Stephen J. Clark (born November 7, 1960) is a Canadian politician who has represented LeedsâÂÂGrenvilleâÂÂThousand Islands and Rideau Lakes in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2010. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Clark was the minister of municipal affairs and housing from 2018 until 2023, when he resigned from provincial cabinet amid the Greenbelt scandal. Clark was mayor of Brockville from 1982 to 1991. Today, Clark is the Commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy, Government House Leader, and Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier.
Clark was born in Brockville, Ontario, on November 7, 1960. He lives in Brockville with his wife Deanna.
Clark served three terms as mayor of Brockville from 1982 to 1991. First elected at age 22, he was the youngest mayor in Canada at the time. He was also president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. He later worked as an advertising salesman for the Brockville Recorder and Times, as an administrative assistant to Bob Runciman, and as the chief administrative officer for the township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands.
He was first elected as the MPP for LeedsâÂÂGrenville in a by-election on March 4, 2010, held to replace Bob Runciman who resigned to accept a position in the Canadian Senate. He was easily re-elected in 2011 and in 2014 both with large pluralities. In 2018, he was elected as the MPP for the riding of LeedsâÂÂGrenvilleâÂÂThousands Islands and Rideau Lakes. In 2018, he was appointed as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing by Premier Doug Ford. He resigned this position on September 4, 2023.
In January 2019, Clark proposed changes to the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan.
Clark introduced the Municipal Modernization Program in March 2019 to improve local service delivery and efficiency in 405 small and rural municipalities in Ontario. He also developed the Audit and Accountability Fund to help the larger 39 municipalities and three school boards to conduct independent, financial reviews. To bolster municipal modernization efforts, Clark announced additional funding for municipalities in March 2020 to find ways to lower costs and improve services for residents and businesses as well as streamline development processes to increase the supply of housing.
In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark announced alongside Premier Doug Ford the historic one-time emergency $4 billion Safe Restart Agreement with the federal government. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, municipalities experienced unprecedented cashflow and financial pressures from decreasedâ¯revenues and increased service delivery costs. The Safe Restart Agreement funding will flow directly to municipalities to help them deal with COVID-19 related pressures, maintain critical services and protect vulnerable people as the province safely and gradually re-opened.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Clark worked closely with municipal partners across Ontario and introduced the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act (Bill 197), which received Royal Assent on July 21, 2020.
Clark resigned from cabinet during the 2023 Greenbelt scandal, after a report from the Ontario integrity commissioner recommended Clark be reprimanded for not properly overseeing the process to select lands for housing development.