Chris Hodgson

Hodgson was born in Millbrook, Haliburton, Ontario, to the first Director of Education for Haliburton County, John Douglas Hodgson (1926-1997) and his wife Barbara Brintell.

His grandfather, Clayton Hodgson, also represented the riding federally from 1945 to 1963.

Chris Hodgson (born c. 1961) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada.

Another uncle, Louis Hodgson, was also a PC MPP, representing the Toronto riding of Scarborough East for one term from 1963 to 1967.

Hodgson was the Reeve of Dysart county, winning 70% of the vote in his election, and warden of Haliburton County, prior to entering provincial politics.

He graduated from Trent University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in history and political science.

He worked as a real-estate agent for RE/MAX and worked in health care planning for Haliburton County.

He was Reeve of Dysart country in 1993, and warden of Haliburton.

He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1994 to 2003 representing the ridings of Victoria—Haliburton and Haliburton—Victoria—Brock.

He was a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, serving variously as Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet and Deputy Government House Leader, and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Hodgson was elected to the Ontario legislature in a 1994 by-election with 63% of the vote, defeating Liberal candidate Sharon McCrae by fewer than 2,000 votes in the rural riding of Victoria—Haliburton.

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.

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.

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.

In reality, the overwhelming majority of the Liberal caucus voted against the measure, and then opposition leader Lynn McLeod was accused of "flip-flopping" when she refused to support the NDP bill on the grounds of her opposition to same-sex adoption.

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.”

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.

On June 26, 1995, he was named Minister of Natural Resources, Development and Mines in Mike Harris's government.

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).

Hodgson defeated McCrae for a third time in the 1999 provincial election, this time in the redistributed riding of Haliburton—Victoria—Brock.

He retained his position as Chair of the Management Board in the new parliament, and was also named Commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy on July 27, 1999.

He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing from 2001 to 2003.

After a cabinet shuffle on February 8, 2001, he was named Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

When Harris resigned as Premier in 2002, many expected Hodgson to enter the race to replace him.

Instead, he endorsed Ernie Eves, the victorious candidate.

He retained the Municipal Affairs and Housing portfolio in the Eves cabinet, but unexpectedly stepped down on January 13, 2003, announcing his decision to retire from politics.

He did not run in the 2003 election.

In 2004, he supported John Tory's successful bid to replace Eves as party leader.

As Minister of Natural Resources, Hodgson launched the Lands for Life initiative, which saw the largest increase in parks and protected space in the history of the province, and laid the groundwork for the government's Living Legacy program, the single biggest expansion of parks in Ontario.

That year, he also reinstated the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program, which promoted environmental stewardship and economic sustainability of private forestland.

Hodgson also cooperated with hunters and animal rights activists to introduce the first amended Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act in 50 years, replacing the Game and Fish Act, in an effort to toughen enforcement provisions in the industry, increase protection of a wider range of species and better manage resources.

Moreover, Hodgson brought together and collaborated with Ontario trappers to form the Ontario Fur Managers Federation for the management of wild fur resources.

He also created the Special Purpose Account and the Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund and Advisory Boards to earmark funding to fish and wildlife parks, and set up an account dedicated to fishing and hunting license revenues for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

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.

As Minister, Hodgson also awarded private-sector contracts to assist firefighting and frontline health and medical services at large fire sites.

He led the strategy to tackle the Land Caution in the Temagami area, resolving the long-standing dispute on land use and resource management, and was also singled out for bringing together all sides of the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site and brokering an agreement by writing new legislation to turn the 36,000-hectare Kawartha Highlands into a provincial park.

He was recognized as the key figure in this process by the president of the World Wildlife Fund Canada.

As Minister of Northern Development, Hodgson promoted economic diversity and the creation of long-term jobs in the North as chair of the $210-million Northern Heritage Fund and the $77-million Special Circumstances Fund, and maintained the Ontario Prospectors Assistance Program.

Hodgson's son, Cody, is a retired ice hockey player picked 10th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft who last played for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League in 2016.

His uncle, Ronald Glen Hodgson, was a Tory MPP for many years, in the same riding later held by Chris Hodgson.