Mark Holland

For the Native American flute musician, see Mark Holland (musician).

Mark Holland MP
File:Mark podium.PNG
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Ajax
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Chris Alexander
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Ajax—Pickering
In office June 28, 2004 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	Riding created
Succeeded by	Chris Alexander
Personal details
Born	(1974-10-16) October 16, 1974 Pickering, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Children	3
Residence	Ajax, Ontario
Profession	Health Executive, investment advisor, politician

Mark Holland, MP (born October 16, 1974) is a Canadian politician. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Liberal Party in the Ontario riding of Ajax-Pickering. Holland was subsequently re-elected in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections. Holland served as the critic for Public Safety and National Security in the shadow cabinet up until 2011, when he lost his seat to Conservative candidate Chris Alexander. He is currently the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions.

In August 2011, he became the Director of Health Promotion and Public Affairs with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and was subsequently promoted to the roles of Executive Director for the Ontario Mission and National Director of Children and Youth. He is a regular panelist on both CBC and CTV News Channel. For the 2015 general election, Holland returned as the Liberal candidate for the riding of Ajax, retaking his seat by more than 12,000 votes and with 56% of the vote.

Background

Holland was born on October 16, 1974 in Pickering, Ontario. Holland majored in political science and history at the University of Toronto and graduated in 1996. He worked as an assistant to Member of Parliament Dan McTeague and at the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. He also worked for the Royal Bank of Canada and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

A lifelong resident of west Durham, Holland lives in Ajax and has three children — Braeson, Maia, and Riley.

Municipal politics

He served as a city councillor for the city of Pickering from 1997 till 2004 as well as a councillor for the Regional Municipality of Durham from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 Holland served as the acting Mayor of Pickering.

Holland created the Millennium Waterfront Committee in Pickering in 1998 and led the redevelopment of the City of Pickering's waterfront. He also founded the Region of Durham's Youth Partnership Initiative, the City of Pickering's Winterfest and was a member of the Board of Directors for Veridian Corporation. Holland was also a member of the Durham Region Police Services Board, past Vice-Chair of both the Ajax-Pickering Social Development Council and the Ajax-Pickering Block Parent program and a past member of Durham Region Finance and Administration Committee. He continues to be a member of the Durham West Arts Centre, and was one of their founding members.

Federal politics

Holland was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Ajax-Pickering, Ontario, from 2004 to 2011. He has served as Vice-Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Vice Chair of the Public Safety and National Security Committee, Critic for Natural Resources, Critic for Public Works and Procurement, Critic for the Canadian Border Services Agency, Associate Critic for Treasury Board, as a member of the Finance Committee, Industry Committee, Public Accounts Committee, Government Operations Committee and on the Cities and Communities Caucus.

In Parliament, Holland brought up a private members bill to advocate for the cause of lowering the voting age. The bill stipulated that 16- to 18-year-olds be allowed to vote in federal elections encouraged provincial and municipal jurisdictions to allow the same. He asked that an elections unit be taught in high schools before elections take place, to inform students on current events and issues at debate. By raising this interest in youth first, at the election they will make more informed choices. Furthermore, voting would take place in schools, raising voter turnout. In October 2006, Holland re-introduced as a private members bill a former Liberal government bill to reform the animal cruelty sections of the Criminal Code of Canada, which have changed little since 1892.

File:Liberal MP Mark Holland speaks during a news conference in Toronto.jpg

Holland speaking at a Toronto news conference.

Holland has been named by the Globe and Mail as a member of the new 'Rat Pack' and was voted by the Hill Times as the most effective Opposition MP in Question Period and the 'Best Up-And-Comer' four times from 2006–2008. Conservative Minister Stockwell Day has referred to Holland as 'Perry Mason on Steroids' and 'the Caped Crusader' during their sometimes heated exchanges in the Public Safety and National Security meetings. CTV called Holland "a one-man rat pack on a mission to change the hill". Macleans has labelled Holland – 'Part Attack Dog – Part King Maker' for his going after Conservatives and for his role in the 2006 leadership campaign.

Aaron Wherry of Macleans Magazine spoke of Holland saying "If you saw Kennedy in Montreal, Holland was inevitably not far behind. Already a favourite of some on Parliament Hill for his oratory skills and his impressive head of hair, Holland is a mere 32 years old – making him a potential leadership candidate for the next 30 years."

Holland supported Gerard Kennedy's leadership bid for the Federal Liberal Party and was Kennedy's Ontario Campaign Chair. When Kennedy dropped off after the 2nd ballot to support former Environment Minister Stéphane Dion, Holland went with him and was seen as key in building a bridge between the two camps. Holland was the Ontario Co-Chair of Michael Ignatieff's 2008 leadership campaign.

On January 18, 2007 Holland was named the Critic for Natural Resources in Dion's shadow cabinet. He was subsequently named Critic for Public Safety and National Security, a post he held until being defeated in 2011. In that capacity, he led the Opposition criticism over handling of the G8 Summit, efforts to save the gun registry and opposition to the Conservative's crime agenda. As a sharp and vocal critic of the government, the Conservatives dubbed him "Public Enemy Number 1" prior to the 2011 election. A fact Holland wore as "a badge of honour" citing other prominent Canadians the government targeted for disagreeing with their agenda.

In 2015, Holland was nominated the Liberal candidate for the new riding of Ajax, essentially the southern portion of his old riding, thus positioning him for a rematch against Alexander. He overwhelmed Alexander by almost 12,000 votes as part of the Liberal surge in southern Ontario.

In December of 2015, Holland was announced as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Democratic Institutions.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Ajax
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Mark Holland	31,460	55.7	+17.77	–
	Conservative	Chris Alexander	19,488	34.5	−9.73	–
	New Democratic	Stephanie Brown	4,639	8.2	−6.80	–
	Green	Jeff Hill	791	1.4	−1.32	–
	United	Bob Kesic	57	0.1	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			–	100.0		$221,131.96
Total rejected ballots			–	–	–
Turnout			56,435	66.72	–
Eligible voters			84,584 Template:CANelec/notgain
Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 2011: Ajax—Pickering
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Chris Alexander	24,797	44.07	+6.12
	Liberal	Mark Holland	21,569	38.33	-6.20
	New Democratic	Jim Koppens	8,284	14.72	+5.64
	Green	Mihkel Harilaid	1,621	2.88	-4.40
	United	Bob Kesic	72	0.13	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			56,268	100.00
Total rejected ballots			187	0.33	-0.05
Turnout			56,455	61.22
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+6.16

Canadian federal election, 2008: Ajax—Pickering
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Mark Holland	21,675	44.53	-4.9	$53,225
	Conservative	Rick Johnson	18,471	37.95	+5.2	$87,925
	New Democratic	Bala Thavarajasoorier	4,422	9.08	-3.6	$1,541
	Green	Mike Harilaid	3,543	7.28	+3.1	$3,531
	Christian Heritage	Kevin Norng	398	0.82	0.0	$1,171
	Libertarian	Stephanie Wilson	167	0.34	N/A	$20
Total valid votes/Expense limit			48,676	100	$89,065
Total rejected ballots			186	0.38
Turnout			48,862
	Liberal hold		Swing		-5.05

Canadian federal election, 2006: Ajax—Pickering
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Mark Holland	25,636	49.38	-0.39	$43,781
	Conservative	Rondo Thomas	16,992	32.73	-0.90	$77,308
	New Democratic	Kevin Modeste	6,655	12.82	+0.70	$8,405
	Green	Russell Korus	2,199	4.24	-0.23	$948
	Christian Heritage	Kevin Norng	435	0.84	n/a	$7,950
Total valid votes/Expense limit			51,917	100.00	$77,681
	Liberal hold		Swing		+0.51

Canadian federal election, 2004: Ajax—Pickering
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Mark Holland	21,706	49.77	-7.67
	Conservative	René Soetens	14,666	33.63	-3.83
	New Democratic	Kevin Modeste	5,286	12.12	+8.10
	Green	Karen MacDonald	1,951	4.47	–
Total valid votes			43,609
	Liberal notional hold		Swing		-3.84

External links

• How'd They Vote?: Mark Holland's voting history and quotes
• Mark Holland – Parliament of Canada biography