Al Palladini (December 24, 1943 – March 7, 2001) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1995 to 2001, and was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

in the government of

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

Background

Palladini was born in Prossedi, Italy. He was the owner of Al Palladini's Pine Tree Lincoln Mercury automobile dealership in

Woodbridge, Ontario Woodbridge is a very large suburban community in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, along the city's border with Toronto. It occupies the city's entire southwest quadrant, west of Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400, east of Ontario Highway 50, Highway 50, n ...

becoming locally famous for the slogan, "Any Palladini is a pal of mine" in a series of ads conceived by CHUM Radio's Larry MacInnis, and voiced by a young

Rick Moranis Frederick Allan Moranis (; born April 18, 1953) is a Canadian actor, comedian, musician, songwriter, writer and producer. He appeared in the sketch comedy series ''Second City Television'' (''SCTV'') in the 1980s and several Hollywood (film indu ...

when he was an announcer at CHUM FM radio in Toronto. He was named Canadian World Auto Marketer of the Year in 1994, and was the Vaughan Outstanding Business Achievement Award the same year. Palladini also served as Chair of the York-Finch General Hospital Foundation, and was a Director of the York University Scholarship Alliance Board.

Politics

He was elected in the riding of

York Centre York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...

in the provincial election of 1995, defeating

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Mario Ferri by more than 8,000 votes (the riding had previously been held by high-profile Liberal

Greg Sorbara Gregory Samuel Sorbara (born September 4, 1946) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2012 who represented ridings north of Toronto in t ...

). On June 26, 1995, he was named

Minister of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

. Following a cabinet shuffle on October 10, 1997, he was named Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism. Palladini was re-elected in the provincial election of 1999, defeating Liberal Tony Genco by about 7,500 votes in the redistributed riding of

Vaughan—King—Aurora Vaughan—King—Aurora was a federal electoral riding in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004, and was a provincial electoral riding represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1 ...

. After the election, his portfolio was renamed "Economic Development and Trade". In office, Palladini presented himself as a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

while presenting legislation which reduced government services. He was often accused of

anti-intellectualism Anti-intellectualism is hostility to and mistrust of intellect, intellectuals, and intellectualism, commonly expressed as deprecation of education and philosophy and the dismissal of art, literature, and science as impractical, politically mo ...

. When he cut back on snowplowing budgets for provincial highways, he suggested that stranded drivers could simply use their cell phones to call for help.

Cabinet posts

Resignation and death

Palladini resigned from cabinet on February 7, 2001, citing personal difficulties. One month later, he unexpectedly died of a heart attack on a golf course while vacationing in Mexico.

Legacy

His son Franco and family continued to operate his car dealership for several years until bankruptcy in 2009. There is a community centre named Al Palladini Community Centre in Woodbridge, in his honour. Ontario's Minister of Education,

Stephen Lecce Stephen Francis Lecce (; born November 26, 1986) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Ontario minister of education since June 20, 2019. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Lecce is the member of Provincial Parliame ...

, gives Al Palladini credit for launching his political career through his effort on his 1999 re-election campaign.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palladini, Al 1943 births 2001 deaths Italian emigrants to Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs People from Vaughan Members of the Executive Council of Ontario 21st-century Canadian politicians Automobile salespeople