Deb Matthews Information & Deb Matthews Links at HealthHaven.com

Hon. Deb Matthews
	Hon. Deb Matthews
	; Honourable Deb Matthews, MPP, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
	MPP for London North Centre
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 2003
Preceded by	Dianne Cunningham
	Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; October 7, 2009
Preceded by	David Caplan
Born	1953; London, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Residence	London

Deborah Drake Matthews (born 1953 in London, Ontario) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of London North Centre for the Ontario Liberal Party, and is currently the provinces Minister of Health and Long-Term Care in the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

[edit] Family Life

Matthews has extensive family connections to both the Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties. Her father, Don Matthews, was once president of the federal Progressive Conservative Party. Her mother, Joyce Eleanor Matthews (née Drake) is a social activist particularly through her literacy work with Frontier College. Her first husband, Robbie Nash, is a successful investment adviser for National Bank Financial in London. Matthews's second husband, Bruce McCaffrey (who died in 2002), was once a provincial Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), and a cabinet minister in the government of Bill Davis.

She is also the sister-in-law of former Ontario Premier David Peterson, whose brother Tim Peterson was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Mississauga South and whose other brother Jim Peterson was the MP for Willowdale. Matthews has three children and one grandson.

Matthews was formerly known as Deborah Nash, using the surname of her first husband.

[edit] Background

Matthews was born in London North Centre. She studied at the University of Western Ontario, completing her Ph.D. in social demography. Her thesis is titled "Can immigration compensate for below-replacement fertility?: the consequences of the unbalanced settlement of immigrants on Canadian cities, 2001-2051".^[1]

[edit] Work History

Before entering politics, Matthews held a number of positions in various fields. She has experience in the business community, the construction industry, fundraising in the non-profit sector and teaching at the University of Western Ontario. Matthews was honoured twice on the University Students' Council Teaching Honour Roll at the University of Western Ontario.

[edit] Community involvement

Matthews is actively involved in numerous community activities in London. This includes Orchestra London and the Thames Valley Children's Centre. Matthews also served on the advisory boards for the Salvation Army and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and as board member and president of the Big Sisters of London. In 1995-96, Matthews served as the fundraising co-coordinator for the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of London.

[edit] Politics

Matthews has been involved in the Liberal Party since 1975, when she helped run Peterson's campaign in the old riding of London Centre. She co-chaired the Liberal Party's provincial campaigns in the elections of 1987 and 1995. Matthews was elected as President of the Ontario Liberal Party in 2003 and held the post until resigning in late 2006.

In the 2003 election, Matthews defeated Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Dianne Cunningham by almost 7,000 votes. Her riding includes significant portions of the London Centre riding once represented by her brother-in-law.

On October 23, 2003, she was appointed parliamentary assistant to Sandra Pupatello, Ontario's Minister of Community and Social Services.

Matthews was Ontario's Minister of Children and Youth Services and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues from October 2007 to October 2009. She is also the chair of the Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction.

On December 4, 2008, Matthews introduced Ontario's Poverty Reduction Strategy. The long-term reduction plan set a target to reduce the number of children living in poverty by 25 per cent over 5 years.

On October 7, 2009, Matthews was named Minister of Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to replace David Caplan.^[2].

Cabinet Posts (2)
Provincial Government of Dalton McGuinty
Predecessor	Office	Successor
David Caplan	Minister of Health and Long-Term Care 2009-	Incumbent
Mary Anne Chambers	Minister of Children and Youth Services 2007-2009	Laurel Broten
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Preceded by Dianne Cunningham	Member of Provincial Parliament for London North Centre 2003–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent

[edit] Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Deb Matthews	21,669	46.7%	+3.27%
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Alder	11,366	24.5%	-4.42%
	New Democrat	Steve Holmes	7,667	16.5%	-8.03%
	Green	Brett McKenzie	5,730	12.3%	+10.62%

Ontario general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	+/-
	Liberal	Deb Matthews	20,212	43.43%	+22.54%
	Progressive Conservative	Dianne Cunningham	13,460	28.92%	-11.29%
	New Democrat	Rebecca Coulter	11,414	24.53%	-11.93%
	Green	Bronagh Joyce Morgan	780	1.68%	+0.88%
	Family Coalition	Craig Smith	432	0.93%	-0.09%
	Freedom	Lisa Turner	242	0.52%	+0.18%

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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[1] Premier Announces Changes To Ontario Cabinet

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