Tony Ianno
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Tony Ianno (born January 2, 1957) is a federal Canadian politician with the Liberal Party. He was first elected to the House of Commons in Trinity—Spadina in the 1993 election. He was re-elected in 1997, 2000 and 2004.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ianno graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science degree. He and his wife, Christine Innes, have four children.
Ianno has long had trouble in the diverse and left-leaning riding of Trinity—Spadina, facing stiff competition from Olivia Chow in the 1997 election and Michael Valpy in the 2000 election. In the 2004 election, Ianno again faced local city councillor Olivia Chow, winning by an even slimmer margin.
In 2004, many were surprised to hear that Ianno had a trust fund set up by wealthy donors containing hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal use.
He has won consistently with the strong backing of the Italian-Canadian community, with Toronto's Little Italy in his riding. He is considered one of the Liberals' best organizers, and claims to wield influence even after initially being denied a position in cabinet despite his early support for Paul Martin.
In 2004, it was revealed that Ianno had missed over 70% of all his committee meetings, by far the most of any Liberal MP. Ianno responded by saying it's not what is done in the House of Commons or in committees that matters, rather it is what one does in the backrooms. This did not save Ianno from being listed as the most useless MP by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Despite this, Ianno was able to retain his seat in a close race with Olivia Chow.
In the new federal Cabinet, announced July 20, 2004, he was appointed Minister of State (Families and Caregivers).
| Preceded by: Dan Heap, New Democratic Party |
Members of Parliament from Trinity—Spadina | Succeeded by: (In office) |