Linda Jeffrey (born ) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. From 2003 to 2014 she was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the ridings of Brampton Centre and then Brampton—Springdale. She served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. On March 25, 2014, she resigned from the legislature to run for Mayor of Brampton, and was elected on October 27, 2014. On 22 October 2018, Jeffrey was narrowly defeated in the mayoral race by former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown. Background Jeffrey was born in Cork, Ireland, and moved to Brampton in 1983. She and her husband, John Jeffrey, have three sons. Political career City Councillor Jeffrey was elected as a city councillor for Brampton's Ward 2 in 1991, and helped to negotiate the sale of Brampton Hydro toward the end of the decade (in addition to representing Brampton on the provincial Hydro One Board of Directors). Jeffrey also chaired the city's Budget Committee, and increased public access to the city's budget review process during her time as a councillor. She served as Acting Mayor of Brampton in May 2001, making at least one official appearance with the title. Provincial politics During the Progressive Conservatives Party of Ontario 2002 leadership contest, Jeffrey was approached to be the returning officer in Brampton as the party wanted someone who would be independent. In order to be a returning officer, she had to be a member of the party so she joined the PC party in 2002. Jeffrey joined the Ontario Liberal Party in 2003 after being recruited by Greg Sorbara to run in the provincial election of 2003. She defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative Joe Spina by 1,005 votes in Brampton Centre. The Liberals won the election and she initially served as a backbench supporter of Premier Dalton McGuinty. She was re-elected in the redistributed riding of Brampton-Springdale in 2007 and 2011. Between 2005 and 2010 she served in a variety of positions including Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministers of Children and Youth Services, Democratic Renewal, Intergovernmental Affairs, Citizenship and Immigration and Transportation. On January 18, 2010, Premier Dalton McGuinty appointed her to cabinet as Minister of Natural Resources. On October 10, 2011, she was appointed Minister of Labour and Minister Responsible for Seniors. During the 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership contest, Jeffrey was the first cabinet minister and one of