William Joseph Mauro (born ) is a Canadian

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 served as the mayor of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

from 2018 to 2022. He was previously a

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 ...

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 2003 to 2018, representing the riding of Thunder Bay—Atikokan and serving as a cabinet minister in the government of

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

Background

Mauro was educated at

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, grad ...

teacher's college in

, and worked as a property manager for fourteen years before entering provincial politics. He served as a city councillor on the

Thunder Bay City Council The Thunder Bay City Council is the governing body of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It consists of a mayor and twelve councillors. The mayor and five of the councillors are elected at large, with one councillor being elected for each ...

from 1997 to 2003, and was a member of the Thunder Bay Hydro board and the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital.

Politics

In the provincial election of 2003, Mauro was elected as a Liberal in Thunder Bay—Atikokan. He defeated his

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

candidate John Rafferty by over 11,000 votes. In the 2007 election he faced Rafferty again this time by a narrow margin of 50 votes. He was easily re-elected in the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

elections. In the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

election, he lost his seat to

Judith Monteith-Farrell Judith Monteith-Farrell is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.

by just 81 votes. During his time in government he has served in several

Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the U ...

roles assisting ministers including the Minister of Northern Development and Mines (2003–2007, 2011–2013) and the

Minister of Natural Resources The minister of natural resources () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). In addition to NRCan, the minister oversees the federal government's natural resources portfolio ...

(2007–2009). On March 25, 2014, Premier

appointed Mauro as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. On June 24 after the election she appointed Mauro as the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. After fellow cabinet minister

Michael Gravelle Michael Gravelle (born January 23, 1949) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represented the riding of Thunder Bay—Superior North from 1995 to 2022 (known as Port Arthur from ...

temporarily stepped aside in February 2017, Mauro also took over his duties as

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines The Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (MENDM) was the ministry responsible for developing a safe, reliable and affordable energy supply across the province, overseeing Ontario’s mineral sector and promoting northern economic an ...

on a temporary basis. In 2004, he announced that the provincial government would be spending almost $1 million to improve Thunder Bay's transportation service. He is also known to favour a return of the spring bear hunt. Following his defeat in the 2018 provincial election, he announced his candidacy for mayor in the 2018 municipal election. He won that election, and became mayor of the city on December 1, 2018. Mauro did not seek re-election as Mayor in the 2022 municipal elections.https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/bill-mauro-will-not-seek-re-election-as-mayor-of-thunder-bay-5529884

Cabinet positions

Electoral Record

Municipal

Provincial

References

External links

*
Thunder Bay City Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauro, Bill 1957 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian people of Italian descent Lakehead University alumni Living people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Mayors of Thunder Bay