Tony Valeri

Tony Valeri, PC (born August 11, 1957) is the interim CEO of the Hamilton Port Authority. Previously, Valeri was the Canadian Government House Leader in Paul Martin's government from 2004 until 2006. He was narrowly defeated by New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Wayne Marston in the 2006 general election held on January 23, 2006.

Biographical sketch

Valeri grew up in Hamilton's north-end in the working class Barton and Sherman neighbourhood, the son of Italian immigrants Enzo and Maria Valeri, who arrived in Hamilton in the early fifties. He graduated from Bishop Ryan High School and then attended McMaster University, earning a BA in Economics. Prior to his political career, Valeri served as President of Canadian Financial Group Ltd. Valeri represented the ridings of Lincoln (1993-1997), then Stoney Creek (1997-2004) and Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (2004-2006). Valeri lives with his wife Terri and children, Anthony and Luca in Stoney Creek.

Parliamentary career

Valeri first ran for office in the 1993 election, winning the Liberal Party nomination over former cabinet minister John Munro, and easily won in the Liberal sweep of Ontario. Valeri served as a backbencher and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance in 1997. He was appointed to the Cabinet on December 12, 2003, by incoming Prime Minister Paul Martin. Valeri is known for his close ties to industry and business, and his appointment to the transport portfolio was viewed positively by this group. He was also known as a supporter of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.

Nomination contest

In 2004, the decennial redistribution process took place and Valeri's old riding of Stoney Creek, which straddled the border between Hamilton and Grimsby, was split in two. A part of Valeri's Stoney Creek riding was merged with a part of Hamilton - East. A slight majority of the constituents of the new riding of Hamilton East - Stoney Creek were from Valeri's former riding. Although the other Hamilton-area Members of Parliament shifted to the eastward half of their ridings, in Valeri's case this would have meant shifting from a suburban Hamilton riding to the rural Niagara West—Glanbrook riding.

He therefore decided to run in the western half of his former riding, resulting in a passionate nomination battle with former cabinet heavyweight and party leadership candidate Sheila Copps. Some accused Martin of orchestrating these events to try to expel the left-leaning Copps from the House of Commons. Copps pointed out that Valeri lived in the Niagara West-Glanbrook riding that also included around 43% of his old constituents and an airport, the latter which complemented his Transport Ministry. In response, Valeri pointed out that Copps no longer lived in Hamilton, no Member of Parliament enjoyed any entitlement to any constituency without a nomination meeting and the majority of the constituents of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in fact originated from his Stoney Creek riding. On March 6, 2004, Valeri won the nomination by 311 votes. Stelco's economic troubles and the large pension deficit galvanized support for New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate Tony DePaulo in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. The conflict with Copps, public reaction to the first budget of the Ontario Liberals, as well as the government's sinking fortunes, almost cost him his seat, but he was narrowly (less than 1,000 votes) re-elected on June 28, 2004.

House Leader

On July 20, 2004, he was appointed to the sensitive position of Government House Leader in Paul Martin's minority government. Valeri's appointment to the position of House Leader was originally questioned by many, however Valeri was able to establish a working relationship with his counterparts.

As noted by Libby Davies, NDP House Leader, "We had some crazy moments but we always got down to business in a real way. It was a pleasure to work with (Valeri)". Former Conservative House Leader John Reynolds noted that "Tony was a great House Leader. A man of integrity and good humour."

Accomplishments

On July 7, 2005, the federal government announced the relocation of its CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory (CANMET-MTL) to the McMaster Innovation Park. This lab, housing over 100 scientists, will be the first major federal lab to be located in southern Ontario.

On October 24, 2005, the federal government announced that it would team up with the province of Ontario and the city of Hamilton to invest $105 million to improvement the City of Hamilton’s wastewater treatment system and clean up of Hamilton Harbour, along with the development of North Glanbrook Industrial Business Park.

On November 23, 2005 the federal government agreed to contribute $30 million to the cost of the proposed electricity cogeneration project. The contribution was part of Environment Canada’s Partnership Fund, an initiative announced in the 2005 Budget with the goal of facilitating project-specific climate change investments. Funding was originally expected to be provided in the first quarter of 2006 but the new Conservative government cancelled the initiative in June, 2006.

2006 election

On January 23, 2006, Valeri was narrowly defeated by a margin of less than 500 votes by the New Democratic Party candidate Wayne Marston. During the election, the Hamilton Spectator reported that Valeri had purchased a property for $225,000 only to later sell it to a Liberal supporter for $500,000 a few months later. While Valeri insisted that the Ethics Commissioner had cleared the transaction, lingering doubts about the sale remained.

A Salute to a Friend

Following the 2006 election, community leaders, including Labourers Union Vice President Joe Mancinelli and Hamilton philanthropists Charles and Margaret Juravinski organized a gala event entitled "A Salute to a Friend" to pay tribute to Valeri and his contribution to Hamilton. Held on June 26, 2006, the event was attended by many prominent Liberals, including former Prime Minister Paul Martin, the Right Honourable Herb Gray, Joe Fontana, Gerard Kennedy, Scott Brison, Jim Peterson and Marie Bountrogianni. Approximately 500 people attended this tribute dinner. Proceeds from the event were donated to the Juravinski Cancer Centre, in honour of Emilio Grimaldi, a friend of Valeri's who passed away from breast cancer several years earlier. Numerous speakers cited Valeri's commitment to Hamilton and Canada, touting many of his achievements, including the establishment of the CANMET lab in Hamilton and the funding provided to Hamilton to clean up its harbour and develop infrastructure to encourage economic development in the city.

Valeri was also saluted by people across the political spectrum, including the Honourable Monte Solberg, current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the Honourable Bill Graham, interim Liberal leader, the Honourable John Reynolds, the former Conservative House Leader, Buzz Hargrove, President of the Canadian Autoworkers Workers, Libby Davies, current NDP House Leader, Ralph Goodale, former Finance Minister and Michael Grimaldi, President of General Motors Canada.

Post 2006 Election

After his election defeat, Valeri established a public affairs and strategic consulting business and holds a residence position within the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University.

Given the very narrow margin of his defeat in the 2006 election, some have speculated that Valeri may seek a return to politics in the Hamilton East—Stoney Creek riding, although Valeri himself has not indicated whether he has an interest in returning to the House of Commons. At the Gala Tribute held in his honour, Valeri indicated that he wants to continue to serve the people of Hamilton and Stoney Creek, leaving open the option of a return to federal politics. [http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1137799508817] . However, on April 15, 2007, former Hamilton mayor Larry Di Ianni was nominated as the Liberal candidate for Hamilton East--Stoney Creek for the next federal election, precluding a rematch between Valeri and Marston at least for now. [http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1176871126119&call_pageid=1112188062597]

On December 5, 2007, the Hamilton Port Authority named Valeri its interim CEO effective on December 17, 2007. His appointment is scheduled to last up to four months or until a permanent replacement can be found. [http://www.investinhamilton.ca/pdf/MR-PortCEO.pdf]