: The Honourable Dwight Duncan
Minister of Finance, Chair of Management Board of Cabinet, Deputy Premier
The Honourable Dwight Duncan, MPP for Windsor–Tecumseh, is the Minister of Finance, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet and Deputy Premier for the Government of Ontario. He has also served as Government House Leader, Minister of Revenue, Minister of Energy and Chair of Cabinet. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995.
As Minister of Finance, Minister Duncan oversaw Ontario’s response to the global economic crisis, the worst since the Great Depression, by introducing a stimulus and job-creation plan in the 2009 Ontario Budget. This response included substantial support for Ontario’s auto sector, a major employer and economic contributor in the province.
Minister Duncan has also overseen a number of significant reforms of Ontario’s financial sector. He modernized Ontario’s tax system, with tax relief for both people and businesses, and replaced the inefficient provincial sales tax with the harmonized sales tax (HST). Minister Duncan introduced the first major reforms to the pension and retirement income system in over two decades and is leading the call for reforms at the federal level.
As Minister of Finance, he is also responsible for the Ontario Securities Commission, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Ontario Racing Commission.
When he was Minister of Energy, Mr. Duncan led the restructuring of Ontario’s electricity sector and created the Ontario Power Authority. Mr. Duncan launched a 20-year electricity supply mix plan, initiating the move away from coal to more environmentally friendly alternatives. He created a Conservation Bureau encouraging a culture of conservation. He also introduced Ontario’s energy standard offer program, setting a standard price to make it easier for entrepreneurs and businesses to sell clean power from small projects to the electricity grid. It was hailed as the most progressive green energy initiative in North America in more than 20 years.
Between 2004 and 2007, as a result of Minister Duncan’s actions, Ontario secured more new generating capacity than any other jurisdiction in North America.
Prior to becoming a member of the government, Duncan served as Opposition House Leader, as well as the Opposition critic for a variety of portfolios.
Dwight Duncan is a lifelong resident of Windsor. From 1987 to 1995, he served as the administrator of Brentwood Recovery Centre, Canada’s largest alcohol and drug recovery centre. He sat on Windsor City Council from 1988 to 1994. A graduate of McGill University and the University of Windsor, Duncan holds degrees in economics and commerce, as well as an MBA. He has one son, Sean, age 21.
