Ross Romano

Rosario "Ross" Romano (born 1979) is a Canadian politician who served as Chief Government Whip in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Romano held a number of portfolios since the PCs formed government in 2018, including as minister of government and consumer services, and minister of colleges and universities. He represented the riding of Sault Ste. Marie until 2025.

Political career

A lawyer by profession, Romano began his political career upon being elected to the Sault Ste. Marie City Council in 2014. He was first elected to the Ontario Legislature on June 1, 2017, in a by-election called due to the retirement of the riding's previous MPP, David Orazietti, thus becoming the first Conservative to represent the district in 32 years.

Romano was re-elected on June 7, 2018, with a 1.29% advantage over Michele McCleave-Kennedy.

In November 2018, he came under fire for comments made during a debate on funding certain take-home cancer medications, comparing the cost of funding the additional treatments to children wanting both toys and ice cream. He withdrew the comments the next day.

He was appointed Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities in June 2019, championing initiatives such as provincial support for microcredentials. During his tenure, Laurentian University declared insolvency and filed for creditor protection.

Romano was shuffled to the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services in June 2021. He presided over the launch of Ontario's new online Business Registry, which aimed to shift many paper-based processes to digital ones. Its launch was difficult, punctuated with "system shutdowns, technical glitches and substantive problems". One media outlet described it as a disaster, with some law firms telling their clients to avoid the creation or use of Ontario corporate entities so as not to put business transactions at risk.

In June 2022, Romano won re-election with an increased margin over NDP challenger Michele McCleave-Kennedy amid a decline of some 10% in voter turnout. Shortly thereafter, he was removed from his position as Minister of Government and Consumer Services as part of a post-election cabinet shuffle. He was named Government Whip later that month.

In December 2024, he announced that he would not be seeking reelection, and would retire from provincial politics at the end of his current term to spend more time with his family.

Awards and honours In June 2024, Romano was recognized with the Distinguished Alumni Award from his undergraduate alma mater Algoma University, which at the time of his attendance was an affiliated college of Laurentian.

Electoral record