Ed Holder's Bio

Ed Holder, Member of Parliament for London West, has lived in London since 1981.  The people of our city have been the beneficiaries of his amazing record as a volunteer and supporter of charitable and business organizations and as a leader in the community.

 Ed’s family roots are in eastern Canada and he was born in Toronto. After living briefly in California, his family returned to Toronto. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Philosophy in 1976.  He returned to Toronto where he worked for several years for a major Canadian insurer as a group underwriter. In 1981 he moved to London where he founded Ontario West Insurance Brokers Ltd., and Ontario West Insurance Agency Ltd.  In 1991 the Agency merged with Stevenson & Hunt Insurance Brokers Limited.  Ed was named President in 1999.

 Throughout his career Ed continued his involvement in community affairs – averaging 30 hours a week with what eventually totaled 56 different committees, roles and functions. Agencies and organizations included the Rotary Club of London, London Chamber of Commerce, St. John Ambulance (London), the United Way of London & Middlesex, the Sunshine Dreams Golf Classic, Theatre London Foundation, and as a member of the University of Western Ontario Board of Governors, to name but a few.

Ed is well known and recognized as the co-founder of the important Business Cares Food Drive.  He is the co-organizer and fundraiser of Celebrate London, a New Year’s Eve event bringing 25,000 Londoners together in Victoria Park. He aptly describes himself as a political activist, evident with the politics of community activism and with the Conservative Party – both provincially and federally.

 In 1993 he ran unsuccessfully as the Conservative Candidate for London Middlesex and, of course, successfully as the Conservative candidate for London West in 2008.

 Ed is dedicated to his wife Judite and daughter, Claudia. Judite and Claudia are both entrepreneurs and owners of two very successful businesses in London – Chocolaterie Benard Callebaut and Gammage Flowers. Claudia is married to London firefighter Cedo Ivanisevic and they have two beautiful daughters, Maia and Katia. 

 A more detailed biography may be found on Ed’s MP website, www.edholdermp.ca.