- Mario Silva
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This article is about the Canadian MP. For other people of that name, see Mário Silva (disambiguation).
Mario Silva 
Member of Parliament In office
28 June 2004 – 2 May 2011Preceded by Charles Caccia Succeeded by Andrew Cash Constituency Davenport Personal details Born June 11, 1966
Azores, PortugalPolitical party Liberal Residence Toronto Profession Educator Mario Silva, (born June 11, 1966) is a Canadian politician and a former Canadian Member of Parliament. Silva is a former a Toronto City Councillor (1994–2003) and acting mayor.[Note 1] He moved to federal politics, being elected for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2004 election in the Toronto riding of Davenport. He served as the Official Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs (Americas) after having served as Critic for the Treasury Board and Liberal Critic for Labour Issues. In 2007, the President of the French Republic bestowed him the title of Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur).
Silva holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, a "Certificat de Langue Francaise" from Paris-Sorbonne University, and a Master's degree in International Human Rights Law from University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.[1] Silva is currently a Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and is writing a thesis entitled "Restoration of Failed States: Addressing Competency Gaps."[2] Many constituents criticized Silva for pursuing graduate degrees while being paid to represent them in Parliament. [3][4]
Contents
Local politics
Born in the Azores, Portugal, he was first elected to city council in 1994 after defeating veteran councillor Tony O'Donohue by 15 votes.[5] Silva received a high grade from the Toronto Environmental Alliance for his support of environmental initiatives, and has strong support from the Labour Movement. Silva is of Portuguese background and is popular in the local Portuguese community.
Federal politics
Silva's move to federal politics was not without controversy, however, as it saw him claim the Liberal nomination in Davenport instead of popular Liberal incumbent Charles Caccia. An ally of new Prime Minister Paul Martin, Silva was seen by the party as a preferable candidate to Caccia, the longest-serving Member of Parliament (MP). Caccia had supported Sheila Copps against Martin in the 2003 Liberal Party leadership election.[6]
Silva signed up enough new members to likely defeat Caccia in a nomination battle;[7] Caccia instead chose not to file to be the party's candidate, and after mulling running in the election against Silva as a Green candidate or as an Independent,[8] announced his retirement from politics.[9] Despite some ill-will in the riding towards the ousting of Caccia, Silva still won the traditionally Liberal seat by a convincing margin.
As a Member of Parliament Silva served on several committees including the Environment Committee and the Canadian Heritage Committee. In addition he has championed several human rights and environmental issues including being the first MP to back the Canadian Boreal Initiative, and an outspoken critic for the defence of undocumented workers.Silva chaired the inquiry panel of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA), a multi-partisan group of MPs which has been conducting investigations into antisemitism in Canada. He is vice-chair of the CPCCA's steering committee, which organized an international conference on antisemitism in Ottawa in 2010.
Silva was the first Portuguese-Canadian Member of Parliament and only the second MP of Portuguese descent (the first being John Rodriguez, a former New Democratic Party MP for Nickel Belt, who is of Guyanese Portuguese descent).
Shortly after the election, Silva came out as gay in a Toronto Star profile.[10]
Silva retained the seat in the 2006 election and was the only GTA Liberal MP to increase his voter margin but was defeated in the 2011 election, losing his seat to Andrew Cash.
Federal election results
Canadian federal election, 2011 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures New Democrat Andrew Cash 21,086 53.6% +22.3% - Liberal Mario Silva 10,947 27.8% -17.97% - Conservative Theresa Rodrigues 5,674 14.4% +3.4% - Green Wayne Scott 1,344 3.4% -7.1% - Communist Miguel Figueroa 167 0.4% -0.05% - Animal Alliance Simon Luisi 128 0.3% +0.04% - Total valid votes 39,346 100.0% - Turnout 61.7% Source: Elections Canada
Canadian federal election, 2008 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures Liberal Mario Silva 15,953 45.77% -6.1% $47,491 New Democrat Peter Ferreira 10,896 31.26% -1.3% $55,530 Conservative Theresa Rodrigues 3,838 11.01% +0.2% $13,993 Green Wayne Scott 3,655 10.48% +6.8% $12,172 Canadian Action Wendy Forrest 172 0.49% +0.1% $723 Communist Miguel Figueroa 160 0.45% $432 Animal Alliance Simon Luisi 92 0.26% $957 Marxist–Leninist Sarah Thompson 87 0.24% Total valid votes/Expense limit 34,853 100.0% $79,438 Total rejected ballots 245 Turnout 35,098 53.03% Source: Elections Canada
Canadian federal election, 2006 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures Liberal Mario Silva 20,172 51.9% New Democratic Party Gord Perks 12,681 32.6% Conservative Theresa Rodrigues 4,202 10.8% Green Mark O'Brien 1,440 3.7% Communist Miguel Figueroa 172 0.5% Canadian Action Wendy Forrest 122 0.4% Marxist-Leninist Sarah Thompson 103 0.3% Total valid votes 38,892 100.00% Total rejected ballots 240 0 Turnout 39,132 of 62,007 63.1% Source: Elections Canada
Canadian federal election, 2004 Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures Liberal Mario Silva 16,773 50.68% New Democratic Party Rui Pires 11,292 34.12% Conservative Theresa Rodrigues 3,077 9.29% Green Mark O'Brien 1,384 4.18% Marijuana Elmer Gale 251 0.75% Communist Johan Boyden 137 0.41% Canadian Action John Riddell 97 0.29% Marxist-Leninist Sarah Thompson 79 0.23% Total valid votes 33,090 99.17% Total rejected ballots 278 0.83% Turnout 33,368 of 63,095 52.89% Source: Elections Canada
Notes
- ^ "Acting Mayor" is a non-elected position. For example, the Vancouver City Clerk's office sets out the duties and powers of their Acting Mayor. Other cities will no doubt have somewhat different rules and guidelines.
References
- ^ "Official Biography". Mario Silva. Liberal Party of Canada. http://www.webcitation.org/5yYxZgPNn. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
- ^ "Mario Silva". Irish Centre for Human Rights. NUI Galway. http://www.webcitation.org/5yYxsxL0l. Retrieved 2011-05-9.
- ^ Raphael, Michael (2009-09-03). "An MP’s academic career". MacLeans. http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/09/03/mitchel-raphael-on-who-wore-jeans-under-his-tuxedo/. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
- ^ Allen, Kate (2011-04-25). "Davenport could flip orange after 49 years". The Toronto Star. http://www.webcitation.org/5yVcevDDx. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
- ^ City Staff (1995-12-15). "Court ends seesaw council battle". The Globe and Mail: p. A2.
- ^ Harding, Katherine (2004-05-26). "Campaign warhorses consider a new race: Charles Caccia: Turdeau-era minister". The Globe and Mail: p. A7.
- ^ Hurst, Lynda (2002-06-15). "Liberals brace for membership fights". The Toronto Star: p. A31.
- ^ Gray, Jeff (2004-04-29). "Caccia mulling running as an indpendent". The Globe and Mail: p. A15.
- ^ Controneo, Christian (2004-06-04). "Long-time MP Charles Caccia won't contest Davenport riding". The Toronto Star: p. F04.
- ^ Gulliver, Tanya (2005-12-08), "Eyes on the prize", Xtra!, http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=3&STORY_ID=1177&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=6, retrieved 2007-09-14
External links
Political office
Preceded by
Tony O'DonohueToronto City Councillor
1994-2003Succeeded by
Adam GiambroneCategories:- 1966 births
- Gay politicians
- LGBT politicians from Canada
- Liberal Party of Canada MPs
- Living people
- Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Ontario
- Canadian people of Portuguese descent
- Toronto city councillors
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