Maurizio Bevilacqua

Maurizio Bevilacqua, PC, BA (born June 1, 1960) is a Canadian politician and mayor of Vaughan, Ontario. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1988 to 2010 and was one of eleven candidates for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada but dropped out of the race on August 14, 2006. He has been described in the media as a "right-of-centre, business friendly Liberal".

He resigned his seat in the Canadian House of Commonsand announced on September 3, 2010, that he would be a candidate for mayor of Vaughan. On October 25 he was elected mayor.

Born in Sulmona, Italy, he arrived in Canada in 1970 at the age of 10. As a youth, he attended Emery Collegiate and received a Bachelor of Arts from York University. He has two children, Jean-Paul and Victoria.

He first got involved in party politics by working as a staffer for Sergio Marchi, and would later participate in student politics at York University.

Initially elected in the 1988 election, he defeated the Progressive Conservative candidate by only 77 votes. Due to the closeness of the race, the results were voided by the courts, and a by-election was called for 1990.

Bevilacqua surprised many when he defeated parachute candidate Maria Minna for the Liberal nomination in the 1990 by-election of York North. He won the by-election by over 7,000 votes, despite a strong effort by the New Democratic Party.

Bevilacqua represented the districts of York North (1988–1997), Vaughan—King—Aurora (1997–2004) and Vaughan (2004–2010). He is a former secretary of state (Science, Research and Development) and (International Financial Institutions). He is also a former parliamentary secretary to the minister of Labour (Human Resources Development) and to the Minister of Employment and Immigration (Human Resources Development). He was formerly a consultant.

He was the longtime chair of the Commons finance committee. While a fiscal conservative, Bevilacqua has supported same-sex marriage.

In addition, Bevilacqua is against abortion.

"Hon. members, everything I believe, everything that I hold dear, my social and cultural make-up, my personal beliefs as a human being, tells me that abortion is wrong. I feel within myself, passionately, that abortion is against the natural order. It negates the essence of our being" - Maurizio Bevilacqua (Hansard, November 27, 1989).

"I do not understand how any of us can accept giving the responsibility and the right to anyone to decide on who will live and who will not" - Maurizio Bevilacqua (Hansard, November 27, 1989).

Bevilacqua was the first Liberal to declare his support for Paul Martin's failed 1990 bid for the leadership of the party.

Bevilacqua supports a common integration with the U.S. Dollar Currency. "Mr. Bevilacqua's outspoken criticism of economic protectionism, and his support for continental integration and a common currency with the United States, could put him at odds with more traditional Liberals." National Post

He holds the record for the largest personal margin of victory in a Canadian federal election, winning his seat by a margin of 51,389 votes over his closest rival in 1993.

On April 19, 2006, he declared his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party, joining Martha Hall Findlay, Michael Ignatieff, and Stéphane Dion as official entrants into the leadership race. His supporters included MPs Gerry Byrne and Roy Cullen, former Cabinet minister Roy MacLaren and former party pollster Michael Marzolini. He also attracted the support of former Chrétien organizers Tennio Evangelista, Jeff Angel and Jeff Smith. His campaign for the Liberal Party leadership was not successful and he dropped out of the race on August 14, 2006 to support fellow Liberal Party leadership candidate Bob Rae.

Bevilacqua officially announced in early September 2010 that he was running in the 2010 Vaughan municipal election for the position of mayor. The announcement came shortly after his resignation as Member of Parliament for Vaughan.

He defeated controversial incumbent Linda Jackson, the former mayor who was still facing charges from election finance irregularities stemming from her 2006 mayoral victory.