Michael Gravelle

Who is Michael Gravelle?

Michael Gravelle is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the Minister of Minister of Natural Resources, and also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the northern riding of Thunder Bay—Superior North for the Ontario Liberal Party.

Gravelle was born in Port Arthur, which is now a part of Thunder Bay, the son of Edmund Gravelle and Jan Shepherd. He was educated at the Port Arthur Collegiate Institute and Lakehead University, receiving a degree from the latter institution 1968. Before entering political life himself, he was an assistant to Liberal politicians Robert Andras, Stuart Smith and Joe Comuzzi. He also worked as a publicist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and was a founder of the North of Superior Film Association.

Gravelle was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1995 provincial election, defeating incumbent New Democrat Shelley Wark-Martyn by almost 7000 votes in the riding of Port Arthur. The election was won by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, and Gravelle joined 29 other Liberals in the opposition benches. He supported Dwight Duncan for the party leadership in 1996.