Michael Coteau

Michael Joseph Coteau^[1] is a Canadian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament for Don Valley East in the House of Commons of Canada. From 2011 to 2021, he was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the provincial district of Don Valley East in Toronto. He served in the Cabinet of Ontario under Premier Kathleen Wynne from 2013 to 2018 in several portfolios, including Citizenship and Immigration, Tourism, Culture and Sport and Community and Social Services. After the 2018 Ontario general election, Coteau was one of seven Liberals re-elected, and he subsequently ran in the 2020 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election, placing second with 16.9% of the vote.^[2]

Michael Coteau MP
Member of Parliament for Don Valley East
Incumbent
Assumed office September 20, 2021
Preceded by	Yasmin Ratansi
Minister of Community and Social Services
In office February 26, 2018 – June 29, 2018
Premier	Kathleen Wynne
Preceded by	Helena Jazeck
Succeeded by	Lisa MacLeod
Minister of Children and Youth Services
In office June 13, 2016 – June 29, 2018
Premier	Kathleen Wynne
Preceded by	Tracy MacCharles
Succeeded by	Lisa MacLeod
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
In office June 24, 2014 – June 13, 2016
Premier	Kathleen Wynne
Preceded by	Michael Chan
Succeeded by	Eleanor McMahon
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
In office February 11, 2013 – June 24, 2014
Premier	Kathleen Wynne
Preceded by	Michael Chan
Succeeded by	Michael Chan
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Don Valley East
In office October 6, 2011 – August 17, 2021
Preceded by	David Caplan
Succeeded by	Adil Shamji
Personal details
Born	1972 (age 52–53) Huddersfield, England
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Lori Coteau
Children	2
Residence(s)	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater	Carleton University (BA)
Occupation	Educator, businessman

Coteau resigned as from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on August 17, 2021 to run for his constituency's federal seat, vacated by Yasmin Ratansi, in the 44th Canadian general election.^[3] He was elected with 59% of the vote.

Background

Coteau was born in Huddersfield, England. His father is from Carriacou, Grenada and his mother is from Yorkshire, England. He came to Canada with his parents in 1976 and grew up in social housing in Flemingdon Park in North York.^[4] Coteau's family was low-income and he had to borrow the money needed to cover his university application fee from a friend's father.^[5] After graduating from Leaside High School,^[6] he attended Carleton University and received a degree in history and political science.^[7]

After graduation, he taught English in South Korea.^[8]

Career

Coteau was a Toronto District School Board Trustee for Ward 17, winning elections in 2003, 2006, and 2010.^[7] As a trustee, he advocated for student nutrition, community use of space, and the use of educational technology.^[7] He initiated the 'Community Use of Schools' motion that cut user fees and made schools more accessible to groups that offer programs for children.^[7] He helped introduce nutritional changes in schools that supported healthy food programs and increased awareness of student hunger.^[7] In addition to his work as a trustee, Coteau served as the executive director and chief executive officer of a national adult literacy firm, and worked as a community organizer in the Malvern area of Scarborough, Ontario with the United Way.^[9] He also owned and operated his own small business.

Provincial politics

In 2011 he ran provincial election in the riding of Don Valley East. He won the election beating PC candidate Michael Lende by 7,645 votes.^[10] He was re-elected in 2014.^[11]

The Liberals won a minority government and Coteau was appointed as parliamentary assistant to the minister of tourism and culture. In 2013, after Kathleen Wynne replaced Dalton McGuinty as premier, Coteau was named Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.^[12] He was one of ten members of the Wynne's cabinet with no prior cabinet experience.^[13] In June 2014, Coteau was made Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport by Premier Kathleen Wynne, as well as Minister Responsible for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games.^[14] He made headlines advocating for children to be able to play street hockey. On February 16, 2016, it was announced that Coteau would add responsibility for anti-racism, responsible for establishing various anti-racism programs.^[15] On June 13, 2016, he was appointed Minister of Children and Youth Services, and in particular worked collaboratively with parents to deliver a reformed Ontario Autism Program.^[16] He also was subsequently appointed Minister of Community and Social Services, holding down three separate portfolios for the government.

In 2018, Coteau defeated Conservative candidate Denzil Minnan Wong, Toronto's deputy mayor, to win his third election in the North Toronto constituency.^[17]

In June 2019, Coteau entered the race for leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. Coteau said he had "a different vision" and would "restore decency to our politics".^[18] At the leadership convention on March 7, 2020, he received 16.9% of the vote, finishing second behind the winner, Steven Del Duca.^[19]

Federal politics

On August 10, 2021, Coteau was nominated as the federal Liberal candidate in Don Valley East, ahead of the next election. He was elected on September 20, 2021.

During the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, Don Valley East was merged with Scarborough Centre to create the new riding of Scarborough Centre—Don Valley East, setting up a potential face-off with fellow Liberal MP Salma Zahid for the party's nomination. After previously considering running in Toronto—St. Paul's in the 2024 by-election to replace Carolyn Bennett, Coteau ultimately won the Liberal nomination in Scarborough—Woburn following the retirement of John McKay.^[20][21]

Cabinet positions

Ontario provincial government of Kathleen Wynne

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Canadian federal election: Scarborough—Woburn
** Preliminary results — Not yet official **
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Independent	Amina Bhaiyat
	Green	Gianne Broughton
	Liberal	Michael Coteau
	Conservative	Reddy Muttukuru
	Centrist	Ayub Sipra
	New Democratic	George Wedge
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters
Source: Elections Canada[22]

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Don Valley East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	22,356	59.90	+0.09	$90,078.21
	Conservative	Penelope Williams	8,766	23.49	–0.43	$39,800.25
	New Democratic	Simon Topp	4,618	12.37	+1.38	$10,191.25
	People's	Peter De Marco	1,585	4.25	+2.92	none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			37,325	100.00	–	$104,140.64
Total rejected ballots			470	1.24	+0.22
Turnout			37,795	59.12	–5.11
Eligible voters			63,934
	Liberal hold		Swing		+0.26
Source: Elections Canada[23]

v t e 2018 Ontario general election: Don Valley East
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	13,012	35.93	−22.80
	Progressive Conservative	Denzil Minnan-Wong	11,984	33.09	+8.75
	New Democratic	Khalid Ahmed	9,937	27.44	+15.48
	Green	Mark Wong	917	2.53	−0.83
	Libertarian	Justin Robinson	236	0.65	–
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	131	0.36	–
Total valid votes			36,217	99.08
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			337	0.92
Turnout			36,554	55.22
Eligible voters			66,192
	Liberal notional hold		Swing		−15.78
Source: Elections Ontario[24][25]

2014 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	19,253	55.77	+4.69
	Progressive Conservative	Angela Kennedy	9,227	26.73	-0.46
	New Democratic	Akil Sadikali	4,492	13.01	-5.59
	Green	Christopher McLeod	1,264	3.66	+1.47
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	287	0.83	+0.48
Total valid votes			34,523	100.0
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.58
Source: Elections Ontario[11]

2011 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Michael Coteau	16,342	51.08	-4.54
	Progressive Conservative	Michael Lende	8,604	26.89	+1.86
	New Democratic	Bob Hilliard	5,953	18.61	+7.95
	Green	Aren Bedrosyan	742	2.32	-2.72
	Family Coalition	Ryan Kidd	188	0.59	+0.03
	Freedom	Wayne Simmons	164	0.51	+0.23
Total valid votes			31,993	100.00