Lee Fairclough

Lee Fairclough
MPP
Fairclough in 2025
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 27, 2025
Preceded byChristine Hogarth
Personal details
Born (1973-06-02) June 2, 1973
Political partyOntario Liberal

Lee Fairclough MPP (born June 2, 1973) is a Canadian politician who was elected as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in the 2025 Ontario general election.[1] She represents the electoral district of Etobicoke—Lakeshore as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party.

Early Life and education

Fairclough's parents, Valerie and Neville Fairclough, immigrated to Canada from England in 1967. First settling in Etobicoke then Southampton, Ontario, on the shore of Lake Huron during Fairclough's pre-teen years to return to Scarborough, Ontario, during her teens attending Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute.

Valerie Fairclough taught high school art and English while Neville Fairclough worked as an engineer on nuclear projects for Ontario Hydro.

Fairclough has lived in Etobicoke—Lakeshore since 2001 where she and her husband raise two children.[2]

Fairclough has a Master's degree in Health Sciences (MHSc) from the University of Toronto, an undergraduate degree in biology and mathematics (BSc) from McMaster University, and is a certified Medical Radiation Therapy Technologist (MRTT) trained at the University of Waterloo. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.[3]

Fairclough was a competitive swimmer for many years including as a Varsity Swimmer for McMaster. After university, Fairclough was a member of the Canada women's national rugby union team from 1995 to 1998.[4]

Career

She began her medical career as a medical radiation therapist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, subsequently moving to several roles within Princess Margaret and the University Health Network. She moved to Health Quality Ontario in 2014 as VP, Quality Improvement, and in 2018 also served as interim Executive Lead to establish the newly announced Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence.[5]

She was appointed President of St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener in 2019.[6] She stepped down from that job in 2022 to run in Etobicoke—Lakeshore in the 2022 Ontario general election,[7] in which she was defeated by Christine Hogarth despite being endorsed by the Not One Seat movement which sought to unify the progressive vote.[8]

She subsequently served as Senior Vice-President of Clinical Care at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health until the 2025 election, when she defeated Hogarth. During the 2025 campaign she was endorsed by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO).[9]

She has served on the Ontario legislature's Standing Committee on Public Accounts since 29 April 2025 and as Second Vice-Chair of that committee since 5 May 2025.[10]

Awards

Fairclough was presented with the University of Toronto Arbor Award in 2019, a recognition "given to individuals who are exemplary in their dedication and service to the community."[11]

In 2022 Fairclough was awarded the YWCA Cambridge Women of Distinction Awards' "The Courage of COVID" for her role at St Mary's Hospital managing the COVID pandemic in her region.[12]

Electoral record

2025 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Lee Fairclough 25,195 48.5 +12.8
Progressive Conservative Christine Hogarth 21,050 40.5 +3.0
New Democratic Rozhen Asrani 3,640 7.0 –10.9
Green Sean McClocklin 1,218 2.4 –2.5
New Blue Tony Siskos 452 0.9 –2.5
Moderate Larisa Berson 204 0.4 N/A
None of the Above Vitas Naudziunas 165 0.3 –0.1
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 365
Turnout 46.7 +1.4
Eligible voters 111,858
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +4.9
Source: Elections Ontario[13]
2022 Ontario general election: Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Progressive Conservative Christine Hogarth 17,978 37.48 −0.87 $75,837
Liberal 17,136 35.73 +11.48 $88,272
New Democratic Farheen Alim 8,595 17.92 −14.97 $68,196
Green Thomas Yanuziello 2,278 4.75 +1.13 $1,471
New Blue Mary Markovic 1,612 3.36   $4,739
Independent Bill Denning 186 0.39   $460
None of the Above Vitas Naudziunas 181 0.38   $0
Total valid votes/expense limit 47,966 99.47 +0.40 $149,099
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 255 0.53 −0.40
Turnout 48,221 45.28 −13.33
Eligible voters 105,778
Progressive Conservative hold Swing −6.17
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

References

  1. ^ Denio Lourenco. "Liberals win enough seats to regain official party status". CityNews, February 27, 2025.
  2. ^ Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Inaugural Speech as MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore April 16th 2025. leefaircloughmpp.ca. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  3. ^ "Faculty Directory, Lee Fairclough". Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. University of Toronto. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  4. ^ Pare, Mark (April 2, 2020). "COVID 19: Town Hall". St. Joseph's Health System. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
  5. ^ "Innovation Fund Showcase 2019, Lee Fairclough". The Innovation Fund Provincial Oversight Committee. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  6. ^ Johanna Weidner. "St. Mary's finds new hospital president". Waterloo Region Record, October 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Kitchener hospital president Lee Fairclough resigns post to run in provincial election". CBC News Kitchener-Waterloo, April 5, 2022.
  8. ^ Timothy Ellis (May 31, 2022). "Not One Seat announces third and final wave of Unity candidates". Not One Seat. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  9. ^ "President's Memo February 5, 2025 – Provincial Election and Endorsed Candidates". Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. February 5, 2025. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  10. ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario Current Members". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  11. ^ "An ambassador for IHPME, alumna and health care leader Lee Fairclough wins U of T Arbor Award". University of Toronto. October 25, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Matt Betts. (June 15, 2022). "YWCA Cambridge Women of Distinction Awards: Lee Fairclough". Cambridge Times. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Vote Totals From Official Tabulation" (PDF). Elections Ontario. March 3, 2025. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
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