Rob Sampson

Rob Sampson (born October 27, 1955) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the government of Mike Harris.

Background

Sampson has a Bachelor of Arts degree and an MBA from Queen's University. Sampson worked at the Toronto branch of the Toronto Dominion Bank from 1980 to 1987, and at the Toronto branch of Chase Manhattan from 1987 to 1995. He also worked for Brays Lane Consulting in 1995, and is a Fellow in the Institute of Canadian Bankers. In 1992-93, he was an Executive Member of the Planning Advisory Committee for the City of Toronto.

Politics

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating Liberal Steve Mahoney (later a federal cabinet minister under Jean Chrétien) by about 3,000 votes in the riding of Mississauga West. This was considered an upset; the Tories performed extremely well in Mississauga in this election, but most observers expected that Mahoney would retain his seat. He was named a Minister without Portfolio in Mike Harris's government on 16 August 1996, with responsibility for privatization.