Laura Albanese
| Laura Albanese | |
|---|---|
| MPP for York South—Weston | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 30, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Ferreira |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 1, 1957 Taranto, Italy |
| Political party | Ontario Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Germinio Pio Politi |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | journalist |
Laura Albanese (born 1 January 1957) is a Canadian politician, formerly a news anchor for Italian language news programming on Omni Television. She is the Member of Provincial Parliament in the Ontario Legislative Assembly for the riding of York South—Weston which is situated in the northwest part of Toronto. Albanese was elected as a Liberal in the Ontario general election of October 10, 2007.
Prior to her election as a Member of Provincial Parliament, Albanese enjoyed a career spanning over two decades in broadcast journalism. Throughout this time, Albanese played a central role in Italian language programming, holding key responsibilities with Omni News in a number of capacities including anchoring, hosting, reporting and producing.
In 2006, Albanese was named one of 32 Inspiring Canadian Women of Italian Origin by the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto.[1]
She is the Chair of the Toronto Caucus,[2] and the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.
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[edit] Background
Albanese was born in Taranto, Italy, in 1957 and after moving back and forth between Canada and Italy (and being influenced by both cultures), decided in 1981 to take up permanent residence in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, artist Germinio Pio Politi, her two adult children and her mother.
[edit] Journalism career
Albanese worked for CFMT as a broadcast journalist from 1984 to 2007.[3] She co-hosted Incontri with Vincenzo Somma. The show was an evening news show broadcast in the Italian language.[4] The show was awarded "Most Innovative Programme" in 1988 by the Canadian Ethnic Journalist’s Association.[citation needed]
Other shows that she worked on included Omni News: Italian Edition, Italianissimo, Telecorriere News, and Girotondo.
[edit] Political life
Albanese was appointed as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for the February 8, 2007 by-election for the Ontario Legislative Assembly in the York South—Weston. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament Joe Cordiano, who resigned his seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the fall of 2006 for personal reasons.[5] The appointment of Albanese as the Liberal candidate was contested by David-Paul Sip, another potential candidate. Sip said that his candidacy was ignored by the riding association who wanted someone who would appeal to the riding's large Italian-speaking community. Sip launched a lawsuit against the Liberal party but Albanese remained as the Liberal candidate.[6]
Albanese narrowly lost to Paul Ferreira of the New Democratic Party by 358 votes. Issues during the election included raising the minimum wage from $8 to $10 which was opposed by Albanese. Voters were also angered by legislators who had recently given themselves a 25% pay increase.[5]
Eight months later she was in a rematch with Ferreira in the Ontario General Election on October 10, 2007. This time with a much larger voter turnout, she edged Ferreira by 469 votes.[7]
Albanese was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Culture, Aileen Carroll. She is also vice-chair of the committee on Finance and Economic Affairs.[8]
During her first term as MPP, Albanese advocated for funding to build the Jane Street Hub, a $6 Million investment toward building a new school for St. John the Evangelist[9], a major expansion at West Park Healthcare Centre [10], 11 full day kindergartens in the first year of the program, and introduced a Private Members Motion calling on the Province to embrace electrification.
In 2011, Albanese announced that she would run in the 2011 provincial election.[11] She was subsequently re-elected to the Ontario Legislature on October 6, 2011.[12]
[edit] Electoral record
| Ontario general election, 2011 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
| Liberal | Laura Albanese | 13,862 | 44.7 | +1.8 | ||
| New Democrat | Paul Ferreira | 13,020 | 41.9 | +0.5 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Lan Daniel | 3,461 | 11.1 | +1.0 | ||
| Green | Keith Jarrett | 477 | 1.5 | -2.3 | ||
| Freedom | Eric Compton | 177 | 0.6 | - | ||
| Independent | Mark Radejewsky | 46 | 0.1 | - | ||
| Total valid votes | 31,043 | 100.0 | ||||
| Ontario general election, 2007 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
| Liberal | Laura Albanese | 13,812 | 42.9 | +1.5 | ||
| New Democrat | Paul Ferreira | 13,343 | 41.4 | -1.9 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Karen McMillan-Aver | 3,249 | 10.1 | -0.2 | ||
| Green | Anthony Gratl | 1,225 | 3.8 | +2.4 | ||
| Libertarian | Marco Dias | 382 | 1.2 | - | ||
| Family Coalition | Mariangela Sanabria | 214 | 0.7 | - | ||
| Total valid votes | 32,225 | 100.0 | ||||
| By-election on February 8, 2007[13] | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Democrat | Paul Ferreira | 8,188 | 43.3 | +24.0 | ||
| Liberal | Laura Albanese | 7,830 | 41.4 | -20.2 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Pina Martino | 1,941 | 10.3 | -4.9 | ||
| Green | Mir Kamal | 262 | 1.4 | -1.1 | ||
| Independent | Kevin Clarke | 220 | 1.2 | - | ||
| Independent | Mohammed Choudhary | 142 | 0.8 | - | ||
| Family Coalition | Mariangela Sanabria | 139 | 0.7 | -0.8 | ||
| Libertarian | Nunzio Venuto | 98 | 0.5 | - | ||
| Freedom | Wayne Simmons | 77 | 0.4 | - | ||
| Total valid votes | 18,897 | 100.0 | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ Song, Vivian (21 September 2006). "Sun's DeMontis an inspiration: Italian-Canadian women honoured". Toronto Sun. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2006/09/21/pf-1873356.html.
- ^ Liberal Party of Ontario. "Laura Albanese Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Culture (Culture): York South-Weston". http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/olp/OurTeam/WhoWeAre/MPPs/YorkSouthWeston/tabid/150/Default.aspx. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Collins, Michelle (26 December 2006). "News anchor seeking Liberal nomination in High Park". The Globe and Mail. p. 22.
- ^ Smith, Diane (15 July 1989). "Whatever language, the news gets through". The Globe and Mail. p. 9.
- ^ a b Campbell, Murray; Karen Howlett (9 February 2007). "NDP grabs Liberal seat in Ontario by-elections". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ Skinner, Justin (1 February 2007). "Liberal supporter sues Liberal party". York Guardian. p. 1.
- ^ Rankin, Jim (12 October 2007). "Rematch tilts Albanese's way; Ex-TV journalist 'tired but happy' to edge NDP's Ferreira eight months after close loss in by-election". Toronto Star. p. A19.
- ^ "Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Laura Albanese, MPP". http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=7085. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ Kim, Clark (Sept 14 2011). ".School lobbies for new building instead of addition". York Guardian. http://www.insidetoronto.com/community/education/article/1081295--school-lobbies-for-new-building-instead-of-addition. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Kim, Clark (Aug 24 2011). "West Park to renovate and expand". York Guardian. http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/1070351--west-park-to-renovate-and-expand. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ "Albanese named Liberal candidate in York South-Weston". North York Mirror. 31 May 2011. p. 1.
- ^ Kim, Clark (Oct 7 2011). ".YORK SOUTH-WESTON: Albanese edges Ferreira". York Guardian. http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/elections/article/1221545--york-south-weston-albanese-edges-ferreira. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ Elections Ontario, Unofficial results [York South-Weston]. 216 of 216 polls reporting. Accessed February 8, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Laura Albanese's official MPP site
- Laura Albanese's Ontario Liberal Party biography
- Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History
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