Anthony Roman Agr.Sc. (January 17, 1936 in Veľký Ruskov,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

– October 30, 1992 in

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

) was a politician in

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.

Early years

Roman was born in Czechoslovakia and eventually settled in Canada. He studied agricultural science and was a businessman before entering politics.

Municipal career

Roman served as the Township Councillor (1966-1968), Mayor of the Town of

from 1970 to 1984, Chair of the

Regional Municipality of York The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

in 1984.

Provincial politics

Roman was the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party candidate in

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 1975 Ontario general election, placing second behind

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 ...

Alfred Stong Alfred Joseph "Alf" Stong (born August 2, 1940) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1981. He represented the riding of York Centre. After his time in government h ...

Federal politics

In 1984 Roman was elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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 of ...

(MP) for the riding of

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket—A ...

from 1984 to 1988. Roman won the 1984 election in York North largely because of the controversial views of Progressive Conservative MP John Gamble. Because the PC and Liberal candidates were unpopular, community leaders asked Roman to stand as a "Coalition Candidate". Roman used the PC blue and Liberal red on his signs, and drew supporters from both parties. He was one of the very few MPs in recent decades to be elected as an independent candidate in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

Return to municipal politics

Roman did not seek re-election to the House of Commons in 1988 but instead endorsed Micheal O'Brien as the Progressive Conservative Candidate. Micheal O'Brien was one of the community leaders who had convinced Roman to run as a "Coalition" independent in 1984. Roman was returned as mayor of Markham, defeating Carole Bell, who had succeeded Roman as mayor upon his appointment as York chairman in 1984. He was easily re-elected in the 1991 municipal elections.

Community involvement

Cathedral of the Transfiguration-Markham-Ontario-20210615

Roman (along with financial backing from his uncle and businessman

Stephen Boleslav Roman Stephen Boleslav Roman (17 April 1921 – 23 March 1988) was a prominent Canadian mining engineer and mining executive of a Slovak origin. Business commentator Diane Francis described him as a self-made man in her book ''Controlling Interest''. A ...

) was instrumental in the design and construction of the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, a large Slovak Byzantine church built on open land in northwestern Markham.

Death

Roman died while still in office as Mayor in 1992.

Honours

Roman's name lives on in Markham: * Anthony Roman Avenue, a small residential street in

Cathedraltown, Ontario Cathedraltown is a planned neighbourhood with an estimated population of 3,000 in the City of Markham, just north of Toronto. Cathedraltown was named after the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, around which the neighbourhood was built. Geograp ...

* Roman Road in

Thornhill, Ontario Thornhill is a suburban district in the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada, split between the City of Vaughan (its western portion) and the City of Markham (its eastern portion), with Yonge Street forming the municipal boundary. Tho ...

is most likely named after Tony Roman * Anthony Roman Centre -

Markham Civic Centre The Markham Civic Centre is the city hall of the city of Markham, Ontario. The brick and glass Civic Centre was designed by architect Arthur Erickson with Richard Stevens Architects Limited and opened on May 25, 1990. Entrances, except the great ...

- Flato Markham Theatre - Unionville High School * Anthony Roman Award * Tony Roman Memorial Tournament - ice hockey ended in 2013 after 40 years

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Anthony 1936 births 1992 deaths Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Mayors of Markham, Ontario Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Naturalized citizens of Canada People from the Banská Bystrica Region Canadian people of Slovak descent People from Markham, Ontario