Caroline Di Cocco 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 ...

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 ...

, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the riding of

Sarnia—Lambton Sarnia—Lambton (formerly known as Sarnia) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It is located in the area of the city of Sarnia, in the southwest corner of ...

for the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser since August 2022. The party espouses the principles of li ...

from 1999 to 2007 and was a cabinet minister in the government of

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nea ...

until her defeat in the 2007 provincial election.

Background

Di Cocco was born in Fontechiari, in

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and moved to Canada at a young age. She was educated at the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

, and worked as a music teacher before entering political life. She is also the author of a work entitled ''One By One ... Passo Dopo Passo'', chronicling the history of the Italian community in Sarnia from 1870 to 1990. In 1989, she founded the International Wine Gala.

Politics

Di Cocco served as a city councillor for

Sarnia City Council The Sarnia City Council is the governing body for the city of Sarnia, 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 po ...

from 1997 to 1999. She was elected to the Ontario legislature in the Ontario general election of 1999, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative Dave Boushy by almost 3000 votes in Sarnia—Lambton. The Progressive Conservatives won the election, and Di Cocco served as her party's critic for Culture, Recreation and Heritage for the next four years. She also became known for her promotion of local environmental issues. In 2002, she was awarded a knighthood (Cavalieri) by the

Republic of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. She was easily re-elected in the provincial election of 2003, defeating Tory candidate and private-school promoter Henk Vanden Ende by over 6000 votes. She was appointed

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 ...

to Michael Bryant in his capacity as Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal on October 23, 2003. On September 27, 2004, she was named Parliamentary Assistant to

Marie Bountrogianni Marie Bountrogianni (born December 10, 1956) is the former Dean of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University. She is also the former Chief psychologist of the Hamilton Board of Education, the former President and ...

in her capacity as Minister of Children and Youth Services. Di Cocco was appointed to cabinet on April 5, 2006, replacing

Madeleine Meilleur Madeleine Meilleur (born November 22, 1948) is a Canadian nurse, lawyer and former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2016. She represented the riding of Ottawa—Vanier. ...

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

. In the 2007 provincial election, Di Cocco was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Bob Bailey.

Cabinet positions

Electoral record

Swing: Swing: 4.80 from PC to Lib (Lib hold) Swing: 12.73 from Lib to PC (PC gain)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Di Cocco, Caroline Women government ministers of Canada Italian emigrants to Canada Living people Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Women MPPs in Ontario People from the Province of Frosinone Sarnia city councillors Year of birth missing (living people) Women municipal councillors in Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians