{{Short description|Italian-born Canadian politician (born 1950)}} {{About|the Canadian politician|the fictional detective|Joe Fontana (Law & Order)}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Joe Fontana | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}} | image = Joe Fontana 2012 (3x4 cropped).jpg | caption = Fontana in 2012 | office = 61st Mayor of London | term_start = December 1, 2010 | term_end = June 19, 2014 | predecessor = Anne Marie DeCicco-Best | successor = Joni Baechler | riding1 = London North Centre | parliament1 = Canadian | term_start1 = June 2, 1997 | term_end1 = September 20, 2006 | predecessor1 = ''District created'' | successor1 = Glen Pearson | riding2 = London East | parliament2 = Canadian | term_start2 = November 21, 1988 | term_end2 = June 1, 1997 | predecessor2 = Jim Jepson | successor2 = ''District abolished'' | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|1|13}} | birth_place = Cellara, Cosenza, Italy | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = | party = Liberal }}

'''Joseph Frank Fontana''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (born January 13, 1950) is an Italian-born Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to 2006, and mayor of London, Ontario from 2010 until his 2014 convictions for fraud and forgery.

==Life and career==

Fontana was born in Cellara, Cosenza, Italy in 1950, and moved to Canada with his parents at the age of four.

He studied chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo, but left school after becoming the drummer in a rock band. He later moved to London and briefly returned to school at the University of Western Ontario, but left to work in real estate and the insurance industry.

He opposed the building of a federal prison in London and soon became involved in local politics. In 1976 he ran for city council, representing Ward 3, but lost; in 1978 he also lost the Liberal nomination for the federal riding of London-Middlesex, but was elected to London City Council later in the year and served there until 1988, sitting on London's Board of Control from 1985 to 1988.

==As Member of Parliament==

In 1988 he was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the opposition and served as Critic for Urban Affairs and Housing. He also formed the band "True Grit" with several Liberals including Roger Gallaway and future prime minister Jean Chrétien (who played trombone). He became the Ontario chair of the Liberal caucus and was involved in the Task Force on Via Rail and the Task Force on the Economy and Recession. In 1990 he supported Paul Martin's attempt to become leader of the Liberal Party.

He was re-elected in 1993 and became parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Transport, playing a key role in, among other things, the introduction of the National Airports Policy. From 1996 to 1999 he served a record three times as chair of the national Liberal caucus and in 1999 became chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and the chair of the Southwestern Ontario Liberal caucus.

He served as Minister of Labour in Paul Martin's minority government until February 6, 2006, when Stephen Harper was sworn in as Prime Minister.

He was re-elected in 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2006. Appointed as the critic for Science and Research within the Liberal shadow cabinet, Mr. Fontana was strongly speculated to be considering a run for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, though he ultimately did not seek the post, supporting Gerard Kennedy instead.

==Election as mayor==

On September 8, 2006, Fontana announced that he would run for mayor in London against mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best. On September 20, 2006, Fontana formally resigned his seat in the House of Commons in order to run for mayor.<ref>Hansard, 39th Parliament, 1st Session, Number 049, [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1#SOB-1640752] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106171054/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1#SOB-1640752 |date=2016-01-06 }}. Accessed 21 September 2006.</ref><ref>Hansard, 39th Parliament, 1st Session, Number 049, [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1#SOB-1641285] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106171054/http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1#SOB-1641285 |date=2016-01-06 }}. Accessed 21 September 2006.</ref> He was unsuccessful, losing badly to Mayor DeCicco-Best.

He subsequently announced he would run in the 2010 London mayoral election, again against DeCicco-Best. Fontana won the mayoralty in that election.

As a member of the Privy Council of Canada, Fontana automatically received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

==Criminal convictions==

In October 2012, calls for Fontana's resignation as mayor were made amid allegations of misuse of government funds used to pay for his son's wedding. Some city councillors urged Fontana to step aside during the investigation.

On November 21, 2012, the London detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a press release announcing that Fontana had been charged with breach of trust by a public officer; fraud under $5,000; and uttering forged documents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/joe-fontana-mayor-of-london-ont-charged-with-fraud-1.1268913|title=Joe Fontana, mayor of London, Ont., charged with fraud|publisher=CBC News|date=November 21, 2012}}</ref>

On November 22, 2012, Fontana resigned from the London Police Services Board. Under municipal law governing Ontario, Police Services cannot allow an individual who is under investigation for a criminal offences to take part in any police function.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.police.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Newsroom/2012475.htm |title=Resignation of Mayor Joe Fontana from the London Police Services Board |publisher=London Police |date=November 22, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214185225/http://www.police.london.ca/d.aspx?s=%2FNewsroom%2F2012475.htm |archive-date=December 14, 2013 }}</ref> At the next meeting of council's Finance and Administrative Services Committee, its councillors asked that Fontanta step aside, voting by a 3–1 vote margin that he resign his council seat and duties as mayor, however the committee decision was not binding under the Municipal Act.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thespec.com/news/ontario/article/843568--motion-requesting-mayor-joe-fontana-to-leave-office-has-been-passed|title=Motion requesting Mayor Joe Fontana to leave office has been passed|work=Hamilton Spectator|date=November 26, 2012}}</ref> A council motion asking Fontana to leave office pending resolution of his criminal charges lost by a vote, 8–5.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lfpress.com/2012/12/11/london-mayor-joe-fontana-survives-step-aside-vote-8-5|title=Eight-member council bloc runs city, Henderson says|work=London Free Press|date=December 11, 2012}}</ref>

Fontana was found guilty of the charges by the Ontario Superior Court on June 13, 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/london-mayor-former-liberal-cabinet-minister-joe-fontana-guilty-of-fraud-and-forgery|title=Joe Fontana found guilty of fraud and forgery, judge 'perplexed' about why he did it|work=National Post|date=June 13, 2014}}</ref> and sentenced to serve 4 months under house arrest and 18 months on probation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/joe-fontana-former-london-mayor-gets-4-month-conditional-sentence-1.2707290|title=Joe Fontana, former London mayor, gets 4-month conditional sentence|publisher=CBC News|date=July 15, 2014}}</ref>

On June 16, 2014, Fontana announced he would be stepping down as mayor of London.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/joe-fontana-to-step-down-as-london-mayor-after-criminal-convictions/|title=Joe Fontana to step down as London mayor after criminal convictions|publisher=CTV News|date=June 16, 2014}}</ref> He formally resigned on June 19,<ref name=resigned>{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/19/joe-fontana-officially-resigns-as-mayor-of-london|title=Joe Fontana officially resigns as mayor of London|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=June 19, 2014}}</ref> and was temporarily succeeded by Ward 3 city councillor Joe Swan as acting mayor until a council vote the following week selected Joni Baechler as his formal successor until the 2014 municipal election.

==Electoral record== '''London mayoral election, 2010''' {| class="wikitable" |- ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="200px" | Mayoral Candidate [http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Elections/candidatelist_mayor.htm]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | % |- |Joe Fontana||48,626||47.2 |- |Anne Marie DeCicco-Best (X) || 46,089 || 44.8 |- |Cynthia Etheridge ||4,402 ||4.3 |- |Eric Southern ||644 || 0.6 |- |Ivan W. Kasiurak ||612 || 0.6 |- |Christopher R. Foerster ||462|| 0.4 |- |Aaron Broughm ||427 ||0.4 |- |Wayne Ford ||375 || 0.4 |- |Zak Young ||298 || 0.3 |- |Stephen Elliott Beckles ||252 ||0.2 |- |Tomasz Winnicki ||234 || 0.2 |- |Dan Lenart ||173||0.2 |- |Tom Ha ||149 || 0.1 |- |Ma'in Sinan ||128 ||0.1 |- |Jonas Richard White ||83 ||0.1 |- |}

'''London mayoral election, 2006''' {| class="wikitable" |- ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="200px" | Candidate ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Vote ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | % |- |Anne Marie DeCicco-Best (X) || 57,891 ||57.7 |- |Joe Fontana || 35,083 ||35.7 |- |Cynthia Etheridge || 2,561 || 2.6 |- |Ivan W. Kasiurak || 1,905 || 1.9 |- |Arthur Majoor || 1,623 || 1.6 |- |Matthew L. R. Shantz || 532 ||0.5 |}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2006|percent=yes|change=yes|expenditures=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Joe Fontana|24,109|40.12|-2.96|$78,406}} {{CANelec|CA|Conservative|John Mazzilli|17,968|29.90|+2.46|$63,536}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Stephen Maynard|14,271|23.75|-0.39|$20,817}} {{CANelec|CA|Green|Stuart Smith|3,300|5.49|+0.72|$2,442}} {{CANelec|CA|Progressive Canadian|Rod Morley|283|0.47|+0.03|$2,852}} {{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Margaret Mondaca|160|0.27|+0.14|$0.00}} {{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2004|percent=yes|change=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Joe Fontana|21,472|43.08|-8.46}} {{CANelec|CA|Conservative|Tim Gatten|13,677|27.44|-9.57}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Joe Swan|12,034|24.14|+15.24}} {{CANelec|CA|Green|Bronagh Joyce Morgan|2,376|4.77|+3.23}} {{CANelec|CA|Progressive Canadian|Rod Morley|220|0.44|&ndash;}} {{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Gustavo Grandos-Ocon|67|0.13|&ndash;}} {{end}} ^ Conservative change is from combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative totals.

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|2000|percent=yes|change=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Joe Fontana|22,795 |51.54|-0.18}} {{CANelec|CA|Canadian Alliance|Nancy Branscombe |9,062 |20.49|+5.30}} {{CANelec|CA|PC|Lorie Johnson|7,305|16.52|-0.95}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Colleen Redmond|3,936|8.90|-3.39}} {{CANelec|CA|Green|Jeremy McNaughton|681|1.54|+0.06 }} {{CANelec|CA|Marijuana|Tim Berg|453|1.02| - }} {{end}}

^ Canadian Alliance change is from Reform

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1997|percent=yes|change=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Joe Fontana|23,891|51.72| }} {{CANelec|CA|PC|Jim Henkel|8,072|17.47| }} {{CANelec|CA|Reform|Tara Bingham|7,016|15.19| }} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Colleen Redmond|5,679|12.29| }} {{CANelec|CA|Green|Jeff Culbert|685|1.48| }} {{CANelec|CA|Christian Heritage|Ken Devries|375|0.81| }} {{CANelec|CA|Independent|Michael Rubinoff|336|0.73| }} {{CANelec|CA|Marxist-Leninist|Vera Cruise|138|0.30| }} {{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1993|percent=yes|change=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Joe Fontana|28,279|55.8% |+18.1%}} {{CANelec|CA|PC|Rob Alder|9,237|18.2% |-19.3%}} {{CANelec|CA|Reform|Paul Cheng|8,704|17.2% |+17.2%}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Alfredo Marroquin|2,614|5.2% |-19.2%}} {{CANelec|CA|National|Bill Cecil-Smith|830|1.6% |+1.6%}} {{CANelec|CA|Green|Jeff Culbert|567|1.1% |+1.1%}} {{CANelec|CA|Natural Law|Jim Hill|282|0.6% |+0.6%}} {{CANelec|CA|Canada Party|Al Plumb|108|0.2% |+0.2%}} {{CANelec|CA|Commonwealth of Canada|Sid Tarleton|31|0.1% |+0.1%}} {{end}}

{{Canadian election result/top|CA|1988|percent=yes|change=yes}} {{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Joe Fontana|19,547|37.7% |+11.8%}} {{CANelec|CA|PC|Jim Jepson|19,445|37.5% |-9.7%}} {{CANelec|CA|NDP|Marion Boyd|12,667|24.4% |-2.5%}} {{CANelec|XX|Independent|Peter Ewart|201|0.4% |+0.4%}} {{end}}

==See also== * List of University of Waterloo people

==References== <references/>

==External links== *{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=3819}}

{{s-start}} {{Canadian federal ministry navigational box header |ministry=27}} {{ministry box cabinet posts | post1preceded = Claudette Bradshaw | post1 = Minister of Labour | post1note = styled as Minister of Labour and Housing | post1years = 2004–2006 | post1followed = Jean-Pierre Blackburn }} {{s-end}}

{{Mayors of London, Ontario}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontana, Joe}} Category:1950 births Category:21st-century mayors of places in Ontario Category:Italian emigrants to Canada Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Category:University of Western Ontario alumni Category:Mayors of London, Ontario Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Cosenza Category:Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Category:21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada