Ontario Ministers Series 2008
David Caplan was appointed Minister of Health and Long-Term Care in June 2008. Prior to that, he served as the first Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, a new ministry created to lead the modernization of the province’s infrastructure and to plan for future population and economic growth.
Mr. Caplan has introduced a number of ‘firsts’ for the province. They include a long-term $30 billion plus infrastructure investment strategy, which has set Ontario on the road to an infrastructure renaissance – expanding and building new hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, and transit and transportation systems. Under his leadership, the Government of Ontario won three prestigious urban planning awards recognizing the first visionary Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe – a comprehensive, 25-year strategy to maximize the benefits of growth and maintain a high quality of life for the fastest growing urban region in Canada.
In 2005, Minister Caplan also assumed the oversight of key government agencies, including the Ontario Realty Corporation, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation.
Mr. Caplan was first elected to the provincial legislature in a September 1997 by-election in the former riding of Oriole. After the 1999 general election, he returned to the provincial legislature for the new riding of Don Valley East. He was then re-elected in 2003 and 2007.
Prior to entering provincial politics, Mr. Caplan was elected to two terms on the North York Board of Education and also served on the Metro Toronto School Board. As a school board trustee, he served as finance committee chair and budget chief where he introduced the first zero per cent tax increase budget in more than 20 years.
Before his work in education, Mr. Caplan was vice-president of an international nonferrous metal recycling firm from 1989 to 1992. After attending the University of Western Ontario, he sold commercial real estate from 1985 to 1989.
Mr. Caplan and his wife Leigh have two sons, Benjamin and Jacob.
