When he was just a young boy working his first paid job delivering the Kitchener-Waterloo Record in his hometown of Arthur, Ted Arnott would absorb the front page along the way before sitting down with a full copy later.
“I think that was part of how I came to be interested in current affairs and in government and to a lesser degree, the politics behind it,” Arnott said in an interview at a Downtown Fergus cafe.
This seed planted early in Arnott’s life may have led to a career as one of the longest current serving MPPs at Queen’s Park and the role of speaker of the house in the most recent provincial government.
The riding boundary and name has changed over Arnott’s tenure — when he was first elected it was called Wellington, then Wellington-Waterloo and now Wellington-Halton Hills. What hasn’t changed since 1990 is Arnott representing the area.
“It’s amazing how fast 32 years have gone,” Arnott said.
Arnott has lived in the area for his whole life, growing up in Arthur but eventually moving to Fergus when the riding boundary changed in 1999. The only time he said he lived elsewhere was when he went to Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo from 1982 to 1987 taking political science and a year of business administration.
But he would still come home to work his weekend job at Sussman’s menswear store in Arthur.
He explained his first foray into politics and government was working on Jack Johnson’s reelection campaign in 1987. Johnson, a former Mount Forest mayor, was the local MPP for 15 years.
Arnott said he was tasked with organizing the campaign in Arthur and he also wrote news releases for him. After Johnson’s campaign was successful, Arnott was invited to work for him full time as his executive assistant.
He said Johnson became something of a mentor as well as a friend and regards him as a big influence on his own time in legislature.
“He was well respected for his honesty, his dedication, his hard work, his focus on the communities that he represented and he was an outstanding local MPP,” Arnott said. “I was privileged to work with him, to get to know him and to learn from him.”
Arnott continued to keep in touch with Johnson after he was elected in 1990 at 27 years old to seek his advice on problems he was facing.
The now 59-year-old lives in Fergus with his wife Lisa, a local school teacher with the UGDSB, and isn’t quite an empty nester.
His oldest two, Jack, 27 and Philip, 24 work and live in Ottawa. His youngest, Dean, lives at home but is going to University of Windsor for teacher’s college in the fall.
Being an elected representative has meant a lot of time away from his family and therefore the support and understanding of your family is crucial in Arnott’s view. He said you end up away from home more often than you like and sometimes he had to miss important things.
“I’ve always tried to make an effort to be there for my boys and my wife, so I would say we have a strong bond as a family and this is what we do, we try to stay in touch and support each other even when I’m away,” Arnott said, although he admitted his sons would probably say he was away from home a lot when they were growing up.
Because of that, Arnott said when he was around when they were young, he’d mostly be spending time with them, taking them to their sports or other family-oriented activities. He acknowledged his own interests and hobbies were mostly put aside.
Now that his sons are older, Arnott said he’s gotten back into things he liked to do before he was elected which were mainly outdoor sports like skating which he has enjoyed doing in the evening at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
“I used to love to downhill ski and it wasn’t like we went every weekend but I’d maybe go three or four times a year,” Arnott said. “I went skiing two years ago and was still able to do it … I successfully made it down the hill without breaking my neck.”
He also said he’s looking forward to playing tennis outside in the fresh air this summer but isn’t expecting to be playing too much until after June 2.
Arnott said in this election, he’s most looking forward to getting to reconnect with constituents in person which is something he has missed a lot through the pandemic.
“It’s an enormous privilege to serve in the legislature and I hope that I’ve made a positive difference every day that I’ve gone to work,” Arnott said.
“I hope that if people see fit to re-elect me that I will be able to continue to make a positive difference. That’s what motivates me to run again. Always has.”
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