Khalil Ramal (born c. 1960) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2011. Ramal ran unsuccessfully in the 2015 federal elections, but finished second to Irene Mathyssen of the rival New Democratic Party. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of London in 2022, finishing second to Josh Morgan.
Khalil Ramal | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 2003–2011 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Mazzilli |
| Succeeded by | Teresa Armstrong |
| Constituency | London—Fanshawe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1960 (age 63–64) Lebanon |
| Political party | Ontario Liberal Party Liberal Party of Canada |
| Residence(s) | London, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Teacher, journalist |
Background
editRamal has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a Master of Arts degree in social politics from Lebanese University, and has received further diplomas in accounting and teaching. At the time of the 2003 election, he was pursuing a Ph.D. in social politics.
He arrived in Canada in 1989, after leaving war-ravaged Lebanon, and has worked as a teacher, journalist, and as a counsellor with physical and mentally disabled patients at the Oxford Regional Centre in Woodstock, Ontario. He also runs a small business, and has served as Vice President of the Orchard Farm Distribution Company.
Politics
editRamal was elected for London—Fanshawe in the 2003 provincial election, defeating New Democrat Irene Mathyssen and incumbent Progressive Conservative Frank Mazzilli in a close three-way race.[1]
On September 27, 2004, Ramal was named parliamentary assistant to Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
He was defeated in the 2011 provincial election.[2]
Ramal won the federal Liberal nomination for London—Fanshawe in 2015 but came in second to Irene Mathyssen of the rival New Democratic Party by a difference of around 3600 votes.[3]
In 2022, Ramal announced that he would run for mayor of London, Ontario during the 2022 London, Ontario municipal election.[4] Ramal was ultimately unsuccessful, losing to Josh Morgan who finished with 65.72% of the vote compared to 22.59% for Ramal.[5]
Electoral record
edit2022 London, Ontario mayoral election
| Mayoral Candidate | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|
| Josh Morgan | 46,283 | 65.72 |
| Khalil Ramal | 15,912 | 22.59 |
| Sandie Thomas | 2,297 | 3.26 |
| Sean O'Connell | 1,432 | 2.03 |
| Johanne Nichols | 1,339 | 1.90 |
| Daniel Jeffery | 810 | 1.15 |
| Brandon Ellis | 747 | 1.06 |
| Dan Lenart | 743 | 1.05 |
| Norman Robert Miles | 536 | 0.76 |
| Carlos Murray | 329 | 0.47 |
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| New Democratic | Irene Mathyssen | 20,684 | 37.78 | −12.06 | $90,397.33 | |||
| Liberal | Khalil Ramal | 17,214 | 31.44 | +19.41 | $47,724.86 | |||
| Conservative | Suzanna Dieleman | 14,891 | 27.20 | −6.72 | $57,368.78 | |||
| Green | Matthew Peloza | 1,604 | 2.93 | −0.05 | $1,194.57 | |||
| Independent | Ali Hamadi | 352 | 0.64 | – | $200.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 54,745 | 99.49 | $224,287.69 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 283 | 0.51 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 55,028 | 63.03 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 87,298 | |||||||
| New Democratic hold | Swing | −15.74 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[6][7] | ||||||||
| 2011 Ontario general election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Teresa Armstrong | 13,953 | 40.77 | +14.53 | ||||
| Liberal | Khalil Ramal | 9,678 | 28.28 | -10.48 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Cheryl Miller | 9,075 | 26.52 | -0.95 | ||||
| Green | Bassam Lazar | 852 | 2.49 | -4.69 | ||||
| Libertarian | Tim Harnick | 320 | 0.93 | |||||
| Independent | Ali Hamadi | 192 | 0.56 | |||||
| Freedom | Dave Durnin | 155 | 0.45 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 34,225 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 218 | 0.63 | ||||||
| Turnout | 34,443 | 45.82 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 75,165 | |||||||
| New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.51 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[8] | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Khalil Ramal | 13,814 | 38.8% | +2.9% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Jim Chapman | 9,790 | 27.5% | -2.9% | |
| New Democratic | Stephen Maynard | 9,351 | 26.2% | -4.9% | |
| Green | Daniel O'Neail | 2,559 | 7.2% | +5.7% | |
| Independent | Ma'in Sinan | 129 | 0.4% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Khalil Ramal | 13,920 | 35.9% | 0.8% | |
| New Democratic | Irene Mathyssen | 12,051 | 31.1% | +6.4% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Frank Mazzilli | 11,777 | 30.4% | -8.9% | |
| Green | Bryan Smith | 568 | 1.5% | +0.9% | |
| Freedom | Mike Davidson | 493 | 1.3% | +0.5% | |
References
edit- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
- ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
- ^ "London ridings: Canada Election 2015 results | CBC News".
- ^ "Former Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal enters London, Ont. Mayoral race - London | Globalnews.ca".
- ^ "Josh Morgan elected 65th mayor of London, Ont. with 65 per cent of vote - London | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16.
- ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for London—Fanshawe, 30 September 2015
- ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Elections Ontario (2011). "Official return from the records / Rapports des registres officiels - London—Fanshawe" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2014.[permanent dead link]