Frank Valeriote (born August 15, 1954)
[ is a ]Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician. He was elected as the 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 Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
in 2008 by a small margin over the Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach and subsequently served as MP until October 2015. Valeriote chose not to run in the 2015 federal election. In an interview with the Guelph Mercury newspaper in November 2014, he cited a desire to spend more time with his two young children. "I feel it is important in a meaningful way to be there for their millionth step as they enter their teenage years as it was to see their first step." In a later interview, he confirmed his plan to return to legal practice, "I'm physically, emotionally, and psychologically preparing for the move from member of parliament to an active lawyer at Smith Valeriote." On October 26, 2015, SmithValeriote Law Firm LLP welcomed Frank Valeriote back to the practice where he had been a senior partner until his election as a Member of Parliament.
Background
Valeriote is the grandson of Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
immigrants and was born and raised in Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
, 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 C ...
. His father, Domenic (Mico) Valeriote, was an accomplished long distance runner and one of the longest-serving members of Guelph City Council. He earned an undergraduate degree in history and economics from the University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...
before earning his law degree from the University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...
. He was called to the bar in 1981[SmithValeriote LLP]
, accessed March 19, 2008 and returned to Guelph to co-found the law firm of SmithValeriote LLP, where he served as a senior partner until his election.
He served on the local Catholic School Board for 18 years including several as chair. He also served as a member of the Guelph and Wellington Housing Authority for 9 years.
Valeriote married Catherine Berry, a psychotherapist and counsellor in 2001; they have two children. The couple separated in 2013.[Frank Valeriote campaign website]
accessed March 19, 2008
Political career
Valeriote was initially selected as the Liberal candidate in the 2008 Guelph by-election, following the resignation of Brenda Chamberlain from the House of Commons. However, the issuance of writs for the 2008 federal election pre-empted the Guelph by-election.
On election day, Valeriote defeated the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
candidate, longtime city councillor Gloria Kovach, by less than 1,800 votes.
In 2011, he was re-elected, with 25,574 votes (43.37%), to 19,252 (32.65%) for Conservative Marty Burke, 9,836 (16.68%) for 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 cultural ...
Bobbi Stewart, 3,711 (6.29%) for Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
John Lawson, and scatterings for four other candidates.
Based on an incident during the 2011 election campaign, Valeriote's Liberal riding association was fined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for violations of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
As reported by the National Post, this fine was based on a robocall message sent on April 30, 2011 that anonymously attacked his Conservative opponent’s alleged position on abortion. The call failed to identify its originator and did not give a callback number, according to the National Post article. Under a settlement agreement with Valeriote, the CRTC assessed a $4,900 fine. According to CBC News, "Valeriote admitted the robocalls originated with his team but said it was an attempt to respond to an issue raised during the campaign and was not meant to suppress votes".
On November 13, 2014, Valeriote announced that he would not be seeking re-election in 2015. At the time of that announcement, Valeriote was the Liberal critic for veterans affairs, and the vice chair of the standing committee on veterans affairs, according to CBC News. He subsequently endorsed the new Liberal candidate, Lloyd Longfield
Lloyd Longfield (born October 8, 1956) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Guelph in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. The riding was previously held by Liberal MP Frank Vale ...
who went on to win the riding by an overwhelming majority in the federal election held on Oct. 19, 2015.
Electoral record
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Valeriote, Frank
1954 births
Living people
Canadian people of Italian descent
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
People from Guelph
University of Western Ontario alumni
University of Ottawa Faculty of Law alumni
21st-century Canadian politicians