Chris Hodgson
Hodgson was the Reeve of Dysart Township, winning 70% of the vote in his election,[4] and warden of Haliburton County, prior to entering provincial politics.After the by-election, there were may accusations by the Liberal opposition and media that Hodgson's team appealed to homophobic prejudice in the region to put their candidate over the top.[6] However, Hodgson's campaign prioritized the ongoing recession, and electoral analysis shows that he was elected on the basis of the positive response to his 5-point plan, focusing on cutting red tape and taxes, downsizing government, creating a good job climate, bringing deficits under control, and reforming education.[6][4] Meanwhile, at the time of the by-election, the Liberal Party claimed to have unequivocally supported the NDP government's plans to provide increased social benefits for same-sex couples in Bill 167.[6] Then Premier Bob Rae has also since been accused of using the same-sex benefits controversy as a wedge issue, “cynically cho[osing] not to whip his majority behind the bill because he saw an opportunity to blame its failure on McLeod's Liberals” and “was more interested in stopping the then-ascendant Liberals than in advancing the cause of equality.”[7] After the Tories won a majority government in the provincial election of 1995, Hodgson was re-elected over McCrae by almost 20,000 votes, with 67% of the vote.[9] On October 10, 1997, Hodgson was named Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet and Deputy Government House Leader (holding the latter positions until 2001).He also introduced Bill 52 to make Aggregate Industry more accountable for meeting strict provincial standards and removing barriers to job creation in the sector.[20] In 2002, Hodgson was also responsible for Ontario's role in hosting World Youth Day, then the largest international conference held in Canada, which generated an estimated $233 million in economic spinoffs.In late 2005, former deputy Solicitor-General Elaine Todres testified that she heard Hodgson say, "Get the fucking Indians out of my park" at a lunch-hour meeting on the day of Dudley George's shooting.