Tony Van Bynen MP (born April 5, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2019 Canadian federal election. He represents the district of Newmarket—Aurora as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and previously served as mayor of Newmarket, Ontario from 2006 to 2018.[1]
Tony Van Bynen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Newmarket—Aurora | |
| Assumed office October 21, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Kyle Peterson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 5, 1950 Netherlands |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Residence(s) | Newmarket, Ontario, Canada |
Background
Born in the Netherlands, Van Bynen immigrated to Canada in 1952 with his parents, and grew up on a family farm with five brothers and five sisters near London, Ontario. [citation needed] He eventually moved to Newmarket in 1980 after relocating to work as a bank branch manager.[2]
Municipal politics
He entered municipal politics in 2000 when he was elected as a town councillor, then was elected as a regional councillor in 2003 and subsequently as mayor in 2006, defeating his opponent Diane Springstein by 800 votes, a 4.6% margin.[3] He was re-elected in the 2010 election, defeating his only challenger, Michael Cascione.[4] He was again re-elected in the 2014 election.[5]
Van Bynen did not stand for re-election in the 2018 municipal election.[6]
Federal politics
In 2019, Van Bynen became the Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Newmarket—Aurora in the federal election of the same year.[7] He was subsequently elected over former Conservative MP Lois Brown.[8] He was re-elected in the 2021 federal election.[9]
Community involvement
Van Bynen has volunteered at Southlake Hospital and the homeless shelter Inn From The Cold for over a decade with his wife, Roxanne.[10] He also helped to create Belinda's Place, a facility that provides support for homeless and at-risk women in Newmarket.[11]
In 2013, Van Bynen received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his community service and leadership.[11]
Honours
Electoral record
Federal
| 2021 Canadian federal election: Newmarket—Aurora | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Tony Van Bynen | 24,208 | 43.8 | +0.7 | $96,047.56 | |||
| Conservative | Harold Kim | 21,173 | 38.3 | +0.5 | $112,882.72 | |||
| New Democratic | Yvonne Kelly | 6,338 | 11.5 | +0.8 | $17,822.22 | |||
| People's | Andre Gagnon | 2,296 | 4.2 | +3.2 | $3,308.84 | |||
| Green | Tim Fleming | 1,105 | 1.8 | -4.0 | $500.00 | |||
| Independent | Dorian Baxter | 260 | 0.5 | -0.9[12] | $1,598.82 | |||
| Total valid votes | 55,290 | |||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 372 | |||||||
| Turnout | 55,662 | 60.58 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 91,879 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[13] | ||||||||
| 2019 Canadian federal election: Newmarket—Aurora | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Tony Van Bynen | 26,488 | 43.1 | -2.08 | $88,608.07 | |||
| Conservative | Lois Brown | 23,232 | 37.8 | -7.81 | $74,278.42 | |||
| New Democratic | Yvonne Kelly | 6,576 | 10.7 | +2.19 | $18,620.10 | |||
| Green | Walter Bauer | 3,551 | 5.8 | +3.44 | none listed | |||
| Progressive Canadian | Dorian Baxter | 901 | 1.5 | +0.15 | none listed | |||
| People's | Andrew McCaughtrie | 588 | 1.0 | – | none listed | |||
| Rhinoceros | Laurie Goble | 104 | 0.2 | – | none listed | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 61,460 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 424 | |||||||
| Turnout | 61,884 | 67.3 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 91,920 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +2.87 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14] | ||||||||