Anthony William Grande | |
---|---|
MPP for Oakwood | |
In office 1975–1987 |
|
Preceded by | Riding established |
Succeeded by | Chaviva Hošek |
Personal details | |
Born | August 9, 2006 Toronto, Ontario |
(aged 63)
Political party | New Democrat |
Domestic partner | Helen Schlanger |
Residence | Toronto |
Occupation | Teacher |
Anthony William (Tony) Grande (January 11, 1943 — August 9, 2006) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1987, as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP).
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Grande was born in Calabria, Italy, and moved to Canada with his family at age eleven.[1] He was educated at the University of Toronto, Lakeshore Teacher's College and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and worked as a teacher with the Toronto District School Board. Prior to his election, he was teacher liaison chair for the New Democratic Party.[2]
In 1974 he married Helen Grande (née Schlanger). They had three children: Aaron David (1977), Daniel Robert (1979) and Laura Simone (1983).
Grande was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, and re-elected in 1977, 1981 and 1985. He served as NDP education critic in the early 1980s, and was reassigned as critic for citizenship, culture and special issues of education in 1983.[3]
Grande supported Bob Rae's successful campaign for the NDP leadership in 1982, and was subsequently asked to relinquish his seat to allow Rae to run for a position in the legislature. He declined, arguing that the local Italian community in his riding would be upset if he were forced to resign in favour of a non-Italian.[4]
Grande was a strong advocate for multiculturalism and multicultural services during his time. He supported minority language rights in education, and in 1986 he introduced a Private Member's Bill that would have made it easier for students to be taught in languages other than English or French.[5] The bill died on the order paper when a new election was called in 1987. Grande was also an advocate for labour, and successfully represented three workers from a North York factory before the Ontario Labour Relations Board in 1979-80.[6] He also supported the rights of tenants, and promoted legislation to permit persons over sixteen years of age to gain access to their medical records.[7]
The Progressive Conservative Party, which had governed Ontario since 1943, was reduced to a minority government in the 1985 election. After the election, the NDP provided outside support to allow the Liberal Party to form a new administration. The Liberal government was still popular in office after two years, and won a landslide majority government in the 1987 election. Grande lost his seat to Liberal star candidate Chaviva Hošek, and worked as a health and safety officer after leaving office.[8]
He campaigned for Mayor of York in 1988, describing the city's government as a "family compact" and promising to fight for an increased share of Metropolitan Toronto's tax base.[9] He lost to moderate Tory candidate Fergy Brown.
Grande died of cancer on August 9, 2006, following a four-year illness. His family requested that mourners give donations to Amnesty International or the Princess Margaret Foundation in lieu of flowers.[10]
Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes |
---|---|---|
Fergy Brown | 21,493 | 58.74 |
Tony Grande | 13,616 | 37.21 |
Mario Faraone | 1,482 | 4.05 |
Total valid votes | 36,591 | 100.00 |
Results taken from the Globe and Mail newspaper, 16 November 1988, A16. The final official results were not significantly different.
1987 Ontario provincial election : Oakwood edit | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
Liberal | Chaviva Hosek | 11,192 | 48.28 | |||
New Democratic Party | (x)Tony Grande | 9,861 | 42.54 | |||
Progressive Conservative | Irene Paparo-Stein | 1,573 | 6.79 | |||
Communist | Geoffrey Da Silva | 556 | 2.40 | |||
Total valid votes | 23,182 | 100.00 | ||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 275 | |||||
Turnout | 23,457 | 67.29 | ||||
Electors on the lists | 34,860 |
1985 Ontario provincial election : Oakwood edit | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
New Democratic Party | (x)Tony Grande | 10,407 | 41.63 | |||
Liberal | Joe Ricciuti | 9,631 | 38.52 | |||
Progressive Conservative | Harriet Wolman | 4,636 | 18.54 | |||
Communist | Mike Sterling | 327 | 1.31 | |||
Total valid votes | 25,001 | 100.00 | ||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 308 | |||||
Turnout | 25,309 | 68.62 | ||||
Electors on the lists | 36,884 |
1981 Ontario provincial election : Oakwood edit | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | Expenditures | |
New Democratic Party | (x)Tony Grande | 8,862 | 45.17 | $12,929 | ||
Progressive Conservative | Harriet Wolman | 5,961 | 30.39 | $24,885 | ||
Liberal | Jean M. Gammage | 4,171 | 21.26 | $14,485 | ||
Communist | Nan McDonald | 624 | 3.18 | $1,122 | ||
Total valid votes | 19,618 | 100.00 | ||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 315 | |||||
Turnout | 19,933 | 56.22 | ||||
Electors on the lists | 35,453 |
1977 Ontario provincial election : Oakwood edit | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | +/- | Expenditures | |
New Democratic Party | (x)Tony Grande | 9,214 | 43.48 | $14,076 | ||
Progressive Conservative | Fergy Brown | 6,379 | 30.10 | $23,388 | ||
Liberal | Richard Meagher | 5,046 | 23.81 | $21,168 | ||
Communist | Val Bjarnason | 229 | 1.08 | $1,920 | ||
Independent | Willis Cummins | 170 | 0.80 | $224 | ||
Libertarian | Alex Eaglesham | 153 | 0.72 | $0 | ||
Total valid votes | 21,191 | 100.00 | ||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 270 | |||||
Turnout | 21,461 | 64.98 | ||||
Electors on the lists | 33,027 |
1975 Ontario provincial election : Oakwood edit | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
New Democratic Party | Tony Grande | 7,388 | 39.25 | |||
Liberal | Richard Meagher | 5,970 | 31.71 | |||
Progressive Conservative | Joseph Marrese | 4,637 | 24.63 | |||
Independent | Marvin Gordon | 558 | 2.96 | |||
Communist | Val Bjarnason | 271 | 1.44 | |||
Total valid votes | 18,824 | 100.00 | ||||
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 253 | |||||
Turnout | 19,077 | 59.66 | ||||
Electors on the lists | 31,975 |
All provincial election information is taken from Elections Ontario.