kids encyclopedia robot

Joe Fontana facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Joe Fontana
Joe Fontana 2012 (3x4 cropped).jpg
Fontana in 2012
61st Mayor of London
In office
December 1, 2010 – June 19, 2014
Preceded by Anne Marie DeCicco-Best
Succeeded by Joni Baechler
Member of Parliament
for London North Centre
In office
June 2, 1997 – September 20, 2006
Preceded by District created
Succeeded by Glen Pearson
Member of Parliament
for London East
In office
November 21, 1988 – June 1, 1997
Preceded by Jim Jepson
Succeeded by District abolished
Personal details
Born (1950-01-13) January 13, 1950 (age 75)
Cellara, Cosenza, Italy
Political party Liberal

Joseph Frank Fontana, born on January 13, 1950, is a Canadian politician who was born in Italy. He was a member of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to 2006. Later, he became the mayor of London, Ontario in 2010.

Early Life and Education

Joe Fontana was born in Cellara, Cosenza, Italy in 1950. When he was four years old, he moved to Canada with his parents.

He first studied chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo. However, he left school to become a drummer in a rock band. Later, he moved to London, Ontario. He briefly went back to school at the University of Western Ontario. But he left again to work in real estate and the insurance business.

Starting in Local Politics

Joe Fontana became interested in local politics. He was against building a federal prison in London. In 1976, he ran for a spot on the city council for Ward 3, but he did not win.

In 1978, he tried to become the Liberal candidate for a federal area called London-Middlesex, but he lost that too. However, later that year, he was elected to the London City Council. He served on the council until 1988. From 1985 to 1988, he was also on London's Board of Control.

Serving as a Member of Parliament

In 1988, Joe Fontana was elected to the House of Commons of Canada. This is where laws are made for Canada. He was part of the opposition party. He worked as a critic for urban affairs and housing.

He also formed a band called "True Grit" with other Liberal politicians. One of them was Jean Chrétien, who later became Prime Minister. Chrétien played the trombone in the band!

Joe Fontana became the head of the Liberal group in Ontario. He worked on special teams for Via Rail (Canada's passenger train service) and for the economy. In 1990, he supported Paul Martin when Martin tried to become the leader of the Liberal Party.

Key Roles in Parliament

Joe Fontana was re-elected in 1993. He became a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Transport. In this role, he helped create the National Airports Policy. This policy changed how airports in Canada were managed.

From 1996 to 1999, he was the head of the national Liberal group three times. This was a record! In 1999, he became the head of the committee that deals with citizenship and immigration. He also led the Liberal group for Southwestern Ontario.

He served as the Minister of Labour in Paul Martin's government. This was a minority government, which means it did not have the most seats in Parliament. His time as Minister of Labour ended on February 6, 2006, when Stephen Harper became Prime Minister.

Joe Fontana was re-elected to Parliament in 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006. After his time as Minister, he became the critic for Science and Research for the Liberal Party. Many people thought he might try to become the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. However, he decided not to run and instead supported Gerard Kennedy.

Becoming Mayor of London

On September 8, 2006, Joe Fontana announced he would run for mayor in London. He was running against the current mayor, Anne Marie DeCicco-Best. On September 20, 2006, he officially left his seat in the House of Commons to focus on the mayoral race. He did not win this election, losing to Mayor DeCicco-Best.

He later announced he would run again in the 2010 London mayoral election. He ran against DeCicco-Best once more. This time, Joe Fontana won the election and became the mayor of London.

In 2012, Joe Fontana received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He received this because he was a member of the Privy Council of Canada.

Electoral Results

Here are the results from some of the elections Joe Fontana was part of:

London Mayoral Election, 2010

Mayoral Candidate Vote  %
Joe Fontana 48,626 47.2
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best (X) 46,089 44.8
Cynthia Etheridge 4,402 4.3
Eric Southern 644 0.6
Ivan W. Kasiurak 612 0.6
Christopher R. Foerster 462 0.4
Aaron Broughm 427 0.4
Wayne Ford 375 0.4
Zak Young 298 0.3
Stephen Elliott Beckles 252 0.2
Tomasz Winnicki 234 0.2
Dan Lenart 173 0.2
Tom Ha 149 0.1
Ma'in Sinan 128 0.1
Jonas Richard White 83 0.1

London Mayoral Election, 2006

Candidate Vote  %
Anne Marie DeCicco-Best (X) 57,891 57.7
Joe Fontana 35,083 35.7
Cynthia Etheridge 2,561 2.6
Ivan W. Kasiurak 1,905 1.9
Arthur Majoor 1,623 1.6
Matthew L. R. Shantz 532 0.5

Federal Election, 2006 (London North Centre)

Canadian federal election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Joe Fontana 24,109 40.12 -2.96 $78,406
Conservative John Mazzilli 17,968 29.90 +2.46 $63,536
New Democratic Stephen Maynard 14,271 23.75 -0.39 $20,817
Green Stuart Smith 3,300 5.49 +0.72 $2,442
Progressive Canadian Rod Morley 283 0.47 +0.03 $2,852
Marxist–Leninist Margaret Mondaca 160 0.27 +0.14 $0.00

Federal Election, 2004 (London North Centre)

Canadian federal election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joe Fontana 21,472 43.08 -8.46
Conservative Tim Gatten 13,677 27.44 -9.57
New Democratic Joe Swan 12,034 24.14 +15.24
Green Bronagh Joyce Morgan 2,376 4.77 +3.23
Progressive Canadian Rod Morley 220 0.44
Marxist–Leninist Gustavo Grandos-Ocon 67 0.13

^ Conservative change is from combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative totals.

Federal Election, 2000 (London North Centre)

Canadian federal election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joe Fontana 22,795 51.54 -0.18
Alliance Nancy Branscombe 9,062 20.49 +5.30
Progressive Conservative Lorie Johnson 7,305 16.52 -0.95
New Democratic Colleen Redmond 3,936 8.90 -3.39
Green Jeremy McNaughton 681 1.54 +0.06
... Tim Berg 453 1.02 -

^ Canadian Alliance change is from Reform

Federal Election, 1997 (London North Centre)

Canadian federal election, 1997
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joe Fontana 23,891 51.72
Progressive Conservative Jim Henkel 8,072 17.47
Reform Tara Bingham 7,016 15.19
New Democratic Colleen Redmond 5,679 12.29
Green Jeff Culbert 685 1.48
Christian Heritage Ken Devries 375 0.81
Independent Michael Rubinoff 336 0.73
Marxist–Leninist Vera Cruise 138 0.30

Federal Election, 1993 (London East)

Canadian federal election, 1993
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joe Fontana 28,279 55.8% +18.1%
Progressive Conservative Rob Alder 9,237 18.2% -19.3%
Reform Paul Cheng 8,704 17.2% +17.2%
New Democratic Alfredo Marroquin 2,614 5.2% -19.2%
National Bill Cecil-Smith 830 1.6% +1.6%
Green Jeff Culbert 567 1.1% +1.1%
Natural Law Jim Hill 282 0.6% +0.6%
Canada Party Al Plumb 108 0.2% +0.2%
Commonwealth of Canada Sid Tarleton 31 0.1% +0.1%

Federal Election, 1988 (London East)

Canadian federal election, 1988
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Joe Fontana 19,547 37.7% +11.8%
Progressive Conservative Jim Jepson 19,445 37.5% -9.7%
New Democratic Marion Boyd 12,667 24.4% -2.5%
Independent Peter Ewart 201 0.4% +0.4%

See also

  • List of University of Waterloo people
kids search engine
Joe Fontana Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.