Steve Lesperance

Steve is my husband. We met at Sheridan College in 1993 and have been together ever since. I want to share a little about the Steve I know and why I believe his character and experience make him well suited to serve as a Councillor —how he handles problems, responsibilities, challenges and everyday life. Steve had a difficult start in life. His childhood was filled with controversy, a broken family who fled Montreal when he was six years old, and an expropriation from his home on York Street Hamilton, where his family was tossed out homeless. He was largely on his own from the age of 11, living in group homes and, at times, on the street. Those experiences forced him to become independent, resourceful and determined at a very young age. At 11, he began working at Discount Car and Truck Rentals in Hamilton detailing and washing cars. A couple of years later, he was placed in a wonderful boys' home on a horse and haying farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where he became a mentor to some of the younger boys. Even then, Steve had an entrepreneurial streak. He saw all the horse manure around the farm and decided to turn it into a business, going door-to-door selling wheelbarrows of it for $5 each. At 16, he was relocated back to Hamilton and started working in construction and landscaping. One story from that time has always stuck with me. The landscapers normally picked him up every morning for work, but one day they arrived and told him they were sorry — there simply wasn't any work for him. Did Steve go home feeling sorry for himself? No. He walked into a nearby convenience store, bought a black marker, found a large piece of cardboard and made himself a sign that read: “STUDENT READY TO WORK.” He stood beside the road in his work boots holding that sign. He got two jobs that day! In his late twenties, Steve studied Technical Illustration at Sheridan College in Oakville. Computers were only beginning to become a major part of business at the time, but Steve immediately took to the technology. He quickly moved beyond design work and began setting up computer systems and networks for businesses. His abilities opened doors to some remarkable opportunities, including travelling to Hong Kong for work involving the Bank of China. Later, Steve worked with a team of consultants on a major technology project for Legal Aid Ontario....

I have never met him personally, but have shared a lot of the same ideas.

He sure is a man of honesty and integrity !!