Khalil Ramal

Khalil Ramal
Ontario MPP
In office 2003–2011
Preceded by	Frank Mazzilli
Succeeded by	Teresa Armstrong
Constituency	London—Fanshawe
Personal details
Born	1960 (age 64–65) Lebanon
Political party	Ontario Liberal Party Liberal Party of Canada
Residence(s)	London, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Teacher, journalist

Khalil Ramal (born c. 1960) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2011. Ramal ran unsuccessfully in the 2015 federal elections, but finished second to Irene Mathyssen of the rival New Democratic Party. He ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of London in 2022, finishing second to Josh Morgan.

Background

Ramal has a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a Master of Arts degree in social politics from Lebanese University, and has received further diplomas in accounting and teaching. At the time of the 2003 election, he was pursuing a Ph.D. in social politics.

He arrived in Canada in 1989, after leaving war-ravaged Lebanon, and has worked as a teacher, journalist, and as a counsellor with physical and mentally disabled patients at the Oxford Regional Centre in Woodstock, Ontario. He also runs a small business, and has served as Vice President of the Orchard Farm Distribution Company.

Politics

Ramal was elected for London—Fanshawe in the 2003 provincial election, defeating New Democrat Irene Mathyssen and incumbent Progressive Conservative Frank Mazzilli in a close three-way race.^[1]

On September 27, 2004, Ramal was named parliamentary assistant to Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

He was defeated in the 2011 provincial election.^[2]

Ramal won the federal Liberal nomination for London—Fanshawe in 2015 but came in second to Irene Mathyssen of the rival New Democratic Party by a difference of around 3600 votes.^[3]

In 2022, Ramal announced that he would run for mayor of London, Ontario during the 2022 London, Ontario municipal election.^[4] Ramal was ultimately unsuccessful, losing to Josh Morgan who finished with 65.72% of the vote compared to 22.59% for Ramal.^[5]

Electoral record

2022 London, Ontario mayoral election

Mayoral Candidate	Vote	%
Josh Morgan	46,283	65.72
Khalil Ramal	15,912	22.59
Sandie Thomas	2,297	3.26
Sean O'Connell	1,432	2.03
Johanne Nichols	1,339	1.90
Daniel Jeffery	810	1.15
Brandon Ellis	747	1.06
Dan Lenart	743	1.05
Norman Robert Miles	536	0.76
Carlos Murray	329	0.47

2015 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Irene Mathyssen	20,684	37.78	−12.06	$90,397.33
	Liberal	Khalil Ramal	17,214	31.44	+19.41	$47,724.86
	Conservative	Suzanna Dieleman	14,891	27.20	−6.72	$57,368.78
	Green	Matthew Peloza	1,604	2.93	−0.05	$1,194.57
	Independent	Ali Hamadi	352	0.64	–	$200.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit			54,745	99.49		$224,287.69
Total rejected ballots			283	0.51	–
Turnout			55,028	63.03	–
Eligible voters			87,298
	New Democratic hold		Swing		−15.74
Source: Elections Canada[6][7]

2011 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Teresa Armstrong	13,953	40.77	+14.53
	Liberal	Khalil Ramal	9,678	28.28	-10.48
	Progressive Conservative	Cheryl Miller	9,075	26.52	-0.95
	Green	Bassam Lazar	852	2.49	-4.69
	Libertarian	Tim Harnick	320	0.93
	Independent	Ali Hamadi	192	0.56
	Freedom	Dave Durnin	155	0.45
Total valid votes			34,225	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			218	0.63
Turnout			34,443	45.82
Eligible voters			75,165
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+12.51
Source: Elections Ontario[8]

2007 Ontario general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Khalil Ramal	13,814	38.8%	+2.9%
	Progressive Conservative	Jim Chapman	9,790	27.5%	-2.9%
	New Democratic	Stephen Maynard	9,351	26.2%	-4.9%
	Green	Daniel O'Neail	2,559	7.2%	+5.7%
	Independent	Ma'in Sinan	129	0.4%

2003 Ontario general election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Khalil Ramal	13,920	35.9%	0.8%
	New Democratic	Irene Mathyssen	12,051	31.1%	+6.4%
	Progressive Conservative	Frank Mazzilli	11,777	30.4%	-8.9%
	Green	Bryan Smith	568	1.5%	+0.9%
	Freedom	Mike Davidson	493	1.3%	+0.5%

References

1. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. October 2, 2003. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
2. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
3. "London ridings: Canada Election 2015 results | CBC News".
4. "Former Liberal MPP Khalil Ramal enters London, Ont. Mayoral race - London | Globalnews.ca".
5. "Josh Morgan elected 65th mayor of London, Ont. with 65 per cent of vote - London | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16.
6. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for London—Fanshawe, 30 September 2015
7. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
8. Elections Ontario (2011). "Official return from the records / Rapports des registres officiels - London—Fanshawe" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2014.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history