Natalia Kusendova-Bashta

Natalia Kusendova-Bashta MPP is a Canadian politician who serves as the Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care and has served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2018. She represents the riding of Mississauga Centre as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

The Honourable Natalia Kusendova-Bashta ECO MPP
Minister of Long-Term Care
Incumbent
Assumed office June 6, 2024
Preceded by	Stan Cho
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Mississauga Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office June 7, 2018
Preceded by	First Member
Personal details
Political party	Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Spouse	Mina Bashta (m. August 2, 2021-)[1]
Residence(s)	Mississauga, Ontario
Occupation	Nurse

Before entering politics, Kusendova-Bashta worked as a nurse.^{[citation needed]}

Background

Kusendova-Bashta holds Bachelor of Science degrees in human and molecular biology from the University of Toronto and in nursing from Nipissing University. In addition, she speaks five languages: English, Polish, French, Czech and Slovak.^[2] Kusendova-Bashta is of Slovak and Polish descent.^{[citation needed]}

Political career

Kusendova-Bashta was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 Ontario election.^[3]

In March 2020, while the province was under a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, Kusendova-Bashta started taking 12-hour shifts three days per week in the emergency department at Etobicoke General Hospital.^[4] In September 2020, Kusendova-Bashta's bill to recognize the Franco-Ontarian flag as an emblem of the province of Ontario was passed by the Ontario legislature and into law.^[5]

Kusendova-Bashta was re-elected in the 2022 provincial election.^[6] On June 6, 2024, she was elevated to the executive council during a cabinet shuffle in which she was appointed Minister of Long-Term Care by Premier Doug Ford.^[7]

Electoral record2

v t e 2022 Ontario general election: Mississauga Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Natalia Kusendova	14,719	43.60	+2.74
	Liberal	Sumira Malik	12,260	36.32	+10.92
	New Democratic	Sarah Walji	4,148	12.29	−15.27
	Green	Adriane Franklin	1,188	3.52	+0.89
	New Blue	Audrey Simpson	523	1.55
	Ontario Party	Stephanie Wright	332	0.98
	None of the Above	Greg Vezina	288	0.85
	Populist	Elie Diab	163	0.48
	Moderate	Viktor Chornopyskyy	137	0.41	−0.03
Total valid votes			33,758	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			271
Turnout			34,029	38.14
Eligible voters			89,129
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−4.09
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

2018 Ontario general election: Mississauga Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Natalia Kusendova	17,860	40.86
	New Democratic	Laura Kaminker	12,046	27.56
	Liberal	Bobbie Daid	11,102	25.40
	Green	Noah Gould	1,149	2.63
	Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda	Alex Pacis	890	2.04
	Libertarian	Farouk Giga	471	1.08
	Moderate	Viktor Chornopyskyy	192	0.44
Total valid votes				100.0
	Progressive Conservative pickup new district.
Source: Elections Ontario[8]

Electoral record

v t e 2022 Ontario general election: Mississauga Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Natalia Kusendova	14,719	43.60	+2.74
	Liberal	Sumira Malik	12,260	36.32	+10.92
	New Democratic	Sarah Walji	4,148	12.29	−15.27
	Green	Adriane Franklin	1,188	3.52	+0.89
	New Blue	Audrey Simpson	523	1.55
	Ontario Party	Stephanie Wright	332	0.98
	None of the Above	Greg Vezina	288	0.85
	Populist	Elie Diab	163	0.48
	Moderate	Viktor Chornopyskyy	137	0.41	−0.03
Total valid votes			33,758	100.0
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots			271
Turnout			34,029	38.14
Eligible voters			89,129
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		−4.09
Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.

2018 Ontario general election: Mississauga Centre
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressive Conservative	Natalia Kusendova	17,860	40.86
	New Democratic	Laura Kaminker	12,046	27.56
	Liberal	Bobbie Daid	11,102	25.40
	Green	Noah Gould	1,149	2.63
	Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda	Alex Pacis	890	2.04
	Libertarian	Farouk Giga	471	1.08
	Moderate	Viktor Chornopyskyy	192	0.44
Total valid votes				100.0
	Progressive Conservative pickup new district.
Source: Elections Ontario[9]