Leeanna Pendergast has been the Member of Provincial Parliament since 2007. She was educated at the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Oxford in England, receiving a B.A., E. Ed., Masters of Arts and Masters of Education. She has served as Parliamentary Assistant for Women's Issues, to the Minister of Education, and for the last year, has focused on Ontario's finances as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance. Leeanna has worked hard for our community at Queen's Park, making education, healthcare, the environment, and seniors her top priorities. She has recently been instrumental in bringing 192 nursing home beds to the region. Prior to being elected as MPP in 2007, Leeanna spent many years as an Educator with the Waterloo Region District School Board. Leeanna and her husband Richard Upenieks have lived in Conestoga for nearly 20 years, where they are raising three sons.

Why should Ontarians vote for you? 

The constituents of our community are my utmost priority. When people put an "X" beside my name on the ballot, they can be sure that I will listen to their suggestions and will bring their voice to Queen's Park.

I've spent my entire life serving the people of Kitchener-Conestoga. I know what it takes to raise a family and balance a budget, to improve access to healthcare and strengthen public education. I'm a proven leader, delivering local results, and need your support to move forward together.

I understand the important issues our community is facing today. That is why in my last term as MPP, I accomplished my goal of bringing Long-Term Care beds to our community to help our seniors age with dignity; Chaired the Working on Financial Literacy so that our young students have the knowledge on how to manage their finances; and have brought GO Bus and GO Train services to Waterloo Region to ensure that our families are home from work on time. Impartial groups and economists agree, our "Forward. Together" plan is focused on what our families need to succeed during these times of global economic uncertainty and beyond.

If you are elected as an MPP by your constituents, what will your top two priorities be? 

My priority is to move forward with our platform. We have 45 new commitments in our "Forward. Together" platform. Our platform is the only platform to be endorsed by economists. The $14 billion hole in the PC platform would mean deep cuts. Our platform is a plan to build a strong provincial economy by investing in the skills and education of our workers, growing our clean-energy economy, and making choices focused on what our families need to succeed. We have a bold and realistic goal of tripling the amount of successful start-up companies, which will create jobs for Ontarians.

Personally, healthcare remains a major priority. We have a plan to approach healthcare in a responsible and cost-effective way. We've heard seniors want to stay in their homes longer which is why we are bringing back doctor house calls and providing a tax credit to help seniors renovate their homes to meet their needs. There are 2,900 more doctors practicing and we've hired over 11,500 nurses since taking office in 2003. Now, 94% of Ontarians are attached to quality primary care and we're now in a position to see twice as many doctors enter practice in 2013 than in 2003.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Ontarians? 

Unfortunately, poverty remains a reality. However, our Poverty Reduction Strategy is on track and we remained committed to our target. Despite the worst global economic downturn in recent memory, child poverty levels decreased in Ontario from 2008-2009 – meaning that 19,000 fewer children are living in poverty. Under our Poverty Reduction Strategy, we are making a real difference in the lives of low-income Ontario Families: Full Day Kindergarten is saving families up to $6,500 per child per year on child care costs, the Ontario Child Benefit is providing up to $1,100 per child per year to over 1 million children, the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit which reduces everyone's energy bill by 10% and we've increased the minimum wage to $10.25. The Hudak PCs' platform has 229 uncosted promises and a $14 billion hole – which means deep cuts to healthcare, education, and the services that all Ontarians rely on.