ontario. EARLY LIFE AND CAREER Born Tony Panayi to a Greek- Cypriot father and Canadian mother in Britain , Clement immigrated to Canada in childhood with his mother and later adopted his last name from his stepfather, Ontario politician John Clement. As a student conservative Activist , Clement first attracted the attention of the media in 1985 when he invited Glenn Babb, Apartheid South Africa 's Ambassador to Canada, to speak at the University Of Toronto . He was also an open admirer of Margaret Thatcher 's government in the United Kingdom . A graduate of the University Of Toronto , he completed degrees in Political Science in 1983, and Law in 1986, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1988. Clement became president of the Progressive Conservative Party Of Ontario in 1990 and was a close ally of then-party leader Mike Harris . He ran, unsuccessfully, for Metro Toronto Council in 1994 losing to future Toronto Mayor David Miller in the riding of Parkdale-High Park. He served as Harris's Assistant Principal Secretary from 1992 to 1995, and played a leading role in drafting policy directives for the Common Sense Revolution . IN PROVINCIAL POLITICS He was elected to the Legislative Assembly Of Ontario in the Provincial Election Of 1995 , defeating incumbent Liberal Bob Callahan by over 6,000 votes in the Riding of Brampton South . After serving as a Parliamentary Assistant for two years, he was appointed Minister Of Transportation on October 10 , 1997 . He also represented the Progressive Conservative government on a variety of televised discussion panels, and won a reputation as a rising star in the party. Clement was re-elected in the Provincial Election Of 1999 , defeating Liberal candidate Vic Dhillon by over 8,000 votes. He was promoted to Minister Of The Environment on June 17 , 1999 , and served in this capacity until May 3 , 2000 . He was also appointed Minister Of Municipal Affairs And Housing on October 25 , 1999 , and held this position until February 8 , 2001 . His record as Housing Minister was subject to criticism by tenant activists. {Link without Title} On February 8 , 2001 , Clement was appointed Minister Of Health And Long-Term Care . When Mike Harris resigned as party leader, Clement ran to succeed him in the party's 2002 Leadership Election . During this campaign, his personal and professional relationships with rival candidate Jim Flaherty deteriorated significantly. Although both represented the right-wing of the party, the atmosphere between them became poisoned through a series of personal attacks (some have suggested that Flaherty's campaign was behind a scurrilous broadside that described Clement's wife as a lawyer for abortion doctors). Clement finished third on the first ballot, and threw his support to victorious candidate Ernie Eves on the second. When Eves became Premier, he kept Clement in the Health portfolio. As Health Minister, Clement introduced elements of private delivery by approving a private cancer care clinic in Toronto and entered into a public-private partnership for a hospital redevelopment in Brampton . He was especially prominent when Toronto suffered an outbreak of SARS in the summer of 2003 though the effectiveness of the ministry in handling the crisis has been a subject of debate subsequently. Clement's critics accused him of being too Right-wing to administer the province's Medicare system earning himself the nickname " Two-tier Tony" while his supporters contend he was an effective and innovative administrator. During the SARS crisis, Clement noted that he hadn't been aware that some nurses had to keep down more than one job to make ends meet and described the health system as "close to collapse". Critics believe, however, that it was the policies of his Tory government, particularly cuts to health in the first years of the Harris government, Privatization of parts of the system and the laying off of thousands of nurses, that led to the system's near collapse in the face of crisis. As an MPP, Clement faced some criticism after he had a constitutent charged with harassment for calling Clement's office repeatedly regarding a hospital related matter. The criminal charge against the constitutent was subsequently dropped. The Eves government was defeated in the 2003 Provincial Election , and Clement unexpectedly lost to Vic Dhillon by about 2,500 votes in a rematch from 1999 . Clement afterwards worked as a counsel for Bennett Jones LLP. IN FEDERAL POLITICS Clement first became prominent in federal politics in 2000 , sitting on the steering committee for the United Alternative . This initiative was meant to provide a framework for the Reform Party and Progressive Conservative Party to unite under a single banner. It did not accomplish this end, but nonetheless led to the formation of the Canadian Alliance later in the year; Clement served as the Alliance's founding President. Soon after the election, Clement declared himself a candidate for the leadership of the new Conservative Party Of Canada . His support base was undercut by the candidacy of Belinda Stronach , however, and he placed third with only 9% of the Party's Leadership Vote . He then sought election as the Conservative Party candidate in Brampton West in the 2004 Federal Election , but lost to Liberal incumbent Colleen Beaumier by about 3,500 votes. For his second attempt to win a seat in the Canadian House Of Commons , in the 2006 Campaign , he switched to the Parry Sound—Muskoka riding where he owned a cottage and where his wife's family had their roots. Liberal cabinet minister Andy Mitchell was his main opponent. The vote was close. On election night, he was declared to be the winner, by 21 votes. The official validation the following day increased his margin to 29 votes, but that triggered an automatic judicial recount, since the margin was less than 1 in 1,000 votes. Upon conclusion of the judicial recount, Clement was found to have defeated Mitchell by 28 votes: 18,513-18,485.
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