Jeff Burch is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.[1] He represents the electoral district of Niagara Centre as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party.

Prior to his election to the legislature Burch was the executive director of Niagara Folk Arts, a non–profit social services agency, and served as city councillor for Merritton Ward for St. Catharines City Council.

Background

Jeff Burch is a graduate from Brock University, with an honours BA in philosophy. Burch then spent three years as a graduate student and teaching assistant at Brock, teaching seminars in social issues and women's studies. He left his studies in 1996 after being elected president of a United Steelworkers local union.[2]

Politics

Burch ran as the Ontario New Democratic Party's candidate in St. Catharines in 1995, losing to Liberal Jim Bradley.[citation needed] He was elected as a city councillor in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 2006. He served from 2006 to 2014, including four years as budget chair.[3] He ran for mayor of St. Catharines in 2014, losing to Walter Sendzik by fewer than 2000 votes.

In February 2018, Burch won the NDP nomination in Niagara Centre.[4] The riding has been an NDP stronghold for 44 years[citation needed] with Mel Swart, Peter Kormos and Cindy Forster holding the seat. On June 7, 2018, Burch won the seat.[5] Burch currently serves as the Official Opposition critic for Municipal Affairs[6] as well as the chair of the Official Opposition caucus.

Three months after his election in 2018, he scored a major victory by winning unanimous support for his motion to bring two-way all-day GO Transit rail service to Niagara.[7]

Electoral record

2025 Ontario general election: Niagara Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Jeff Burch 20,408 42.29 +2.59
Progressive Conservative Bill Steele 18,073 37.27 –0.36
Liberal Damien O'Brien 7,143 14.74 +1.41
Green Natashia Bergen 1,261 2.60 –1.93
New Blue Jimmy Jackson 857 1.77 –0.97
Ontario Party Darryl Weinberg 513 1.06 –0.97
Ontario Alliance Angela Browne 130 0.27 N/A
Total valid votes/expense limit 48,483 99.28 –0.25
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 353 0.72 +0.25
Turnout 48,836 49.59 +6.22
Eligible voters 98,486
New Democratic hold Swing +1.48
Source: Elections Ontario[8][9]
2022 Ontario general election: Niagara Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Jeff Burch 16,360 39.70 –4.53 $98,721
Progressive Conservative Fred Davies 15,506 37.63 +0.12 $60,037
Liberal Terry Flynn 5,492 13.33 +1.50 $12,584
Green Michelle McArthur 1,865 4.53 +0.84 $6
New Blue Gary Dumelie 1,148 2.79 N/A $1,586
Ontario Party Vincent Gircys 837 2.03 N/A $0
Total valid votes 41,208 99.53 +0.90
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 194 0.47 –0.90
Turnout 41,402 43.37 –12.76
Eligible voters 95,459
New Democratic hold Swing –2.32
Source(s)
2018 Ontario general election: Niagara Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Jeff Burch 21,618 44.23 −3.65
Progressive Conservative April Jeffs 18,333 37.51 +10.87
Liberal Benoit Mercier 5,779 11.82 −8.60
Green Joe Dias 1,803 3.69 −0.34
None of the Above Joe Crawford 623 1.27
Libertarian Patrick Pietruszko 368 0.75 −0.27
Independent Steve Soos 217 0.44
People's Political Party Dario Smagata-Bryan 133 0.27
Total valid votes 48,874 98.63
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 680 1.37
Turnout 49,554 56.13
Eligible voters 88,287
New Democratic hold Swing -7.26
Source: Elections Ontario[10]

2014 St. Catharines Mayoral Election

Mayoral Candidate [11] Vote %
Walter Sendzik 13,147 40.19
Jeff Burch 11,321 34.61
Peter Secord 6,571 20.09
Mark Stevens 1,135 3.47
Jim Fannon 535 1.64

2010 St. Catharines City Council Election - Ward 1 - Merriton

Candidate Total votes % of total vote
Jennie Stevens (X) 2,294 32.96%
Jeff Burch (X) 2,064 29.66%
David Haywood 1,134 16.29%
Garry Robbins 817 11.74%
Sam Sacco 491 7.05%
Cameron Alderdice 160 2.30%
Total valid votes 6,960 100.00

2006 St. Catharines City Council Election - Ward 1 - Meritton

Candidate Total votes % of total vote
Jeff Burch 2857 33.01%
Jennie Stevens (X) 2849 32.92%
Sheila Morra (X) 2049 23.68%
Robbie Craine 899 10.39%
Total valid votes 6,960 100.00

References

  1. ^ "Blue wave stops in Niagara ". Niagara This Week, June 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Jeff Burch". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  3. ^ Johnson, Nathaniel (2018-06-05). "Provincial election: Niagara Centre riding profile". StCatharinesStandard.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  4. ^ Média, Bell. "Jeff Burch wins NDP nomination in Niagara Centre". www.iheartradio.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  5. ^ Johnson, Nathaniel (2018-06-07). "Burch maintains NDP dynasty". StCatharinesStandard.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  6. ^ "Jeff Burch | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". www.ola.org. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  7. ^ Benner, Allan (2018-09-28). "Province commits to 2023 for GO train". StCatharinesStandard.ca. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  8. ^ "Niagara Centre Unofficial Election Results". Elections Ontario. 28 February 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Vote Totals From Official Tabulation" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Election Results". Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Burch
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