Erin O'Toole

Erin Michael O'Toole PC CD (born January 22, 1973) is a former Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Durham from 2012 to 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, O'Toole served as the party's leader and the leader of the Official Opposition from 2020 to 2022.

Born in Montreal, O'Toole grew up in Port Perry and Bowmanville. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1991 and studied at the Royal Military College (RMC) until 1995. He was commissioned in Air Command, serving as an air navigator, eventually attaining the rank of captain. Following his active service, he received a law degree, practicing law for nearly a decade until he was elected to the House of Commons in a 2012 by-election. In 2015, O'Toole briefly served as veterans affairs minister in the Harper government. In 2017, he ran for the party's leadership, finishing third to winner Andrew Scheer.

After Scheer resigned as leader in late 2019, O'Toole ran a successful leadership campaign, defeating former cabinet minister Peter MacKay in the 2020 leadership election. After he assumed the leadership, O'Toole marketed his party to working-class Canadians. O'Toole lost the 2021 federal election while receiving a plurality of the popular vote, and also won re-election in his home riding of Durham. O'Toole stated he would stay on as party leader, but on February 2, 2022, he was ousted after losing a leadership review from sitting Conservative Party MPs.

O'Toole has been described as a moderate member of his party. On domestic policy issues, O'Toole supports gradually eliminating the federal deficit, simplifying federal taxes, a low carbon savings account, and pipeline construction. On foreign policy issues, O'Toole supports a CANZUK agreement and a hard-line approach to the Chinese government, considering it to be a bad actor on the international stage. O'Toole's voting record on social issues has been mainly characterized as socially progressive.