For most Ontarians, Brad Harness is a new, fresh face on the political stage. Born in Toronto to immigrant parents in 1962, Brad grew up in Oakville, Ontario, just west of Toronto. After attending school in Oakville, he was accepted into McMaster University in Hamilton in 1982, where he graduated with a degree in Social Science in 1986. In 1998 he completed a business management diploma at Sheridan College in Oakville. During his academic formation, Brad studied commerce, economics, history, and psychology, majoring in anthropology. At this time he joined the campus PC Association. Also at this time he began a career with the Canadian Forces as a naval officer.

During the school year, Brad attended naval training on evenings and weekends, and then spent five months a year on full-time service in Victoria and Halifax. His employment with the navy gave him the chance to travel and learn much about Canada and Canadians. Upon graduation from McMaster, Brad became an instructor in the naval training system in communications. His work later took him to other postings around the country - at sea and ashore - including in Quebec, and then Ottawa, where he joined the naval staff at the National Defence Headquarters. There he worked on naval doctrine and policy development, ship acquisition programmes, as well as on the manpower restructuring which the Canadian Forces underwent after the end of the Cold War.

His time in Ottawa was an exciting one, opening his eyes to the reality of government, billion-dollar budget management and mismanagement, Canada's linguistic duality, as well as the near-corruption of Canada's political system. It was this experience which rekindled a latent interest in politics, and he left the PC Party of Canada for the new Reform Party of Canada. As one of the earliest Ontario members, he volunteered in the office of Deborah Grey, lone Reform MP at the time, working with her-then legislative assistant Stephen Harper, and later, his replacement and brother, Robert. Brad was to have become Stan Waters' (the first elected senator) assistant, but Stan passed away prior to that happening.

So Brad worked for more than 18 months as the co-ordinator for Reform's early expansion into Quebec, the Atlantic provinces, and eastern Ontario. After a short period this major task was simplified and Brad became the party's first Regional Co-ordinator for Eastern Ontario, being very personally involved with the creation of each of the party's two-dozen ridings in that region. Two of these ridings would later become Reform's first election victories in Ontario.

As this task became more and more public, Brad returned to solely his naval employment from 1993 until 1998. By this time he was living in south-western Ontario in Middlesex County, and well into a business career as a publisher in the community newspaper industry. He remains the Publisher and Editor at BANNER Publications, a small business based in Ailsa Craig, Ontario, near London.

In 1998 Brad became involved in the local Reform Party of Canada/Canadian Alliance riding association up until the party merged with the federal PC Party. At that point, the Reform philosophy of grassroots populism, transparency and accountability evaporated at the local level, and Brad - along with almost all Reformers on the riding association's board of 24 - stood down from further involvement. Instead, he was active in a variety of local matters, starting a museum, participating in local municipal politics, and most importantly, raising two young children.

Involvement in municipal issues highlighted the need for change in Ontario's provincial government. Ethically unable to support any of the existing parties, Brad - still in contact with many like-minded former federal Reformers, Liberals, NDPers, Libertarians, and Greens around the province - engaged in a debate as to what was wrong with - and how best to fix - Ontario's political system. Clearly, Ontarians were becoming less hopeful with the choices offered at election time, and clearly, an alternative was needed.

Discussions were held - and meetings (six to be precise) - to try to hammer out the differences between what these founding personalities wanted to see in such a party. This took place from 2004 to 2007, with the core leadership group voting to launch the new party in time to field test candidates in the October 2007 general election. While the original name of the party was to have been the "Ontario Party", this name was denied by Elections Ontario, and upon reflection, the name Reform Party of Ontario was selected.

Brad Harness was ratified as the first leader of the new party in September 2007. He ran as one of two test candidates, in the riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, with a mere three weeks allowed for advertising due to blackout periods. In consideration of the fact that his three main opponents campaigned on a full-time basis, Brad had his hands full, campaigning in his riding, doing media work at the party level, and still working full-time at his business. He remained very much an involved dad to his children.

Yet he covered a lot of ground in the month-long campaign in a riding as large as Prince Edward Island, with no real organization or money in place yet. Media work and canvassing began. He attended every all-candidates meeting, where he received glowing acknowledgements from many voters, the media, and even the federal Liberal candidate in attendance, as being a candidate who is sufficiently informed on the issues of the day, and able to explain to voters what is wrong with our provincial government, and how to fix it.

The purpose of the election campaign was to test out the party's election platform and the Reform "brand". It was very well-received by voters, many of whom indicated that although they had already made commitments of support in the pre-election period for the 2007 election, they were turning to Reform for 2011.

Brad Harness continues as party leader and also as a businessman, minor sports coach, and very active father. He has always been involved in culture and the arts (he writes and paints), is actively involved in sports and the philosophy of healthy body, healthy mind. Brad retains his French/English bilingual skills. He is a strong believer in family as the building block of society, and believes that setting a good example for the next generation is the best way to ensure our values carry on in the generations that follow.

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