Michael Mantha

Michael E. Mantha^[1] is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was elected as New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario until his removal from the Ontario NDP caucus on March 31, 2023, after which he sat as an independent. He was first elected in 2011. He represented the riding of Algoma—Manitoulin until his defeat in the 2025 Ontario general election.

Michael Mantha
Mantha in 2019
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Algoma—Manitoulin
In office October 6, 2011 – January 28, 2025
Preceded by	Mike Brown
Succeeded by	Bill Rosenberg
Personal details
Political party	Independent (2023–present)
Other political affiliations	New Democratic (2011–2023)
Spouse	Pauline
Children	2
Residence(s)	Elliot Lake, Ontario
Occupation	Administrative assistant

Background

Prior to his election, Mantha was a staffer in the riding office of Carol Hughes, the federal Member of Parliament for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing. He lives in Elliot Lake, Ontario with his wife Pauline and their two sons.^[2]

Politics

Mantha ran in the 2011 provincial election as the New Democratic candidate in the riding of Algoma—Manitoulin. He defeated Liberal incumbent Mike Brown by 4,188 votes.^[3][4] He was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election defeating Liberal candidate Craig Hughson by 7,668 votes.^[5] Mantha was re-elected in the 2022 Ontario general election.^[6]

He served the party's critic for a number of portfolios, including Northern Development and Mines, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation^[7] and Northern Development and Tourism.^[8]

Mantha introduced several pieces of legislation, including a motion that was unanimously passed to create a lyme disease strategy in Ontario.^[9][10]

On April 1, 2023, Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles removed Mantha from the caucus pending the results of an investigation into alleged misconduct involving a staffer. The decision was made after Stiles received an interim report on the allegations.^[11]

On August 15, 2023, Mantha was permanently removed from the NDP caucus after a third-party investigation found that the allegations of workplace misconduct levied against him were substantiated.^[12]

He stood for re-election as an independent but was defeated.

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Ontario general election: Algoma—Manitoulin
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Bill Rosenberg	11,263	41.33	+5.85
	New Democratic	David Timeriski	7,409	27.19	-18.74
	Liberal	Reg Niganobe	3,948	14.49	+5.78
	Independent	Michael Mantha	3,238	11.88	N/A
	New Blue	Sheldon Pressey	717	2.63	-2.68
	Green	Maria Legault	677	2.48	-0.63
Total valid votes/expense limit			27,252	99.08	–0.26
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			253	0.92	+0.26
Turnout			27,505	51.77	+9.30
Eligible voters			53,126
	Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic		Swing		+12.30
Source: Elections Ontario[13]

v t e 2022 Ontario general election: Algoma—Manitoulin
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Michael Mantha	11,252	45.93	−12.63	$56,480
	Progressive Conservative	Cheryl Fort	8,692	35.48	+11.03	$39,185
	Liberal	Tim Vine	2,133	8.71	+0.61	$28,774
	New Blue	Ron Koski	1,302	5.31		$1,144
	Green	Maria Legault	764	3.12	−0.39	$381
	Ontario Party	Frederick Weening	356	1.45		$0
Total valid votes/expense limit			24,499	99.34	+0.26	$91,463
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			164	0.66	-0.26
Turnout			24,663	42.47	-10.61
Eligible voters			57,522
	New Democratic hold		Swing		−11.83
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

v t e 2018 Ontario general election: Algoma—Manitoulin
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Michael Mantha	17,105	58.56	+5.15	$71,665
	Progressive Conservative	Jib Turner	7,143	24.45	+7.15	$32,275
	Liberal	Charles Fox	2,365	8.10	–16.41	$28,755
	Northern Ontario	Tommy Lee	1,366	4.68	N/A	$0
	Green	Justin Tilson	1,025	3.51	+0.39	$208
	Libertarian	Kalena Mallon-Ferguson	207	0.71	–0.95	none listed
Total valid votes			29,211	99.08	+0.30
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			270	0.92	–0.30
Turnout			29,481	53.08	+3.70
Eligible voters			55,544
	New Democratic hold		Swing		–1.22
Source: Elections Ontario[14][15][16]

v t e 2014 Ontario general election: Algoma—Manitoulin
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Michael Mantha	14,171	53.41	+8.89
	Liberal	Craig Hughson	6,504	24.51	−3.91
	Progressive Conservative	Jib Turner	4,589	17.30	−6.30
	Green	Alexandra Zalucky	828	3.12	+0.49
	Libertarian	Richard Hadidian	441	1.66
Total valid votes			26,533	100.00	+1.93
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			327	1.22	+0.71
Turnout			26,860	49.38	−0.05
Eligible voters			54,395		+2.75
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+6.40
Source(s) Elections Ontario. "Official Return from the Records, 002 Algoma-Manitoulin" (PDF). Retrieved March 22, 2015.

2011 Ontario general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Michael Mantha	11,585	44.52	+7.57
	Liberal	Michael A. Brown	7,397	28.42	−14.14
	Progressive Conservative	Joe Chapman	6,141	23.60	+9.58
	Green	Jason Tilson	684	2.63	−2.52
	Family Coalition	David Hoffman	217	0.83	-0.50
Total valid votes			26,024	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			134	0.51
Turnout			26,158	49.43
Eligible voters			52,919
	New Democratic gain from Liberal		Swing		+10.86
Source: Elections Ontario[17]