Tony Valeri
Tony Valeri, PC (born August 11, 1957) is a former Canadian politician. Valeri was the Government House Leader in Paul Martin's government from 2004 until 2006. He was narrowly defeated by New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Wayne Marston in the 2006 general election held on January 23, 2006.
Biography
Valeri grew up in Hamilton's north-end in the working class Barton and Sherman neighbourhood, the son of Italian immigrants Enzo and Maria Valeri, who arrived in Hamilton in the early 1950s. He graduated from Bishop Ryan High School and then attended McMaster University, earning a BA in Economics. Prior to his political career, Valeri served as President of Canadian Financial Group Ltd. Valeri represented the ridings of Lincoln (1993–1997), then Stoney Creek (1997–2004) and Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (2004–2006). Valeri lives with his wife Terri and children, Anthony and Luca in Stoney Creek.
Parliamentary career
Valeri first ran for office in the 1993 election, winning the Liberal Party nomination over former cabinet minister John Munro, and easily won in the Liberal sweep of Ontario. Valeri served as a backbencher and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance in 1997. He was appointed to the Cabinet on December 12, 2003, by incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin. Valeri is known for his close ties to industry and business, and his appointment to the transport portfolio was viewed positively by this group. He was also known as a supporter of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
2004 nomination contest
In 2004, the decennial redistribution process took place and Valeri's old riding of Stoney Creek, which straddled the border between Hamilton and Grimsby, was split in two. A part of Valeri's Stoney Creek riding was merged with a part of Hamilton - East. A slight majority of the constituents of the new riding of Hamilton East - Stoney Creek were from Valeri's former riding. Although the other Hamilton-area Members of Parliament shifted to the eastward half of their ridings, in Valeri's case this would have meant shifting from a suburban Hamilton riding to the rural Niagara West—Glanbrook riding, where he would have faced a difficult battle with a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada.
He therefore decided to run in the western half of his former riding, resulting in a passionate nomination battle with former cabinet heavyweight and party leadership candidate Sheila Copps. Some accused Martin of orchestrating these events to try to expel the left-leaning Copps from the House of Commons. Copps pointed out that Valeri lived in the Niagara West-Glanbrook riding that also included around 43% of his old constituents and an airport, the latter which complemented his Transport Ministry. In response, Valeri pointed out that Copps no longer lived in Hamilton, no Member of Parliament enjoyed any entitlement to any constituency without a nomination meeting and the majority of the constituents of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in fact originated from his Stoney Creek riding. On March 6, 2004, Valeri won the nomination by 311 votes. Stelco's economic troubles and the large pension deficit galvanized support for New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Tony DePaulo in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. The conflict with Copps, public reaction to the first budget of the Ontario Liberals, as well as the government's sinking fortunes, almost cost him his seat, but he was narrowly (less than 1,000 votes) re-elected on June 28, 2004.
Government House Leader
On July 20, 2004, he was appointed to the sensitive position of Government House Leader in Paul Martin's minority government. Valeri's appointment to the position of House Leader was originally questioned by many, however Valeri was able to establish a working relationship with his counterparts.
As noted by Libby Davies, NDP House Leader, "We had some crazy moments but we always got down to business in a real way. It was a pleasure to work with (Valeri)." Former Conservative House Leader John Reynolds noted that "Tony was a great House Leader. A man of integrity and good humour."
2006 re-election bid
On January 23, 2006, Valeri was narrowly defeated by a margin of less than 500 votes by the New Democratic Party candidate Wayne Marston. During the election, the Hamilton Spectator reported that Valeri had purchased a property for $225,000 only to later sell it to a Liberal supporter for $500,000 a few months later. While Valeri insisted that the Ethics Commissioner had cleared the transaction, lingering doubts about the sale remained.
Post-political career
After his election defeat, Valeri established a public affairs and strategic consulting business and holds a residence position within the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.
Given the very narrow margin of his defeat in the 2006 election, some have speculated that Valeri may seek a return to politics in the Hamilton East—Stoney Creek riding, although Valeri himself has not indicated whether he has an interest in returning to the House of Commons. At the Gala Tribute held in his honour, Valeri indicated that he wants to continue to serve the people of Hamilton and Stoney Creek, leaving open the option of a return to federal politics.. However, on April 15, 2007, former Hamilton mayor Larry Di Ianni was nominated as the Liberal candidate for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for the next federal election, precluding a rematch between Valeri and Marston at least for now.
On December 5, 2007, the Hamilton Port Authority named Valeri its interim CEO effective on December 17, 2007. He left the post in 2008.
Electoral record
Canadian federal election, 1993: Lincoln | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||||
Liberal | Tony Valeri | 29,048 | 52.19 | $48,491 | ||||
Reform | Andy Sweck | 14,325 | 25.74 | $36,455 | ||||
Progressive Conservative | Jim Merritt | 8,731 | 15.69 | $43,063 | ||||
New Democratic | Peter Cassidy | 2,182 | 3.92 | $16,976 | ||||
National | Brian Dolby | 935 | 1.68 | $3,164 | ||||
Natural Law | Cynthia Marchand | 307 | 0.55 | $200 | ||||
Non-Affiliated | Ken Morningstar | 128 | 0.23 | $247 | ||||
Total valid votes | 55,656 | 100.00 | ||||||
Total rejected ballots | 544 | |||||||
Turnout | 56,200 | 72.08 | ||||||
Electors on the lists | 77,974 | |||||||
Source: Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada. |
Canadian federal election, 1997: Stoney Creek | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
Liberal | Tony Valeri | 23,750 | ||||||
Reform | Clay Downes | 10,210 | ||||||
Progressive Conservative | Angie Tomasic | 9,440 | ||||||
New Democratic | Peter Cassidy | 3,392 | ||||||
Christian Heritage | Angela M. Braun | 472 | ||||||
Natural Law | Cynthia Marchand | 261 |
Canadian federal election, 2000: Stoney Creek | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
Liberal | Tony Valeri | 24,150 | ||||||
Alliance | Doug Conley | 13,354 | ||||||
Progressive Conservative | Grant Howell | 6,102 | ||||||
New Democratic | Mark Davies | 3,083 | ||||||
Canadian Action | Phil Rose | 450 | ||||||
Marxist–Leninist | Paul Lane | 137 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Tony Valeri | 18,417 | 37.7% | ||
New Democratic | Tony Depaulo | 17,490 | 35.8% | ||
Conservative | Fred Eisenberger | 10,888 | 22.3% | ||
Green | Richard Safka | 1,446 | 3.0% | ||
Independent | Sam Cino | 393 | 0.8% | ||
Communist | Bob Mann | 166 | 0.3% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Democratic | Wayne Marston | 19,346 | 36.0% | +0.2% | |
Liberal | Tony Valeri | 18,880 | 35.2% | -2.5% | |
Conservative | Frank Rukavina | 13,581 | 25.3% | +3.0% | |
Green | Jo Pavlov | 1,573 | 2.9% | -0.1% | |
Communist | Bob Mann | 316 | 0.6% | +0.3% |
References
27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin | ||
Cabinet Posts (2) | ||
---|---|---|
Predecessor | Office | Successor |
' | Minister of State 2004–2006 styled as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons |
' |
David Collenette | Minister of Transport 2003–2004 |
Jean Lapierre |
Special Parliamentary Responsibilities | ||
Predecessor | Title | Successor |
Jacques Saada | Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (2004–2006) |
Rob Nicholson |
Preceded by Shirley Martin |
Member of Parliament for Lincoln 1993-1997 |
Succeeded by Redistribution |
Preceded by New Riding |
Member of Parliament for Stoney Creek 1997-2004 |
Succeeded by Riding Merged |
Preceded by New Riding |
Member of Parliament for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek 2004-2006 |
Succeeded by Wayne Marston |