Antonio (Tony) Lupusella (born June 12, 1944) is a former

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 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 1975 to 1990. Originally a

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 ...

, he later

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to 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 ...

Background

Before entering politics, Lupusella worked with ''Centro'' an Italian organization that grew out of the Union of Injured Workers.

Politics

He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent George Nixon by 1,465 votes in the west-

Toronto 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 ...

riding of

Dovercourt Dovercourt is a small seaside town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Harwich, in the Tendring district, in the county of Essex, England. It is older than its smaller but better-known neighbour, the port of Harwich, and appears in th ...

. The NDP won several Italian ridings in Toronto during this election. He was re-elected over Nixon by a greater margin in the 1977 election. In the 1981 provincial election, he was re-elected over Liberal Gil Gillespie by only 294 votes, as the Liberal Party increased its presence in the city. Lupusella defeated Gillespie a second time, by only 77 votes in the 1985 provincial election. Following this election, the Liberals and NDP formed a two-year parliamentary alliance, and defeated the Progressive Conservative government in the legislature (the PCs had previously governed Ontario since 1943). Redistribution of electoral boundaries forced Lupusella to run against fellow NDP Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP)

Ross McClellan Ross A. McClellan (born October 8, 1942) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1987 as a member of the New Democratic Party. Background McClellan was educated at St. Michael' ...

for the party's nomination in Dovercourt after McClellan's Bellwoods riding was eliminated. McClellan defeated Lupusella and, on December 17, 1986, Lupusella

to join the Liberal caucus of Premier

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgro ...

as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

er. In the 1987 provincial election, Lupusella defeated McClellan by 907 votes. He served as a

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 ...

to the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Government Services from 1987 to 1990. The Liberals were defeated by the NDP in the 1990 provincial election, and Lupusella lost his seat to NDP candidate

Tony Silipo Tony Silipo (August 10, 1957 – March 10, 2012) was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1999 representing the New Democratic Party in the downtown Toronto riding of Dovercourt. In 1999 he was ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lupusella, Tony 1944 births Italian emigrants to Canada Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Living people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs