Mario Silva

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Mario Silva : biography

June 11, 1966 –

|Communist |Miguel Figueroa |align="right"|172 |align="right"|0.5% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Canadian Action |Wendy Forrest |align="right"|122 |align="right"|0.4% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Marxist-Leninist |Sarah Thompson |align="right"|103 |align="right"|0.3% |align="right"| |align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes !align="right"|38,892 !align="right"|100.00% !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots !align="right"|240 !align="right"|0 !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Turnout !align="right"|39,132 of 62,007 !align="right"|63.1% !align="right"| !align="right"|

Source:

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|Liberal |Mario Silva |align="right"|16,773 |align="right"|50.68% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|New Democratic Party |Rui Pires |align="right"|11,292 |align="right"|34.12% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Conservative |Theresa Rodrigues |align="right"|3,077 |align="right"|9.29% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Marijuana |Elmer Gale |align="right"|251 |align="right"|0.75% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Communist |Johan Boyden |align="right"|137 |align="right"|0.41% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Canadian Action |John Riddell |align="right"|97 |align="right"|0.29% |align="right"| |align="right"|

|Marxist-Leninist |Sarah Thompson |align="right"|79 |align="right"|0.23% |align="right"| |align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes !align="right"|33,090 !align="right"|99.17% !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots !align="right"|278 !align="right"|0.83% !align="right"| !align="right"| |- bgcolor="white" !align="right" colspan=3|Turnout !align="right"|33,368 of 63,095 !align="right"|52.89% !align="right"| !align="right"|

Source:

Federal politics

Silva’s move to federal politics saw him claim the Liberal nomination in Davenport instead of Liberal incumbent Charles Caccia. An ally of new Prime Minister Paul Martin, Silva was seen by the party as a preferable candidate to Caccia.

As a Member of Parliament Silva served on several committees including the Environment Committee and the Canadian Heritage Committee. He has championed several human rights and environmental issues including being the first MP to back the Canadian Boreal Initiative, and an outspoken critic for the defence of undocumented workers.

Silva chaired the inquiry panel of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA), a multi-partisan group of MPs which has been conducting investigations into antisemitism in Canada. He is vice-chair of the CPCCA’s steering committee, which organized an international conference on antisemitism in Ottawa in 2010.

Silva was the first Portuguese-Canadian Member of Parliament.

Shortly after the election, Silva came out as gay in a Toronto Star profile.

Silva retained the seat in the 2006 election and was the only GTA Liberal MP to increase his voter margin but was defeated in the 2011 election, losing his seat to Andrew Cash. Silva will assume the role of the Chair the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF) in 2013.