Willem Bouma MPP (born July 27, 1972) is a Dutch-Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.[2] He represents the riding of Brantford—Brant as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Before becoming an MPP, Bouma practised optometry and was a member of the Brant County Council.[2]
Will Bouma | |
|---|---|
 Bouma in 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs | |
| Assumed office April 3, 2024 | |
| Minister | Doug Ford |
| Preceded by | Andrea Khanjin |
| Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance | |
| In office July 9, 2021 – June 1, 2022 | |
| Minister | Peter Bethlenfalvy |
| Premier | Doug Ford |
| Preceded by | Stan Cho |
| Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs | |
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Brantford—Brant | |
| Assumed office June 7, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Dave Levac |
| Brant County Councillor for Ward 1 | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – June 7, 2018 Serving with John Wheat | |
| Preceded by | Steve Schmitt John Wheat |
| Succeeded by | John MacAlpine John Wheat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 27, 1972 Rinsumageast, The Netherlands |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Residence(s) | St. George, Ontario |
| Alma mater | University of Waterloo (BS) Michigan College of Optometry (OD)[1] |
| Occupation | Optometrist |
| Website | https://willbouma.ca/ |
Early life and optometry career
editBorn in the village of Rinsumageast in The Netherlands, Bouma's family moved to Ontario when he was four years old. His parents operated a dairy farm near Forest, Ontario.[3][4][5] Bouma attended the University of Waterloo, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1995. He then studied at the Michigan College of Optometry, graduating in 1999. He practiced optometry in Michigan for seven years, but moved back to Ontario in 2006, settling in St. George, where he established an optometry office.[1][5]
Politics
editBouma served in several community positions before he ran for office, including the Brant County Committee of Adjustment; the Brant County Board of Health; and as president of the Brant Waterways Foundation.[6]
Brant County Council
editIn 2014, he ran for the Brant County Council in ward 1, which consists of the rural areas in the north of the municipality.[5] Bouma placed second in the election, 28 votes behind incumbent councillor John Wheat, winning one of the two seats.[7]
Provincial Parliament
editBouma ran to succeed retiring MPP Dave Levac in the 2018 provincial election. He was nominated by the Brantford—Brant Progressive Conservative Riding Association on April 8, 2017.[8] Bouma's campaign focused primarily on cost-of-living, healthcare, hydro prices, and taxation.[4] Bouma defeated NDP candidate Alex Felsky in the June 7 election, winning by 635 votes (1.09%).[2][9]
Bouma was sworn in on July 11, 2018.[10] In June 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier.[11]
Abortion controversy
editBouma, along with fellow Progressive Conservative MPPs Christina Mitas and Sam Oosterhoff, spoke at an anti-abortion rally in Queen's Park in May 2019. Bouma quoted from the Bible, while Oosterhoff pledged to "make abortion unthinkable in our lifetime". This drew criticism from parts of the Progressive Conservative Party, as well as the New Democratic Official Opposition.[12] The Brantford—Brant NDP issued a statement calling Bouma's comments "archaic",[13] and Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath said that she was "horrified" that the MPPs' participation in the demonstration.[12] Following the rally, Premier Doug Ford said that he would not re-open the abortion debate.[14] Demonstrators on both sides of the issue gathered outside of Bouma's office in Brantford on May 31, 2019.[15][16][17]
Personal life
editBouma lives in the town of St. George with his wife Joni and their five children.[6] He is a member of the Free Reformed Churches of North America.[5]
Electoral record
edit| 2022 Ontario general election: Brantford—Brant | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Will Bouma | 20,738 | 44.17 | +2.17 | $67,092 | |||
| New Democratic | Harvey Bischof | 13,283 | 28.29 | −12.62 | $113,139 | |||
| Liberal | Ruby Toor | 6,083 | 12.96 | +3.41 | $33,966 | |||
| Green | Karleigh Csordas | 3,174 | 6.76 | +2.05 | $20,258 | |||
| New Blue | Tad Brudzinski | 2,089 | 4.45 | $1,726 | ||||
| Ontario Party | Allan Wilson | 640 | 1.36 | +0.45 | $362 | |||
| Canadians' Choice | Leslie Bory | 490 | 1.04 | +0.60 | $0 | |||
| Libertarian | Rob Ferguson | 299 | 0.64 | −0.01 | $0 | |||
| Independent | John Turmel | 157 | 0.33 | $0 | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 46,953 | 99.51 | +0.56 | $157,086 | ||||
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 234 | 0.49 | -0.56 | |||||
| Turnout | 47,187 | 42.05 | -15.12 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 111,276 | |||||||
| Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | +7.39 | ||||||
Source(s)
| ||||||||
| 2018 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Will Bouma | 24,437 | 42.00 | +12.07 | ||||
| New Democratic | Alex Felsky | 23,802 | 40.91 | +13.76 | ||||
| Liberal | Ruby Toor | 5,553 | 9.54 | -28.08 | ||||
| Green | Ken Burns | 2,741 | 4.71 | +0.65 | ||||
| Ontario Party | Dave Wrobel | 534 | 0.92 | |||||
| None of the Above | Nicholas Archer | 424 | 0.73 | |||||
| Libertarian | Rob Ferguson | 379 | 0.65 | -0.08 | ||||
| Canadians' Choice | Leslie Bory | 258 | 0.44 | |||||
| Pauper | John Turmel | 60 | 0.10 | -0.02 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 58,188 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | - | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[18] | ||||||||
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References
edit- ^ a b "Will Bouma". LinkedIn. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Bouma wins tight Brandford-Brant race". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ "Willem Bouma OD". Facebook. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Ball, Vincent (May 27, 2018). "Serving community drives Bouma". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Shypula, Brian (August 10, 2014). "Bouma running in Ward 1". Toronto.com. Metroland Media. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ a b "Will Bouma". Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Shypula, Brian (October 28, 2014). "Two new faces elected to Brant council". Toronto.com. Metroland Media. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "Statement from Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown on the nomination of Willem Bouma". Facebook. April 8, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "Brantford-Brant voters opt for PC candidate Will Bouma". CTV News Kitchener. Bell Media. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "Ontario legislature resumes, MPPs sworn in". Global News. July 11, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "Premier Ford Announces Parliamentary Assistant Assignments". Office of the Premier. June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Clementson, Laura (May 9, 2019). "'We pledge to make abortion unthinkable in our lifetime': PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff". CBC News. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Ruby, Michelle (May 17, 2019). "Local NDP call anti-abortion comments 'archaic'". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Herhalt, Chris (May 9, 2019). "Ford pledges not to re-open abortion debate after 3 MPPs speak at anti-abortion rally". CP24. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (May 30, 2019). "Pro-choice and anti-abortion groups to hold competing protests at Brantford MPP's office". CBC News. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Craggs, Samantha (June 1, 2019). "Brantford abortion rally brings all sides, including those who say it saved their lives". CBC News. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Gamble, Susan (May 31, 2019). "Hundreds gather over abortion issue". Brantford Expositor. Postmedia. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Declared Election Results" (PDF). County of Brant. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2021.