Joe Peschisolido

The Honourable Joe Peschisolido PC MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Steveston—Richmond East
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	new district
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Richmond
In office November 27, 2000 – January 28, 2004
Preceded by	Raymond Chan
Succeeded by	Raymond Chan
Personal details
Born	April 27, 1963 Toronto, Ontario
Political party	Liberal (2002–present)
Other political affiliations	Reform (1993-2000) Canadian Alliance (2000-2002)
Residence	Richmond, British Columbia
Profession	Lawyer

Joe Peschisolido (born April 27, 1963) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He has a Bachelor of Arts (honours) degree in Political Science from Trinity College at the University of Toronto and a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Peschisolido is a practising lawyer with the law firm of Ryan, Peschisolido & Company in the areas of Corporate, Commercial, Wills and Estates, Real Estate and Immigration Law,^[1] and is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, as well as a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

In his free time, Peschisolido is a philanthropist and legal volunteer for the Richmond and Steveston, British Columbia communities, assisting several environmental, animal and civil rights causes.

Political career

For decades, Peschisolido was a member of the Liberal Party, where he had worked as a youth co-ordinator for Jean Chrétien’s 1990 leadership campaign. He was a candidate in Etobicoke North for two elections, placing second in both turnouts. In 1993, he joined the Reform Party of Canada (later the Canadian Alliance), where he was elected as Member of Parliament for Richmond in the 2000 general election, defeating Liberal incumbent, Raymond Chan.

In 2002, Peschisolido left the Canadian Alliance and crossed the floor to the Liberal Party without consulting with his constituents. This was due to the “process of political realignment” which eliminated both the Canadian Alliance Party and the Progressive Conservative Party, and instead creating the Conservative Party of Canada.

While serving in office, Peschisolido fought to protect the rights of taxpayers by introducing the “Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights” in the 37th Parliament’s first, second, and third sessions.^[2]

In 2002, Peschisolido helped broker the original Garden City land deal, which saw the transfer of said lands from the Canadian federal government to the City of Richmond. This deal would have seen the City of Richmond receive 75 to 80 percent of the land, with the rest of the property set aside for a trade and exhibition center, as well as commercial development.^[3]

In 2003 he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.^[4] He was also Vice-Chair for the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.^[5]

In 2011, Peschisolido won the Liberal Party nomination for Member of Parliament for Richmond at the 2011 Canadian federal election.

On August 11, 2015, Peschisolido again won the Liberal Party nomination for Member of Parliament in the new riding of Steveston—Richmond East for the 2015 Canadian federal election.^[6]

On October 19, 2015, as a Liberal Party majority government was formed,^[7] Peschisolido was returned to Parliament.^[8]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Steveston—Richmond East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Joe Peschisolido	19,486	45.1	+26.5	–
	Conservative	Kenny Chiu	16,630	38.5	-15.42	–
	New Democratic	Scott Stewart	5,248	12.1	-10.72	–
	Green	Laura-Leah Shaw	1,587	3.7	-0.44	–
	Libertarian	Matthew Swanston	274	0.6	–	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,225	100.0		$203,894.63
Total rejected ballots			287	–	–
Turnout			43,512	60.8%	–
Eligible voters			71,526
	Liberal notional gain from Conservative		Swing		+20.96
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]

Canadian federal election, 2011: Richmond
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Alice Wong	25,109	58.36	+8.59	$89,330.05
	Liberal	Joe Peschisolido	8,027	18.66	-12.19	$54,757.85
	New Democratic	Dale Jackaman	7,860	18.27	+6.46	$9,038.79
	Green	Michael Wolfe	2,032	4.72	-1.71	$2,933.09
Total valid votes/Expense limit			43,028	100.0		$91,788.64
Total rejected ballots			220	0.51	+0.06
Turnout			43,248	50.97	+1
Eligible voters			84,855
	Conservative hold		Swing		+10.39

Canadian federal election, 2000: Richmond
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Alliance	Joe Peschisolido	21,064	44.40	+8.44	$58,128
	Liberal	Raymond Chan	19,940	42.04	-1.77	$63,896
	New Democratic	Gail Paquette	2,695	5.68	-3.88	$10,941
	Progressive Conservative	Frank Peter Tofin	2,578	5.43	-2.85	$4,329
	Green	Kevan Hudson	897	1.89	+0.53	$61
	Natural Law	Kathy McClement	164	0.34	-0.05
	Marxist–Leninist	Edith Petersen	93	0.19	-0.02	$10
Total valid votes			47,431	100.0
Total rejected ballots			218	0.47	-0.03
Turnout			47,649	61.70	-3.19
	Alliance gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.10

By-election on March 25, 1996 Etobicoke North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Roy Cullen	12,290	46.3	-9.3
	Reform	Joe Peschisolido	9,563	36.0	+17.2
	Progressive Conservative	Mario Annecchini	2,812	10.6	-8.2
	New Democratic	Maxine Caron	1,400	5.3	+1.6
	Christian Heritage	Ron Gray	284	1.1
	Abolitionist	John Turmel	104	0.4
	Independent	Sylvie Charbin	96	0.4
Total valid votes			26,549	100.0

Canadian federal election, 1993: Etobicoke North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Liberal	Roy MacLaren	28,015	55.6	+10.3
	Reform	Joe Peschisolido	9,470	18.8
	Progressive Conservative	Jane MacLaren	9,470	18.8	-15.8
	New Democratic	Carmela Sasso	1,839	3.7	-13.7
	National	Emanuele Danelon	661	1.3
	Libertarian	Daniel Hunt	363	0.7	-0.2
	Natural Law	Marilyn Pepper	353	0.7
	Independent	Antonio De Felice	105	0.2
	Marxist–Leninist	David Greig	104	0.2	+0.1
Total valid votes			50,380	100.0

References

1. "Ryan, Peschisolido & Co.".
2. "Bills Sponsored by Joe Peschisolido".
3. "Joe Peschisolido Begins Political Comeback".
4. "Peschisolido as Parliamentary Secretary".
5. "Peschisolido as Vice Chair".
6. "Joe Peschisolido Accepts Steveston—Richmond East Liberal Party Nomination for Fall 2015 Election".
7. "Justin Trudeau and the Liberals Have a Majority Government".
8. "Liberal Joe Peschisolido Elected Member of Parliament Representing Steveston-Richmond East".
9. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Steveston—Richmond East, 30 September 2015
10. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Joe Peschisolido – Parliament of Canada biography