Ontario cabinet minister Parm Gill quits to run for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives

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Ontario cabinet minister Parm Gill resigned as an MPP Thursday to run for the federal Conservatives as the party sent out an internal e-mail saying it was amending its rules and closing nominations for his riding early.

Mr. Gill has been an MPP since 2018 and served in Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet since 2021, first as citizenship and multiculturalism minister and then as the minister of red tape reduction.

The two-term MPP represents Milton, a suburban riding west of Toronto.

In a statement posted to social media, Mr. Gill said he had been encouraged to make a bid to represent the same riding federally.

“I am motivated to continue to fight for the constituents of Milton by joining Pierre Poilievre’s common sense Conservative team in their efforts to defeat Justin Trudeau’s Liberal-NDP costly coalition,” he said.

Mr. Gill was previously an MP under Stephen Harper. He won a Brampton riding in 2011, but lost in the following election when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals won a majority.

His provincial resignation is effective immediately. The next federal election is scheduled to take place on Oct. 20, 2025.

Milton is currently represented by Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden. He ousted former Conservative minister and deputy leader Lisa Raitt in the 2019 election.

With Mr. Gill’s announcement, the Conservative Party moved quickly to close nominations for the Milton riding.

The party’s executive director Michael Crase sent an e-mail Thursday notifying Milton Conservatives that they only had until Friday at 5 p.m. to submit a completed application if they wanted to compete for the candidacy.

In an e-mail obtained by The Globe, Mr. Crase told members that the party was exercising its right to change the nomination rules. The rules state that the party must give 14 days notice before closing a nomination.

The Conservative Party did not reply to The Globe and Mail’s request for a comment about the nomination process for Milton and whether other candidates have already been nominated.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office on Thursday thanked Mr. Gill for his time in office but said little about his departure or why he was leaving immediately.

“We wish him every success in this next chapter and will announce a new Minister of Red Tape Reduction at a later date,” said spokeswoman Caitlin Clark.

Before he joined cabinet, Mr. Gill publicly challenged the Ontario government’s COVID-19 restrictions. He penned a letter in the fall of 2020 alongside another government MPP demanding that medical officials give clear criteria to justify further closures and restrictions.

Ontario NDP provincial director Kevin Beaulieu tied the resignation to the fact that the RCMP is investigating the government’s abandoned decision to open up the protected Greenbelt to development.

“Under criminal investigation by the RCMP, Ford’s corrupt Conservatives are down yet another cabinet minister – the fourth to either resign in disgrace or run for the exit since September,” said Mr. Beaulieu.