Tony Van Bynen

Tony Van Bynen (born April 5, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who served in the Canadian House of Commons from 2019 Canadian federal election until 2025. He represented the district of Newmarket—Aurora as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and previously served as mayor of Newmarket, Ontario from 2006 to 2018.^[1]

Tony Van Bynen
Member of Parliament for Newmarket—Aurora
In office October 21, 2019 – March 23, 2025
Preceded by	Kyle Peterson
Succeeded by	Sandra Cobena
Personal details
Born	(1950-04-05) April 5, 1950 (age 75) Netherlands
Political party	Liberal
Residence(s)	Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

Background

Born in the Netherlands, Van Bynen immigrated to Canada in 1952 with his parents, and grew up on a family farm with five brothers and five sisters near London, Ontario. ^{[citation needed]} He eventually moved to Newmarket in 1980 after relocating to work as a bank branch manager.^[2]

Municipal politics

He entered municipal politics in 2000 when he was elected as a town councillor, then was elected as a regional councillor in 2003 and subsequently as mayor in 2006, defeating his opponent Diane Springstein by 800 votes, a 4.6% margin.^[3] He was re-elected in the 2010 election, defeating his only challenger, Michael Cascione.^[4] He was again re-elected in the 2014 election.^[5]

Van Bynen did not stand for re-election in the 2018 municipal election.^[6]

Federal politics

In 2019, Van Bynen became the Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Newmarket—Aurora in the federal election of the same year.^[7] He was subsequently elected over former Conservative MP Lois Brown.^[8] He was re-elected in the 2021 federal election.^[9]

Community involvement

Van Bynen has volunteered at Southlake Hospital and the homeless shelter Inn From The Cold for over a decade with his wife, Roxanne.^[10] He also helped to create Belinda's Place, a facility that provides support for homeless and at-risk women in Newmarket.^[11]

In 2013, Van Bynen received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his community service and leadership.^[11]

Honours

• Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal^[11]

Electoral record

Federal

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Newmarket—Aurora
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Tony Van Bynen	24,208	43.8	+0.7	$96,047.56
	Conservative	Harold Kim	21,173	38.3	+0.5	$112,882.72
	New Democratic	Yvonne Kelly	6,338	11.5	+0.8	$17,822.22
	People's	Andre Gagnon	2,296	4.2	+3.2	$3,308.84
	Green	Tim Fleming	1,105	1.8	-4.0	$500.00
	Independent	Dorian Baxter	260	0.5	-0.9[12]	$1,598.82
Total valid votes			55,290
Total rejected ballots			372
Turnout			55,662	60.58
Eligible voters			91,879
Source: Elections Canada[13]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Newmarket—Aurora
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Tony Van Bynen	26,488	43.1	-2.08	$88,608.07
	Conservative	Lois Brown	23,232	37.8	-7.81	$74,278.42
	New Democratic	Yvonne Kelly	6,576	10.7	+2.19	$18,620.10
	Green	Walter Bauer	3,551	5.8	+3.44	none listed
	Progressive Canadian	Dorian Baxter	901	1.5	+0.15	none listed
	People's	Andrew McCaughtrie	588	1.0	–	none listed
	Rhinoceros	Laurie Goble	104	0.2	–	none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			61,460	100.0
Total rejected ballots			424
Turnout			61,884	67.3
Eligible voters			91,920
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.87
Source: Elections Canada[14]