Andy Pringle

Andrew Pringle (born 1949 or 1950)^[1] is a retired bond trader and political activist linked with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and the Conservative Party of Canada.

He was first appointed a member of the Toronto Police Services Board in 2011, was elected vice-chair of the board in January 2015, and, since the July 31, 2015 retirement of Alok Mukherjee, held the office of chair of the TPSB,^[2] until his retirement on September 30, 2019. He was reappointed to the board by Toronto City Council in 2015 by a vote of 28 to 11 with Councillor Michael Thompson leading the opposition to Pringle's reappointment saying: "He consistently rubber-stamped police actions, proposals and initiatives that were not in the best interest of the community... I would dare say that Mr. Pringle's silence on all the major issues that the board has faced has in fact been deafening."^[3]

Pringle was the chief of staff for John Tory when he was Leader of the Opposition as leader of the Progressive Conservatives in the Ontario legislature.^[4] He is also a longtime fundraiser for the party^[5] and former chair of its fundraising arm, the PC Ontario Fund.^[4] Pringle is the former managing director at RBC Capital Markets,^[5] and former chairman of RP Investment Advisors.

He is a former chair of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR), of the board of governors of Upper Canada College and of the Shaw Festival.^[4] Since August 2020 he has been the chair of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection board of trustees.^[6]

In 2013, when Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford was under intense police scrutiny, his brother, then Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford called for Pringle's resignation alleging that he was in a conflict of interest as he went on a fishing trip with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair.^[4][5]

Pringle was the Progressive Conservative candidate in Etobicoke Centre during the 2007 provincial election,^[5] placing second with 34.13% of the vote.

In 2016, Pringle was reported to be a fundraiser for the federal Conservative Party of Canada leadership campaign of Kellie Leitch.^[7]

His wife is broadcaster Valerie Pringle.^[4]