Joe Fontana
Encyclopedia
Joseph Frank "Joe" Fontana, PC
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (born January 13, 1950, in Cellara
Cellara
Cellara is a town and comune in the province of Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy....

, Cosenza
Cosenza
Cosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

) is the current mayor of London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

. He was previously a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member of the Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

 for the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

 of London North Centre
London North Centre
London North Centre is an electoral district in the province of Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997....

.

In 1954 his father Ugo (a police officer), his mother Pearl and his sisters Anna and Maria emigrated from Italy to Timmins
Timmins
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...

, (where another sister, Adrianna, was later born).

He later studied chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...

, but left school after becoming the drummer in a rock band. While in the band he met his first wife Marilyn, with whom he had a son, Ugo (Joe). They settled in London and Fontana briefly returned to school at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...

, but left to work in real estate and the insurance industry.

He opposed the building of a federal prison in London and soon became involved in local politics. In 1976 he ran for city council
London City Council
London City Council is the governing body of the city of London, Ontario, Canada.-Composition:One Councillor represents each of the 14 city wards along with the Mayor,Joe Fontana resulting in a 15-member city council....

, representing Ward 3, but lost; in 1978 he also lost the Liberal nomination for the federal riding of London-Middlesex, but was elected to London City Council later in the year and served there until 1988, sitting on London's Board of Control from 1985 to 1988. In 1986 he married his second wife Vicky.

In 1988 he was elected to the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 as a member of the opposition
Official Opposition (Canada)
In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...

 and served as Critic for Urban Affairs and Housing. He also formed the band "True Grit" with several Liberals including Roger Gallaway
Roger Gallaway
Roger John Gallaway, PC is an educator and retired Canadian politician. He was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2006, representing the riding of Sarnia—Lambton for the Liberal Party....

 and future prime minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....

 (who played trombone). He became the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 chair of the Liberal Caucus and was involved in the Task Force on Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....

 and the Task Force on the Economy and Recession. In 1990 he supported Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

's attempt to become leader of the Liberal Party.

He was re-elected in 1993 and became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Minister of Transport (Canada)
The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...

, playing a key role in, among other things, the introduction of the National Airports Policy. From 1996 to 1999 he served a record three times as chair of the National Liberal Caucus and in 1999 became chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and the chair of the Southwestern Ontario Liberal Caucus.

He served as Minister of Labour
Minister of Labour (Canada)
The Minister of Labour is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for setting national labour standards and federal labour dispute mechanisms...

 in Paul Martin's minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 until February 6, 2006, when Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

 was sworn in as Prime Minister.

He was re-elected in 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006. Appointed as the critic for Science and Research within the Liberal shadow cabinet, Mr. Fontana was strongly speculated to be considering a run for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, though he ultimately did not seek the post, supporting Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Kennedy
Gerard Michael Kennedy is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's Minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada...

 instead.

On September 8, 2006, Fontana announced that he would run for Mayor in London against current Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best was the 60th mayor of London, Ontario, Canada.DeCicco graduated from Fanshawe College's broadcast journalism program in 1986 and worked for CHYR in Leamington, Ontario, before returning in 1987 to work at CJBK and CJBX, a country music station in London as a reporter...

. On September 20, 2006, Fontana formally resigned his seat in the House of Commons in order to run for Mayor. He was unsuccessful, losing badly to Mayor DeCicco-Best. Fontana expressed his discontent for the London Free Press
London Free Press
The London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada.The London Free Press began as the Canadian Free Press, founded by William Sutherland in 1847. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for $500 by Josiah Blackburn, who renamed it...

's arguable bias for DeCicco-Best in the weeks prior to the election and stated "There is a benefit in not winning and that is because I am going to cancel my subscription to The London Free Press... I debated The Free Press more than the mayor".

He resides in Arva, a few kilometres north of London.

He announced that he would run in the 2010 London mayoral election
Ontario municipal elections, 2010
The 2010 municipal elections in Ontario were held on October 25, 2010.Voters in the province of Ontario elected mayors, councillors, school board trustees and all other elected officials in all of the province's municipalities....

 against incumbent Anne Marie DeCicco-Best
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best was the 60th mayor of London, Ontario, Canada.DeCicco graduated from Fanshawe College's broadcast journalism program in 1986 and worked for CHYR in Leamington, Ontario, before returning in 1987 to work at CJBK and CJBX, a country music station in London as a reporter...

. Fontana subsequently won the mayoralty.

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