Leah Taylor Roy

Leah Taylor Roy MP
Member of Parliament for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
Incumbent
Assumed office September 20, 2021
Preceded by	Leona Alleslev
Personal details
Born	1960 or 1961 (age 63–64)
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Liberal
Relations	John Taylor (brother)
Children	6
Parent	Tom Taylor (father)
Alma mater	University of Toronto (BComm) Harvard University (Master of Public Policy)
Occupation	Politician

Leah Taylor Roy (née Taylor; born 1960/1961) is a Canadian politician who defeated Conservative former Liberal incumbent Leona Alleslev for the riding of Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2021 Canadian federal election.

Personal life

Leah Taylor Roy was born in Newmarket, Ontario, second daughter to parents Tom Taylor and Kate (Nee Hendrika Posthumus)Taylor. Her father, a first-generation immigrant born to Irish and English parents, moved to Newmarket as a young boy. His mother owned a small groceteria for many years and his father worked in a factory and then for the Town of Newmarket. In addition to being a business owner, Tom was a Town Councillor, Regional Councillor, and served 3 terms as Mayor of Newmarket (1997- 2006). Kate immigrated with her family from the Netherlands after WW2 and grew up on a dairy farm in Owen Sound with her parents and 6 siblings. Kate went on to become a Registered Practical Nurse. Leah’s parents remain involved in community and charitable organizations and set the example of the importance of community service for their family. Leah’s brother, John Taylor, was a Regional Councillor for York County and is now serving his second term as mayor of Newmarket. Her sister, Theresa Taylor is a secondary and special needs teacher and her sister, India Taylor, is a retired nurse. Leah is married to Peter Roy, a native of Massachusetts, and together they have raised six children and have two granddaughters. They currently live in Aurora, Ontario.

Education and career

After graduating as an Ontario Scholar from Newmarket High School, Leah attended Trinity College at the University of Toronto where she received a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance She then went on to Harvard University where, while studying at the Kennedy School of Government she worked as a teaching assistant and with the Dean of the law school. In addition to her core studies, she took classes at the MIT Sloan School of Business, the Harvard Business School, and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and studied French at Harvard Yard. She graduated with a Master's of Public Policy with a focus on finance and international development. Leah’s passion for public policy and business led her to a position with the World Bank. She worked there in both policy analysis and Treasury. Leah then joined the global management consulting firm of McKinsey and Company in the Toronto office where she worked across Canada for major Canadian corporations in every region and sector of the economy. Although based in Toronto Leah also worked in New York where she met her husband, Peter Roy. She later joined and helped to build his family’s cogeneration company. She was an Executive Vice-President until the company was sold.

Electoral history

2021 Canadian federal election: Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leah Taylor Roy	20,764	45.24	+2.86
	Conservative	Leona Alleslev	19,304	42.06	-2.32
	New Democratic	Janice Hagan	3,594	7.83	+0.63
	People's	Anthony Siskos	1,734	3.78	+2.78
	Libertarian	Serge Korovitsyn	500	1.09	+0.09
Total valid votes			45,896
Total rejected ballots			509
Turnout			46,405	55.01	-9.39
Eligible voters			84,361
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+2.59
Source: Elections Canada

2019 Canadian federal election: Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Leona Alleslev	23,568	44.38	-0.81	$100,442.03
	Liberal	Leah Taylor Roy	22,508	42.38	-4.96	$100,105.74
	New Democratic	Aaron Brown	3,820	7.20	+1.49	$282.50
	Green	Timothy Flemming	2,154	4.0	+2.72	$2,471.02
	People's	Priya Patil	530	1.0		$500.00
	Libertarian	Serge Korovitsyn	529	1.0		none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit			53,109	100.0
Total rejected ballots			454
Turnout			53563	64.4%
Eligible voters			83156
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+2.08
Source: Elections Canada CBC News