ORONTO – Two names I know well, because they were such a part of my personal history, became linked just a short few days ago. The first is Vince Gasparro, a young man whose youth belies his experience across several sectors, economic/finance, political and journalistic. 

The second is Eglinton-Lawrence, the name of the electoral constituency which I was privileged to represent in the most influential corridors of policy-making for the Canada that is and will be.

Vince Gasparro served as the Ontario Desk during the period when I was tasked with the duty of Chairing meetings of Ministers entrusted with Federal responsibilities in Ontario, and to see to it that the interests of the citizens of Ontario were well-served in government. Mr. Gasparro role in the Prime Minister’s Office involved following up on the decisions struck by our Ontario group and to support those decisions in the bureaucracies – political and institutional. He did well.

So well indeed that John Tory, former Ontario Conservative party Leader and later Mayor of Toronto, hired Vince Gasparro as his Chief of Staff. It would take a while to outline the academic and financial expertise that backed up, and continue to round out, his public persona. The Chairman of the Board at Postmedia, Paul Godfrey, an astute judge of character, recruited him to serve on its Board of Directors. Godfrey may soon have to bid him adieu.

Gasparro was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) in Eglinton-Lawrence, in an effort to return the riding to the Liberal fold. He has already started to assemble the current and former sympathizers and activists, many of whom were present on his nomination night at the Columbus Centre: Senator Toni Varone, the Hon. Marco Mendicino, Deputy Mayor Mike Colle, former candidate Arlena Hebert.

Eglinton-Lawrence is one of those ridings that the last two leaders of the OLP let fall by the wayside, no disrespect to the incumbent, Robin Martin, the MPP since 2018. If an election had been held yesterday, the Poll Aggregator, 338Canada (Ontario) says it would be a “toss-up” between the OLP and the PC.

The winds of change today favour Vince’s OLP – Robin Martin sent out a message on social media indicating that she will not seek re-election (see the tweet above). Corriere attempted to reach her by phone for comment but, as of going to print, she had not responded. Vince insists he is “now working twice as hard” to get the breakthrough outcome Provincial Liberals have so needed in the City.

In the pics below, some moments from the presentation of the candidate Vince Gasparro