Helena Guergis

Helena C. Guergis, (born February 19, 1969) is a Canadian politician of Assyrian descent.

Her cousins David and Tony Guergis were the mayors of Essa and Springwater, her sister Christine Brayford was a municipal councillor in New Tecumseth, their uncle Edward was a municipal councillor in Essa from 1978 to 1985, and their grandfather George was a reeve of Essa from 1971 to 1974.

She was the Progressive Conservative candidate for the downtown Toronto riding of Trinity—Spadina in the 2003 provincial election.

The PCs did not target this riding as winnable, and Guergis agreed to be a "sacrificial lamb" candidate in order to gain experience.

She finished a distant third against New Democratic Party incumbent Rosario Marchese.

When running for provincial office in 2003 in the socially liberal riding of Trinity-Spadina, Guergis said that she would vote in favour of same-sex marriage if given the opportunity.

Responding to a question on same-sex marriage at an all-candidates debate, she said, "I believe in the right to choose, so I would be voting in favour of it."

Campaigning the following year in the socially conservative riding of Simcoe-Grey, Guergis said that she would vote against the federal government's proposed legalization of same-sex marriage.

She argued that the majority of her constituents opposed the initiative, and that she was committed to supporting their views.

In 2004, Guergis endorsed Frank Klees for the leadership of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

Guergis defeated Liberal incumbent Paul Bonwick by 100 votes in the 2004 election to win the riding of Simcoe-Grey.

The Liberals formed a minority government after the election, and Guergis was appointed to the Conservative shadow cabinet as critic for International Co-operation.

On January 24, 2005, she was appointed deputy critic for seniors' issues.

Guergis did in fact vote against Bill C-38, which granted legal sanction to same-sex marriage, in 2005.

In the same year, she tabled a private member's bill restricting MPs from crossing parties after their election.

Guergis was re-elected with 49.8 per cent of the vote in the 2006 election, substantially increasing her margin of victory as the Conservatives won a minority government nationally.

On February 7, 2006, she was named by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as parliamentary secretary to David Emerson, the Minister of International Trade, and the Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics.

Guergis's appointment was somewhat controversial, in that Emerson had crossed the floor from the Liberal Party of Canada on the same day that he received his cabinet position.

One day prior to her appointment, Guergis informed the media that she would issue a press release indicating her continued support for anti-floor-crossing legislation.

The release never appeared.

On January 4, 2007, Guergis joined the federal Cabinet when she was promoted to the dual positions of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Secretary of State for Sport.

In February, she rejected opposition calls for a travel advisory for Mexico.

Opposition members had made this request, after four Canadian tourists were killed in Mexico over the course of a year.

On February 19, 2007, Guergis and Health Minister Tony Clement announced that Canada was reviving its dormant ParticipACTION program to encourage personal fitness.

She represented the Ontario riding of Simcoe—Grey in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2011, and was appointed Minister of State (Status of Women) on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election.

Soon after starting her parliamentary career, she became involved in several controversial situations, and these increased with time in both number and severity.

Guergis was forced to resign from the Cabinet of Canada and leave the Conservative Party caucus on April 9, 2010, pending a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into "serious" but unspecified allegations regarding her conduct.

While the RCMP investigated, and eventually concluded there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Guergis continued to sit as an Independent Conservative in the House of Commons.

She applied unsuccessfully for reinstatement to the Tory caucus.

Both David and Tony Guergis lost in landslide defeats in their bids for re-election in 2010.

Guergis attended Georgian College in Barrie, where she completed an Ontario Real Estate program.

After her graduation, she opened a bed-and-bath gift shop called "Final Touch" at the Rainbow Mall in Angus.

She also worked as a fundraising volunteer for the Angus Food Bank and the Barrie Literacy Council, and was a Crisis Intervention volunteer for the Barrie and District Rape Crisis Centre for seven years.

Guergis was a constituency assistant and executive assistant to Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Joe Tascona during this period.

Guergis closed her consumer retail business after six-and-a-half years, to accept a political adviser's position with Janet Ecker, who was then Minister of Education and Finance in the Ontario Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris.

She held this position for three-and-a-half years, and also served three terms as a vice-president on the Progressive Conservative Party's provincial executive.

Guergis was defeated while running as an independent in the 2011 election by Kellie Leitch, her replacement as the riding's Conservative candidate.

On December 22, 2011, Guergis launched a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several other people and organizations, including the federal Conservative Party, filed in Ontario Superior Court, over accusations of unfair and malicious treatment causing damage to her political career and reputation.

Her lawsuit was later dismissed.

Guergis was born in Barrie, Ontario; and raised in nearby Angus, part of Essa Township, where her family has a history of political work.