David Caplan, former Ontario health minister dies

Former Health Minister of Ontario David Caplan has died, according to a report by Global News' Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Travis Dhanraj who posted it on his official Twitter account. Caplan was running for the federal Liberal nomination in Don Valley West. He has reportedly passed away last night.

#BREAKING: @globalnewsto has learned Former @OntLiberal Health Minister David Caplan has died. He was running for the federal Liberal nomination in Don Valley West. Sources say he passed away last night #ONpoli pic.twitter.com/VSTZHa0CfV

— Travis Dhanraj (@Travisdhanraj) July 25, 2019

The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau paid tribute to the former Cabinet Minister in a post on his Twitter account calling Caplan "a kind man who dedicated his life to serving his community".

Sophie & I are deeply saddened to hear about the sudden passing of David Caplan. He was a kind man who dedicated his life to serving his community. David will be missed by so many. Our thoughts are with his loved ones today.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 25, 2019

He began serving the Ontario Road Builders Association (ORBA) as its new chief operating officer in Dec 2017.

David Caplan contested his mother's former riding of Oriole in the subsequent by-election, and defeated his Progressive Conservative opponent, former federal Member of Parliament Barbara Greene, by a significant margin. He subsequently served as the Liberal critic for Youth and Training.

He eventually became Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal in 2007 and the next year started serving as Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for the period June 20, 2008 – October 7, 2009. He stepped down from the post over the eHealth Ontario spending scandal the report of which charged that successive governments wasted USD 1 billion in taxpayer money.