Ross Romano

Ross Romano
MPP
Ross Romano MPP
	Romano speaking during the Members' Statements in 2018
Ontario Chief Government Whip
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; June 30, 2022
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Lorne Coe
Ontario Minister of Government and Consumer Services
	In office; June 18, 2021 – June 24, 2022
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Lisa Thompson
Succeeded by	Kaleed Rasheed
Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities
	In office; June 20, 2019 – June 18, 2021
Premier	Doug Ford
Preceded by	Merrilee Fullerton
Succeeded by	Jill Dunlop
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament; for Sault Ste. Marie
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; June 1, 2017
Preceded by	David Orazietti
Sault Ste. Marie City Councillor
	In office; December 1, 2014 – June 12, 2017
Preceded by	Frank Manzo
Succeeded by	Ozzie Grandinetti
Constituency	Ward 6
Personal details
Born	October 13, 1979
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Occupation	Politician; lawyer;

Rosario "Ross" Romano MPP (born 1979) is a Canadian politician who serves as Chief Government Whip in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.^[1] A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Romano has held a number of portfolios since the PCs formed government in 2018, including as minister of government and consumer services, and minister of colleges and universities. He represents the riding of Sault Ste. Marie

Political career

He was first elected in a by-election on June 1, 2017 and became the first Conservative to represent the district in 32 years.^[2] A lawyer by profession, Romano began his political career upon being elected to the Sault Ste. Marie City Council in 2014.^[3] Romano was re-elected on June 7, 2018 with a 1.29% advantage over Michele McCleave-Kennedy.^[4]

Electoral record

v t e 2022 Ontario general election: Sault Ste. Marie
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Progressive Conservative	Ross Romano	12,606	46.89	+4.86	$49,426
	New Democratic	Michele McCleave-Kennedy	10,029	37.30	−3.43	$78,662
	Liberal	Liam Hancock	1,610	5.99	−3.97	$0
	Independent	Naomi Sayers	1,070	3.98		$2,001
	New Blue	S. Pankhurst	894	3.33		$1,690
	Green	Keagan Gilfillan	675	2.51	−0.74	$381
Total valid votes/Expense limit			26,884	99.47	+0.48	$85,145
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			143	0.53	-0.48
Turnout			27,027	44.49	-10.00
Eligible voters			60,818
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		+4.15
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21.

2018 Ontario general election: Sault Ste. Marie
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ross Romano	13,498	42.03	+1.66
	New Democratic	Michele McCleave-Kennedy	13,084	40.74	+7.92
	Liberal	Jaclynne Hamel	3,199	9.96	–13.05
	Green	Kara Flannigan	1,044	3.25	+1.26
	Northern Ontario	Sandy Holmberg	993	3.09
	Libertarian	Lance Brizard	299	0.93	+0.65
Total valid votes			32,117	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots
Turnout				54.79
Eligible voters			58,616
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		–3.13
Source: Elections Ontario^[5]

Ontario provincial by-election, June 1, 2017 Resignation of David Orazietti
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Ross Romano	10,411	40.37	+27.98
	New Democratic	Joe Krmpotich	8,465	32.82	+7.63
	Liberal	Debbie Amaroso	5,935	23.01	–35.57
	Green	Kara Flannigan	512	1.98	–1.25
	None of the Above	Above Znoneofthe	313	1.21
	Libertarian	Gene Balfour	71	0.28	–0.10
	Pauper	John Turmel	47	0.18
Total valid votes			25,785	100.0
Turnout				43.93
Registered electors			58,690
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+10.14
Source: Elections Ontario^[6]