Tony Ianno
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tony Ianno, PC, B.Sc (born January 2, 1957) is a Canadian politician and businessman. He served as a Liberal Party of Canada MP representing Trinity-Spadina (1993-2006) and Minister of Families and Caregivers (2004-06).
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[edit] Political Career
Ianno is a long-time political organizer and helped a number of Italian-Canadians win federal and provincial Liberal nominations in Toronto in the 1980s. He also was a key figure in organizing support among Toronto's large Italian-Canadian population for Jean Chrétien during the 1990 Liberal leadership campaign[1].
[edit] Trinity-Spadina
He first ran for office in the 1988 election in the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina, but was defeated by New Democratic Party incumbent Dan Heap. He was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1993 election which saw the Liberals sweep into power and win every seat in Ontario. Ianno was re-elected in 1997, 2000 and 2004, and was defeated in 2006.
While most Ontario seats were easily won by the Liberals under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Trinity—Spadina was closely fought each time. Ianno narrowly held the diverse downtown riding through four federal elections, facing strong competition from New Democratic Party candidates. Much of his support came from the Italian, Portuguese and Chinese areas. Toronto's traditional Little Italy and Chinatown areas are in Trinity-Spadina. Ianno narrowly defeated Toronto city councillor Olivia Chow in the 1997 election and Globe and Mail journalist Michael Valpy who ran for the NDP in the 2000 election. In the 2004 election, Ianno again faced councillor Chow and again won by a slim margin, as the Liberals were reduced to a minority government.
On July 20, 2004, Ianno was appointed to the junior position of Minister of State (Families and Caregivers) in Paul Martin's cabinet following the Liberals' re-election. During the 2006 election, Ianno faced off against Chow for the third time. She defeated him, winning 46% of the vote to Ianno's 40%.
Some attributed Ianno's loss to his perceived support for the Toronto Port Authority and the Toronto City Centre Airport. Although Ianno did not have an official role in the Authority's creation or policies, he nonetheless defended a controversial payout to the Authority as compensation for the cancellation of the Island Airport Bridge. Several gaffes by the Liberals did not help Ianno's campaign, including when Mike Klander (the executive vice-president of the federal Liberals' Ontario wing) made posts on his blog comparing Chow to a Chow Chow dog and calling her husband an "asshole". [2]
[edit] Liberal Party of Canada Leadership Bid
After the election, the Globe and Mail reported on February 11, 2006 that Ianno had been "burning up the caucus phone lines" testing the waters for a possible bid in the Liberal leadership campaign to replace Martin.[3]
On April 8, Mr. Ianno told Canadian Press that he decided to run for the party presidency, in which he was unsuccessful. [4]
He has recently been re-nominated to once again run against Chow in Trinity-Spadina.
[edit] Personal
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ianno graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science degree. He and his wife, Christine Innes, have four children. He is also the cousin of former Ontario MPP and cabinet minister Joseph Cordiano.
[edit] External links
| 27th Ministry - Government of Paul Martin | ||
| Cabinet Post | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Minister of State (Families and Caregivers) (2004–2006) |
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| Preceded by: Dan Heap, New Democratic Party |
Members of Parliament from Trinity—Spadina | Succeeded by: Olivia Chow, New Democratic Party |
