John Nunziata
Encyclopedia
John Nunziata is a Canadian
politician. He served in the Canadian House of Commons
from 1984 to 2000, initially as a Liberal
and later as an independent member.
, British Columbia
, and was educated at York University
and Osgoode Hall Law School
. He worked as a lawyer before entering public life.
Nunziata's sister, Frances Nunziata
, was the last mayor of the city of York, Ontario
before it was merged into the "megacity" of Toronto, and is now a Toronto city councillor for Ward 11 York South-Weston.
On October 20, 2008, Nunziata was arrested by Toronto Police and charged with assaulting his ex-wife's boyfriend, allegedly by kicking him in the buttocks. Nunziata said, "I didn't kick him. I don't know how he got the bruise on his ass, but I mean, he deserves an ass-kicking, but I didn't give it to him." Subsequently, Nunziata pressed charges against the other man whom he claimed was “bugging” his 14-year-old daughter at a rink where Nunziata's son was playing hockey. These charges were later dropped as the police found no evidence in support of Nunziata's allegations.
Following a two day trial Nunziata was found guilty of assault, and guilty on one count of breaching a court order. Nunziata was ordered to have no contact with his victim, sentenced to one year of probation and court ordered anger management classes.
on a suburban Toronto
city council
, but left the party in the early 1980s. He campaigned as a Liberal
for a 1982 provincial by-election
in York South
, but lost to new NDP leader Bob Rae
.
in the 1984 general election
as a Liberal
despite a national Progressive Conservative
landslide. Nunziata thrived as a member of the opposition Rat Pack
, a group of Liberal Members of Parliament
(MPs) including Don Boudria
, Brian Tobin
, and Sheila Copps
.
Nunziata's ideological position in the Liberal Party was not clearly defined at this stage. He stressed family values and was opposed to abortion
, but his views on other issues were not always socially conservative
. During the national debate on capital punishment
in 1986, he was one of the strongest parliamentary opponents of any restoration of the death penalty. He was re-elected without difficulty in the 1988 election
.
When John Turner resigned as Liberal leader, Nunziata ran to succeed him in the 1990 Liberal leadership convention. He placed last in a field of five candidates.
In the buildup to the 1993 federal election
, Nunziata criticized Liberal leader Jean Chrétien
for appointing Art Eggleton
over a local candidate in York Centre
.
On April 21, 1996, Nunziata was expelled from the Liberal caucus
after he voted against the government's budget
in protest over the government breaking a promise to rescind the Goods and Services Tax
.
Despite the difficulties of winning a seat as an independent, Nunziata ran and won re-election in the 1997 general election
without the support of any party. He defeated Toronto councillor Judy Sgro
by 4,431 votes to retain his riding, and so became the only independent member elected to the new parliament.
In the 2000 election
, he was defeated by Liberal Alan Tonks
.
's 2003 municipal election
as a right wing "law and order" candidate. He pledged support for the police, and to bring the homeless off the streets and into institutional care facilities. When he entered the race, he was a distant second, ahead of councillor David Miller
and former Rogers Cable CEO John Tory
but well behind frontrunner Barbara Hall
. He ultimately finished in fourth place with only five per cent of the vote.
Since 2003, Nunziata has become a government lobbyist and partner with the Parliamentary Group.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician. He served in the Canadian 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...
from 1984 to 2000, initially as 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...
and later as an independent member.
Background
Nunziata was born in RevelstokeRevelstoke, British Columbia
Revelstoke is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam and near its confluence with the Illecillewaet River...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and was educated at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
and Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
. He worked as a lawyer before entering public life.
Nunziata's sister, Frances Nunziata
Frances Nunziata
Frances Nunziata is a Toronto city councillor for Ward 11 York South-Weston . She is the sister of former Member of Parliament John Nunziata....
, was the last mayor of the city of York, Ontario
York, Ontario
York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
before it was merged into the "megacity" of Toronto, and is now a Toronto city councillor for Ward 11 York South-Weston.
On October 20, 2008, Nunziata was arrested by Toronto Police and charged with assaulting his ex-wife's boyfriend, allegedly by kicking him in the buttocks. Nunziata said, "I didn't kick him. I don't know how he got the bruise on his ass, but I mean, he deserves an ass-kicking, but I didn't give it to him." Subsequently, Nunziata pressed charges against the other man whom he claimed was “bugging” his 14-year-old daughter at a rink where Nunziata's son was playing hockey. These charges were later dropped as the police found no evidence in support of Nunziata's allegations.
Following a two day trial Nunziata was found guilty of assault, and guilty on one count of breaching a court order. Nunziata was ordered to have no contact with his victim, sentenced to one year of probation and court ordered anger management classes.
Politics
Nunziata started his career as a supporter of the New Democratic PartyOntario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
on a suburban Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, but left the party in the early 1980s. He campaigned as a Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
for a 1982 provincial by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in York South
York South
York South was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1979, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1999....
, but lost to new NDP leader Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
.
Federal politics
Nunziata was elected to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian 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...
in the 1984 general election
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
as 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...
despite a national Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
landslide. Nunziata thrived as a member of the opposition Rat Pack
Liberal Party of Canada Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was the nickname given to a group of young, high-profile Canadian Liberal opposition Members of Parliament during the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney....
, a group of Liberal Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) including Don Boudria
Don Boudria
Donald "Don" Boudria, PC is a former Canadian politician. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1984 to 2005 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien....
, Brian Tobin
Brian Tobin
Brian Vincent Tobin, PC is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth Premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a Cabinet Minister in Jean Chrétien's Liberal government.- Early life, education, and family...
, and Sheila Copps
Sheila Copps
Sheila Maureen Copps, PC is a former Canadian politician who also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to April 30, 1996 and June 19, 1996 to June 11, 1997....
.
Nunziata's ideological position in the Liberal Party was not clearly defined at this stage. He stressed family values and was opposed to abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, but his views on other issues were not always socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
. During the national debate on capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in 1986, he was one of the strongest parliamentary opponents of any restoration of the death penalty. He was re-elected without difficulty in the 1988 election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
.
When John Turner resigned as Liberal leader, Nunziata ran to succeed him in the 1990 Liberal leadership convention. He placed last in a field of five candidates.
In the buildup to the 1993 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, Nunziata criticized Liberal leader 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....
for appointing Art Eggleton
Art Eggleton
Arthur "Art" C. Eggleton, PC is a former Canadian Cabinet minister and Mayor of Toronto, and is currently a Senator representing Ontario.-City council:...
over a local candidate in York Centre
York Centre
York Centre is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1904 to 1917 and since 1953....
.
On April 21, 1996, Nunziata was expelled from the Liberal caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
after he voted against the government's budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
in protest over the government breaking a promise to rescind the Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
.
Despite the difficulties of winning a seat as an independent, Nunziata ran and won re-election in the 1997 general election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
without the support of any party. He defeated Toronto councillor Judy Sgro
Judy Sgro
Judy Sgro, PC, MP is a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she currently represents the electoral district of York West in the Canadian House of Commons.-Councillor:...
by 4,431 votes to retain his riding, and so became the only independent member elected to the new parliament.
In the 2000 election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, he was defeated by Liberal Alan Tonks
Alan Tonks
Alan Tonks is a Canadian politician. He was the Liberal MP for the federal electoral district of York South—Weston in Toronto from 2000 to 2011, and was the final Metro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation of Metro Toronto into the new City of Toronto.-Background:Tonks is the son of the late...
.
2003 Toronto mayoralty race
Nunziata ran for Mayor of Toronto in the TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's 2003 municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 2003
The Toronto municipal election of 2003 was held on November 10, 2003, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to elect the Mayor of Toronto, 44 city councillors, and school board trustees.David Miller was elected mayor ....
as a right wing "law and order" candidate. He pledged support for the police, and to bring the homeless off the streets and into institutional care facilities. When he entered the race, he was a distant second, ahead of councillor David Miller
David Miller (Canadian politician)
David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...
and former Rogers Cable CEO John Tory
John Tory
John Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
but well behind frontrunner Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall
Barbara Hall is a Canadian lawyer, public servant and former politician. She was the 61st mayor of Toronto, the last to run before amalgamation. She was elected mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Toronto in 1994, and held office until December 31, 1997...
. He ultimately finished in fourth place with only five per cent of the vote.
Since 2003, Nunziata has become a government lobbyist and partner with the Parliamentary Group.