Marco Mendicino (; born July 28, 1973) 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 who has been the

Minister of Public Safety The minister of public safety (french: ministre de la sécurité publique) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the internal security department of the Government of Canada. The ...

since October 26, 2021. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Mendicino represents

Eglinton—Lawrence Eglinton—Lawrence is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It covers a portion of Toronto northwest of downtown. It stretches from Yonge Street in the ea ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

, sitting as a member of Parliament (MP) since 2015. He was the

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The minister is responsible for Immigration, Refugees and Citi ...

from 2019 to 2021.

Early life

Mendicino was born to Italian immigrant parents. He studied political science at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

, before attending law school at the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universit ...

. Later in his career he also studied human resources management at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Schulich School of Business The Schulich School of Business is the business school of York University located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree and diploma programs in business administration, finance, accounting, busine ...

As Crown counsel

Mendicino worked as a

federal prosecutor An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for ten years, during which time he was involved in the handling of the

Toronto 18 Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

terrorism case. He also worked for the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

, served as the president of the Association of Justice Counsel, and taught as an adjunct professor at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the '' Osgoode Hall L ...

Political career

Mendicino was occasional member of the Eglinton—Lawrence Liberal riding executive, and served as legal counsel to provincial Liberal candidate

Mike Colle Michael Colle ( "Cole"; born February 1, 1945) is a Canadian politician who has represented Ward 8 Eglinton—Lawrence on Toronto City Council since the 2018 election. Colle served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2018 and ...

's campaign in 2014.

41st Canadian Parliament

Mendicino stood for the federal nomination for the 2015 general election. He faced a major battle for the nomination after

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 i ...

MP Eve Adams crossed the floor to join the

. With the support of party leader

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

, sought the Liberal nomination in

. Mendicino secured the support of former interim Liberal leader

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

and nearby incumbent MP

Judy Sgro Judy A. Sgro (born December 16, 1944) is a Canadian politician. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she currently represents the electoral district of Humber River—Black Creek in the House of Commons of Canada. Sgro currently serves as ...

. He defeated Adams at the July 26, 2015, nomination meeting by 1,936 to 1,100 votes. In the general election, Mendicino faced the incumbent Conservative MP Joe Oliver, who was

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, as well as a surprise

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

nominee in former

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

finance minister Andrew Thomson. Mendicino attacked Thomson as a

parachute candidate A parachute candidate, or carpetbagger in the United States, is a pejorative term for an election candidate who does not live in, and has little connection to, the area they are running to represent. The allegation is thus that the candidate is b ...

. Ultimately, Mendicino won the election.

42rd Canadian Parliament

On January 30, 2017, Mendicino was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada () is a dual-role portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice () serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Department of Justice an ...

serving under Jody Wilson-Raybould. On August 31, 2018, he became Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Infrastructure and Communities The Minister of Infrastructure and Communities (french: Ministre de l’Infrastructure et des Collectivités) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the development of Canada's infrastructure. Infrastructure ...

serving under François-Philippe Champagne.

43rd Canadian Parliament

Mendicino was re-elected in the 2019 federal election and subsequently named

44th Canadian Parliament

Mendicino was re-elected in the 2021 federal election, and made

on October 26.

Emergencies Act

Minister Mendicino oversaw the first ever invocation of the

Emergencies Act The ''Emergencies Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures d'urgence) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, ...

in response to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests in February 2022. Scrutiny from media and opposition followed regarding whether the use of the Act was necessary. Media questioned whether law enforcement asked for the Act's use. This question stems from testimony on 26 April before the DEDC committee, in which he noted in response to a question from Bloc Quebecois MP Rheal Fortin that the government "invoked the act because it was the advice of non-partisan professional law enforcement that the existing authorities were ineffective at the time to restore public safety." In response to questions from Liberal MP Rachel Bendayan he said: Mendicino then addressed the media's questions surrounding cabinet confidence, and whether this provision would be lifted for the purposes of the public inquiry that is written into the

, called the Rouleau inquiry. On April 27, Prime Minister

told the

that "police were clear that they needed tools not held by any federal, provincial or territorial law." On 19 May 2022 Shadow Minister for Emergency Preparedness

Dane Lloyd Dane Lloyd (born February 16, 1991) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on October 23, 2017, following the resignation of Rona Ambrose. On 11 May 2022 RCMP Commissioner

Brenda Lucki Brenda Lucki is a Canadian police officer who was appointed the 24th commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on April 16, 2018. She is the first female to permanently hold the position. By virtue of her role, Lucki is the ''ex-offici ...

stated under oath to the DEDC committee that "while her agency was consulted, it never requested nor recommended the mergency Acts use". On 17 May the interim Ottawa police chief Steve Bell testified at PROC committee that at he did not request the invocation of the

from the government. Another police service that was involved in the

Freedom Convoy A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

protests was the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...

, and testimony on 24 March before the SECU committee from its commissioner Thomas Carrique led many to believe that Carrique made the request, Mendicino clarified in testimony given to the SECU committee on 17 May when he prevaricated. Mendicino's Deputy Minister answered questions before the DEDC committee on 8 June, in which he testified that the minister "was misunderstood", and on 14 June the Official Opposition called for Mendicino to resign. On 15 June before the DEDC committee, Minister for Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair and

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Libe ...

spoke to questions about recommendations from law enforcement to invoke the Emergencies Act. Minister Blair notes, "I’m not aware of any recommendation of law enforcement. Quite frankly, this is a decision of government." Deputy Prime Minister Freeland said "I would like to take the personal responsibility for that decision o invoke the Emergencies Act it was my opinion it was the correct decision," and "a last resort". DEDC committee co-chair Fortin was unable to get a direct answer to his questions about what steps the federal government tried taking before invoking the last resort. MP and committee co-chair Matthew Green repeatedly asked whether Freeland "took notes at high-level meetings she had with bank officials about the economic measures in the emergency declaration," and after getting no response during his allotted time for questions, a frustrated Green said "that is unreal."

Electoral record

References

External links

Official site

Bio & mandate from the Prime Minister
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendicino, Marco 1973 births Living people Canadian people of Italian descent Carleton University alumni Canadian prosecutors Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Osgoode Hall Law School faculty People from Old Toronto Politicians from Toronto University of Windsor alumni York University alumni University of Windsor Faculty of Law alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians