John Gerretsen
Gerretsen in 2011
Ontario MPP
In office 1995–2014
Preceded by	Gary Wilson
Succeeded by	Sophie Kiwala
Constituency	Kingston and the Islands
90thMayor of Kingston, Ontario
In office 1980–1988
Preceded by	Ken Keyes
Succeeded by	Helen Cooper
Personal details
Born	John Philip Gerretsen (1942-06-09)June 9, 1942 (age 82) Hilversum,Netherlands
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Assunta
Relations	Mark Gerretsen, son
Profession	Lawyer

John Philip Gerretsen (born June 9, 1942) is a former politician inOntario, Canada. He was aLiberal member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014 who represented the eastern Ontario riding ofKingston and the Islands. He served as aMinister in theCabinets ofPremiersDalton McGuinty andKathleen Wynne.

Gerretsen was born inHilversum, Netherlands during World War II, and moved to Canada with his parents in 1954. He was educated atQueen's University inKingston, Ontario, receiving aBA degree in 1964 and anLL.B in 1967. He subsequently worked as a solicitor, serving withManulife Insurance Company in Toronto from 1969 to 1970. His sonMark Gerretsen served as aKingston, Ontario city councillor and was elected mayor in 2010.^[1]

Gerretsen's political career began in the early 1970s at the municipal level. He was elected as a KingstonAlderman in 1972, and remained on the City Council until 1980 (serving as Deputy Mayor from 1976 to 1980). Gerretsen was electedMayor of the city in 1980, and was re-elected twice before stepping down in 1988. He was also President of theAssociation of Municipalities of Ontario from 1986 to 1987, and a trustee of Queen's University from 1981 to 1992.

After retiring from municipal politics, Gerretsen served as the Chair of the Ontario Housing Corporation (1989–1992) and was a Deputy Judge in the province'sSmall Claims Court (1993–1995). He also became active in politics at the provincial and federal levels. Gerretsen was an Executive Member of theOntario Liberal Party'sKingston and the Islands riding association from 1989 to 1993, and was President of theLiberal Party of Canada's federal riding association from 1993 to 1995.

Gerretsen was elected to the Ontario legislature in theprovincial election of 1995, defeatingProgressive Conservative candidate Sally Barnes and incumbentNew DemocratGary Wilson in Kingston and the Islands. This was a close three-way race—Gerretsen received 10,314 votes, Barnes 8,571, and Wilson 8,052.^[2]

The general election was won by the Progressive Conservatives and Gerretsen entered parliament as a member of the opposition, serving as Opposition Critic on Municipal Affairs and Housing and Chief Opposition Whip.

In 1996, he ran to succeedLyn McLeod asleader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Gerretsen was generally regarded as being on the right-wing of the party, and achieved some support in his home base of eastern Ontario. He placed fifth out of seven candidates on the first ballot, and dropped out after the second ballot. After withdrawing, he gave his support to Dalton McGuinty, the eventual winner.^[3]

Gerretsen was easily re-elected in the1999 provincial election, although the Progressive Conservatives were again victorious across the province.^[4] Gerretsen continued as Opposition Whip, and remained a vocal Liberal MPP for the next four years.

The Liberal Party won the2003 election with 72 seats out of 103, and Gerretsen was re-elected with over 60% support.^[5] On October 23, 2003, he was namedMinister of Municipal Affairs, with responsibility for seniors.^[6] In March 2004, his portfolio was renamed the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Gerretsen was the primary spokesperson for the McGuinty government in its controversial decision to permit further housing expansion on theOak Ridges Moraine, despite an election promise not to do so.^[7] The Liberals claimed that they lacked the legal authority to prevent further development in the area. His main legislative success has been in leading in the enactment of a 1.8 million acre (7,300 km²) green belt surrounding the City of Toronto in 2005.

After a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005, the responsibility for seniors issues was transferred to another government minister. Gerretsen was retained as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.^[8]

In the2007 election of October 10, 2007, Gerretsen won re-election with just under 50% support.^[9] On October 29, 2007, Gerretsen was appointed asMinister of the Environment.^[10]

On August 18, 2010, Gerretsen was moved to the post ofMinister of the Consumer Services.^[11]

He won re-election in the October 6, 2011 election. He was appointedAttorney General of Ontario and was re-appointed whenKathleen Wynne became premier in early 2013.^[12]

On October 25, 2013, Gerretsen announced that he would not run in thenext election.^[13] Just before his retirement at the June 2014 election, Gerretsen was moved from the Attorney-General portfolio to that ofChair of Cabinet.^[14]

On March 19, 2020, amid thecoronavirus pandemic, Gerretsen tested positive forCOVID-19, with his wife Assunta testing positive earlier that week, after they were bothrepatriated to Canada from theGrand Princess cruise ship; they were quarantined atCFB Trenton.^[15]

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history

• 1942 births
• 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Living people
• Attorneys general of Ontario
• Dutch emigrants to Canada
• Lawyers in Ontario
• Mayors of Kingston, Ontario
• Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
• Queen's University at Kingston alumni
• People from Hilversum
• 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario

• Articles with short description
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• Use Canadian English from January 2023
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• Use mdy dates from February 2013