**Media resources at bottom of page**
Ted Hsu (pronounced “shoe”) immigrated to Canada with his parents when he was six months old. He grew up and went to school in Kingston, graduating with a Bachelor of Science from Queen’s University in 1984. After moving around for graduate school and work, Ted settled down in Kingston with his wife and two daughters. The eldest is currently at university, and the youngest is in middle school.
He and his family enjoy watching Marvel movies, cooking, veggie gardening, and taking walks in local conservation areas and along the Kingston waterfront. Ted’s hobbies include coaching elementary and high school robotics teams and playing competitive chess.
Work Before Politics
From 1984 to 1994, Ted worked in science, earning a PhD in physics from Princeton University.
From 1994 to 2003, Ted took his math and computing skills to work in finance and business management with Banque Nationale de Paris and Morgan Stanley in Tokyo.
From 2007 to 2011, Ted was the Executive Director of SWITCH, a sustainable energy association in southeastern Ontario.
Work In Politics
From 2011 to 2015, Ted was the federal MP for Kingston and the Islands. When former MP and Speaker of the House, Peter Milliken, stepped down, Ted won a highly contested local nomination race among five community leaders.
During his term as MP, Ted revived and led a national campaign from 2014 to 2015 to restore the long-form census because of the vital information it delivers to our society. That restoration became the first act of the newly elected government in 2015. Public Health and effectively fighting poverty, for example, are critical beneficiaries of this information.
An additional highlight of his term includes being recognized as a Maclean’s Parliamentarian of the Year (2013) as the MP who “Best Represents Constituents”.
In August 2014, Ted announced he would not seek re-election after completing his term in 2015. That decision in 2014 was a hard one, but the right one for his family at that time. Although Ted stepped down, he did not step away from politics and serving his community. He continued on, simply closer to home. He has worked locally with startup companies, coached robotics teams, mentored budding politicians, volunteered on a city referendum campaign to establish ranked ballots, and managed two election campaigns. He returned to volunteering on the board of SWITCH, a local sustainable energy association, and the Chinese Canadian Association of Kingston and District.
In 2020, Ted sought and won the nomination for Kingston and the Islands, and became MPP for Kingston and the Islands in the provincial election of June 2022.
Critical Issues Ted Cares About
Ted believes that there are certain critical issues facing all Ontarians, which are covered by provincial jurisdiction. These include cost of living and housing affordability, the capacity of our healthcare system, education disruption, skilled labour shortages, the competitiveness and productivity of our economy, and climate change and the transition to more sustainable energy.
In 2019, Ted was asked by Kingston’s Mayor Bryan Paterson to co-chair the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing. He stepped up to the invitation, worked with a group of community members, and then co-wrote the final report with recommendations to Kingston’s City Council. Over a year of work, the task force identified solutions to providing more housing and making housing more affordable.
Whether it’s healthcare, education, cost of living or equity and the state of Ontario’s democracy, Ted believes in paying attention to solutions in the long term, fixing systems and not just putting out daily fires. He is committed to protecting and improving the lives of Ontarians, whether it be fighting to make life affordable, advocating for a more productive and inclusive economy, or advancing sustainability and green energy to fight climate change. Protecting the environment and tackling climate change are of utmost importance to Ted.
Ted currently holds Critic roles in the following areas: Energy, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, and Agriculture and Rural Issues.