Michael Levitt (politician)

Michael Levitt is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of York Centre in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2020 as a member of the Liberal Party.

For other people named Michael Leavitt, see Michael Leavitt (disambiguation).
Michael Levitt
Member of Parliament
for York Centre
In office
October 19, 2015 – September 1, 2020
Preceded byMark Adler
Succeeded byYa'ara Saks
Personal details
Born (1970-05-09) May 9, 1970[1]
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
Alma materMcGill University

Background

Born and raised in Scotland, Levitt came with his family to Canada when he was 14.[2] Levitt is Jewish.[3]

Levitt served as Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group.[4]

Before running for office, Levitt was a founding member of the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, co-chaired Liberal Friends of Israel, and served as a Partner and Vice-President of Business Development for the Benjamin Group in Toronto, a company providing lifecycle services to Toronto's Jewish community.[5] He has also served on the boards of Mount Sinai Hospital and the Koffler Centre of the Arts, both located in Toronto.[6]

Political career

Levitt was first elected to Parliament in the 2015 federal election, defeating the Conservative incumbent, Mark Adler.[7][8] He was re-elected in the 2019 federal election.[9]

On August 4, 2020, Levitt announced he would resign as an MP, effective September 1, 2020, to become the President and CEO of the Canadian regional office of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.[10]

Electoral record
2019 Canadian federal election: York Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalMichael Levitt21,68050.20+3.32$93,151.84
ConservativeRachel Willson15,85236.71−7.29$89,344.00
New DemocraticAndrea Vásquez Jiménez4,2519.84+2.51none listed
GreenRebecca Wood1,4033.25+1.45$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 43,18698.48
Total rejected ballots 6651.52+0.78
Turnout 43,85161.76-3.96
Eligible voters 71,000
Liberal hold Swing +5.31
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]
2015 Canadian federal election: York Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalMichael Levitt20,10946.9+13.7–
ConservativeMark Adler18,89344.0-4.5–
New DemocraticHal Berman3,1487.3-8.6–
GreenConstantine Kritsonis7941.8-0.5–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 42,944100.0   $198,299.74
Total rejected ballots 319––
Turnout 43,263––
Eligible voters 64,297
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]

References
  1. "Profile". lop.parl.ca. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. "Update: Getting to know 12 new Toronto Liberals you might not have heard of". Metro News. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  3. "Here are the six Jewish MP's headed to Ottawa". November 10, 2015.
  4. "Michael Levitt - Roles - House of Commons of Canada". Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. "Six Jewish MPs Head to Ottawa". November 10, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. "Michael Levitt Biography". Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  7. "York Centre: Liberal Michael Levitt unseats Conservative Mark Adler". Insidetoronto.com. October 19, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  8. Morales, Steve. "Michael Levitt recaptures Liberal stronghold York Centre". Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  9. Pataki, Amy (October 22, 2019). "Liberal Levitt triumphs for re-election in York Centre". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  10. "Toronto Liberal MP resigns to helm Jewish human rights organization". CBC News. August 4, 2020.
  11. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  12. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  13. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for York Centre, 30 September 2015
  14. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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