Tony Grande

Tony Grande
Ontario MPP
In office 1975–1987
Preceded by	New riding
Succeeded by	Chaviva Hošek
Constituency	Oakwood
Personal details
Born	(1943-01-11)January 11, 1943 Calabria, Italy
Died	Toronto, Ontario
Political party	New Democrat
Spouse(s)	Helen Schlanger
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 who represented the Toronto riding of Oakwood.

Background

Grande was born in Calabria, Italy, and moved to Canada with his family at age eleven. 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.

In 1974 he married Helen Schlanger. They had three children: Aaron David (1977), Daniel Robert (1979) and Laura Simone (1983).

Politics

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

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. He lost to moderate Tory candidate Fergy Brown.

Death

Grande died of cancer on August 9, 2006, following a four-year illness.

Electoral Record

1988 Toronto municipal election, Mayor of York

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

Ontario general election, 1987: Oakwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Chaviva Hošek	11,192	48.28
	New Democratic	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

Ontario general election, 1985: Oakwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic	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

Ontario general election, 1981: Oakwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	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

Ontario general election, 1977: Oakwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	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

Ontario general election, 1975: Oakwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic	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.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History