Rob Oliphant

Robert Oliphant
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Don Valley West
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	John Carmichael
In office October 14, 2008 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by	John Godfrey
Succeeded by	John Carmichael
Personal details
Born	(1956-06-07) June 7, 1956 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Marco A. Fiola
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Profession	United Church Minister and Health Charity Executive
Religion	United Church of Canada

Robert "Rob" Oliphant (born June 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician and a United Church minister. He served in the House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Don Valley West from 2008 to 2011, and was returned to office in the 2015 general election.

Personal life

Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Oliphant studied Commerce and Finance at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1978, with a Bachelor of Commerce. While at university he rowed on the Men’s Varsity Rowing Crew, was involved in music and student politics. Upon graduating from U of T, he returned to Sault Ste. Marie and worked at Algoma Steel as an accountant in computer systems development.

Oliphant lives in Sherwood Park, Toronto with his partner, Marco A. Fiola, a professor at Ryerson University.

Church career

Oliphant was sponsored as a candidate for ministry by his home church, Central United Church in Sault Ste. Marie.

Oliphant remained in Sault Ste. Marie for two years before entering the Vancouver School of Theology at the University of British Columbia. After completing his studies at UBC, Oliphant was ordained as a United Church Minister in 1984. Oliphant has been stationed in diverse communities such as Montreal, Toronto, Quyon, Quebec, Newfoundland and Whitehorse.

Between 1999 and 2008, Oliphant was a member of the Team Ministry at Eglinton St. George’s United Church in Toronto, one of the largest congregations in the United Church of Canada. In 2004, he was given an award for 18 years of continuous work in interfaith dialogue.

On May 17, 2008, Oliphant obtained his Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.) from the Chicago Theological Seminary.

Political involvement prior to election

Oliphant worked as a senior advisor in the Ontario government. In 1989, he was asked by then-Premier David Peterson to work in a senior role in the Premier's office. He subsequently went on to serve as Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff to two ministers, Mavis Wilson, Ontario Minister Responsible for Women's Issues, and Christine Hart, Ontario Minister of Culture and Communications.

Oliphant has worked on many campaigns at both the federal and provincial levels, and has held official positions in the party. He was an active young Liberal serving as President of the University of Toronto Liberal Club, Chair of "Youth for Peterson," and served on the Executive of the Ontario New (Young) Liberals. In anticipation of a federal election in 1978, Oliphant was part of a group of young Liberals who trained in tour operations for Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He has worked in campaigns in Sault Ste. Marie, for candidates including Alex Sinclair and Ron Irwin, in Toronto, for Margaret Campbell, Roy MacLaren, Carolyn Bennett, Allan Rock and several others, and in Yukon, for former Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Shirley Adamson. During the 2006 federal leadership race, Oliphant was an advisor to Michael Ignatieff’s campaign.

In December 2006, columnist Michael Valpy mentioned Oliphant's name as a possible contender for the federal Liberal nomination for Toronto Centre should Bill Graham decide not to seek re-election. It was subsequently reported in January 2007 that Oliphant was hosting exploratory meetings in the riding. However, Oliphant did not pursue this bid, deferring to former NDP Premier Bob Rae who became the Liberal candidate in this riding.

In January 2008, Oliphant sought the federal Liberal nomination of Don Valley West after John Godfrey announced his retirement. Others interested in the nomination included former Liberal MP Sarmite Bulte, prominent constitutional expert Deborah Coyne, local imam Abdul Ingar, and Jonathan Mousley. During the nomination process, Coyne accused Oliphant and Bulte supporters of signing up members who hadn't paid a membership fee, a violation of party rules. Members of the press contacted several people who had signed up as members who confirmed they had not paid a fee. Oliphant replied that he had instructed his campaign team to follow the rules.

On February 25, 2008, Coyne withdrew from the nomination race and endorsed Oliphant. On March 2, 2008, he won the nomination in the fourth round of voting to become the Liberal party candidate in the federal by-election. The by-election had been called for September 22, 2008, but this was cancelled in the wake of the general election called for October 14, 2008.

Parliamentary career

Oliphant was elected to the House of Commons on October 14, 2008.

He was named to the Shadow Cabinet by Stéphane Dion as Critic for Veterans Affairs in November 2008. He was appointed to the same post by Michael Ignatieff in October 2009. On September 7, 2010, in announcing the team of Opposition Critics, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff named Oliphant to the Multiculturalism post.

He served as the co-chair of the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group, treasurer-secretary of the Canada-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group and vice-chair of the All Party Arts Caucus, the Liberal Caucus’ Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison with Queen’s Park on Ontario Issues, and the Federal Caucus Liaison of the Ontario Young Liberals.

In the 2011 election, Oliphant was defeated by the Conservative candidate John Carmichael. Four years later, he reclaimed the riding, defeating Carmichael in a rematch.

Asthma Society of Canada

Rob Oliphant served as the President & CEO of the Asthma Society of Canada from 2011-2015, before being re-elected to the House of Commons as the representative for Don Valley West.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Rob Oliphant	27,472	53.78	+12.29	–
	Conservative	John Carmichael	19,206	37.6	-5.33	–
	New Democratic	Syeda Riaz	3,076	6.02	-4.73	–
	Green	Natalie Hunt	848	1.66	-1.91	–
	Libertarian	John Kittredge	325	0.64	–	–
	Communist	Elizabeth Hill	84	0.16	-0.19	–
	Independent	Sharon Cromwell	75	0.15	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			51,086	100.0	-4.48	$202,821.40
Total rejected ballots			217	0.4	+0.07
Turnout			51,303	72.75	+5.91
Eligible voters			70,524	–	-12.15
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+8.81
Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	John Carmichael	22,962	42.93	+4.11	–
	Liberal	Rob Oliphant	22,351	41.79	-2.57	–
	New Democratic	Nicole Yovanoff	6,280	11.74	+1.55	–
	Green	Georgina Wilcock	1,703	3.18	-3.12	–
	Communist	Dimitris Kabitsis	186	0.35	+0.02	–
Total valid votes			53,482	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			176	0.33	–
Turnout			53,658	66.84	–
Eligible voters			80,276	–	–
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+3.34

Canadian federal election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Rob Oliphant	22,212	44.36	-9.2	$60,129
	Conservative	John Carmichael	19,441	38.83	+5.6	$82,633
	New Democratic	David Sparrow	5,102	10.19	+1.1	$67,984
	Green	Georgina Wilcock	3,155	6.30	+2.8	$10,725
	Communist	Catherine Holliday	162	0.32	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			50,072	100.00	$85,470
Total rejected ballots			–
Turnout			–	62.8
	Liberal hold		Swing		-7.4

See also

• Clan Oliphant, a Highland Scottish clan
• United Church of Canada
• Liberal Party of Canada
• Asthma Society of Canada

External links

• Rob Oliphant
• Rob Oliphant – Parliament of Canada biography