Mark Adler (politician)

Mark Adler (born March 17, 1962) is a former Canadian politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015. He represented the Toronto riding of York Centre.

Mark Adler
Member of Parliament
for York Centre
In office
May 2, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded byKen Dryden
Succeeded byMichael Levitt
Personal details
Born (1962-03-17) March 17, 1962
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyConservative
SpouseAlison
Children2
ResidenceToronto
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
ProfessionBusinessman

Background

Adler attended William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute, graduating in 1981. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1984 and Carleton University Graduate School of Public Administration in Ottawa. He worked for Canadian Institute of International Affairs and was a trade representative in the Government of Ontario's office in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2003 he founded and chaired the Economic Club of Toronto.[1]

Politics

Adler was elected to the Canadian Parliament in the 2011 federal election, when he defeated the Liberal incumbent Ken Dryden.[2] In January 2014, he travelled with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a trip to Israel. During a visit to the wailing wall, he urged an aide to the prime minister to allow him to get a photograph with Harper. He said, "It's the re-election! This is the million-dollar shot." The aide declined his request.[3]

Adler was criticized during the 2015 federal election campaign for putting "son of a Holocaust survivor" on an election poster.[4] Adler has also claimed in biographical and campaign materials to be the first child of Holocaust survivors elected to the House of Commons. Former MP Raymonde Folco, who sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal from 1997 to 2011 and is also a child of survivors, challenged this claim.[4] The claim was removed from Adler's campaign page in August 2015. Adler's campaign manager Georgeanne Burke said the claim was "an honest mistake," since Folco "never spoke publicly about her background."[5] Asked about Adler's behaviour, Folco told the Canadian Jewish News that she found it "disgusting" for Adler "to use the Holocaust in this way, for personal ends."[5]

In the 2015 federal election, Adler did not succeed in his bid for re-election, with Liberal candidate Michael Levitt winning.[6]

Electoral record
2015 Canadian federal election
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[7][8]
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeMark Adler20,35648.5+10.5$79,794.56
LiberalKen Dryden13,97933.3-10.2$73,675.98
New DemocraticNick Brownlee6,65615.9+3.8$409.63
GreenRosemary Frei9792.3-4.1$342.41
Total valid votes/Expense limit 41,970 100.0$83,892.08
Total rejected ballots 350 0.1–
Turnout 42,320 60.3 +7.6
Eligible voters 70,216 ––

References
  1. Hannon, Gerald (July 14, 2008). "A policy wonk living in geek heaven". The Globe and Mail.
  2. "York Centre: Adler takes formerly safe Liberal seat". Archived from the original on June 3, 2011.
  3. Maher, Stephen (January 22, 2014). "Trip all about election". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A2.
  4. Donnelly, Aileen (17 August 2015). "Conservative MP criticized for advertising that he is the 'son of a holocaust survivor' on campaign poster". National Post. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  5. Csillag, Ron (August 17, 2015). "Is Mark Adler really the first MP born of Holocaust survivors?". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  6. Maloney, Ryan (20 October 2015). "6 Controversial Tory Incumbents Who Lost (And 2 Who Didn't)". Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for York Centre, 30 September 2015
  8. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
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