Martin Silva facts for kids

Martin Silva, born on September 4, 1952, is a well-known radio personality and former politician in Canada. He was born in Portugal and later moved to Toronto, Ontario.

Martin Silva's Early Life and Radio Career

Moving to Canada and Becoming a Radio Star

Martin Silva was born in a place called Sever do Vouga in Portugal. In August 1968, when he was about 16 years old, he moved to Canada. He quickly became popular in the Portuguese community there. He worked as a radio announcer at CHIN Radio.

In 1973, Martin hosted a morning radio show in Portuguese called Ecos de Portugal. Later, in 1982, he continued his radio work with another show called Wake Up Portuguese Style. He is still involved with CHIN Radio today, working as an Account Executive.

Martin Silva's Time in Politics

Serving on Toronto City Council

Martin Silva also had a career in politics. In 1988, he was elected to the Toronto City Council. This council is a group of people who make important decisions for the city of Toronto. He represented an area called Ward 4.

Martin was part of the New Democratic Party (NDP) group in Toronto. People liked his work, and he was re-elected two more times, in 1991 and 1994.

Running for Provincial Election

In 1995, Martin Silva decided to run for a bigger political role. He was the NDP candidate for a provincial election in an area called Parkdale. A provincial election is when people vote for representatives who will make laws for the entire province, like Ontario. However, he did not win this election. The person who was already in that position, Tony Ruprecht, won again.

Returning to City Council Briefly

Martin Silva was not re-elected to the City Council in 1997. This was partly because a new area was formed, and another person with the same last name, Mario Silva, was also running. This caused some confusion for voters.

After this, he worked as a representative for a union that helps hotel and restaurant employees. Then, in late 2001, he went back to CHIN Radio.

On February 1, 2006, the Toronto City Council asked Martin Silva to fill a vacant spot in Ward 20. This spot became open when Olivia Chow decided to run for a different political role. Martin served as a city councillor again until the municipal election in November 2006. A rule for this temporary job was that he could not run as a candidate in that election himself.