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]
References
[edit]- ^ "Councillors urged to reject Andy Pringle on police board". Toronto Star. July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ "Pringle poised to succeed Mukherjee on police board: James". Toronto Star. June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- ^ "Council reappoints Andy Pringle to police board". Toronto Star. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e "Who is Andrew Pringle?". Toronto Star. November 5, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Doug Ford's broadside at police board member seen as calculated strike on a Tory ally". Globe and Mail. November 5, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- ^ "The McMichael Board of Trustees Announces New Chair Andrew Pringle". 11 August 2020.
- ^ Proudfoot, Shannon. "Behind Kellie Leitch's 'sort-of' campaign for Conservative leader". Maclean's. Maclean's. Retrieved 11 April 2016.