Francis Scarpaleggia

Francis Scarpaleggia MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis
Incumbent
Assumed office June 28, 2004
Preceded by	Clifford Lincoln
Personal details
Born	(1957-06-06) June 6, 1957 Montreal, Quebec
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Jan Scarpaleggia
Residence	Kirkland, Quebec
Profession	business consultant/financial analyst/university professor

Francis Scarpaleggia, MP (born June 6, 1957 in Montreal, Quebec) is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada (since 1985) and Member of Parliament for the riding of Lac-Saint-Louis, which encompasses the western tip of the island of Montreal, Quebec. Scarpaleggia was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2004 federal election, and re-elected in the 2006 election, both times by large margins. In the 2011 election he was re-elected by a more narrow margin.

Biography

Scarpaleggia, the son of Maurice and Lois Scarpaleggia, was raised in the Laval and the Mount Royal, both suburbs of the City of Montreal. Scarpaleggia completed his Bachelor’s degree in economics at McGill University and his Master’s degree in economics at Columbia University in New York City before spending several years working in the private sector. Scarpaleggia holds an MBA from Concordia University, as well as a diploma in business administration from McGill.

He has held positions at Petro-Canada and Bristol-Myers Squibb, in addition to running his own company. Prior to his career in politics, Scarpaleggia was a professor of business administration at Montreal’s Dawson College, where he taught marketing, accounting and entrepreneurship.

Scarpaleggia held the position of senior political advisor to Clifford Lincoln, Member of Parliament for the riding of Lachine—Lac-Saint-Louis (1993–1997) and the more recently formed riding of Lac-Saint-Louis (1997–2004).

Scarpaleggia is married and resides in the City of Kirkland with his wife, Jan, and two children; Caroline and Mia.

Political life

2004-2006

Elected by one of the largest margins in the country in the 2004 Canadian federal election, Scarpaleggia became a member of the Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, and the Committee on Transport. He was also an associate member of the Committee of Canadian Heritage and the Committee of Environment and Sustainable Development.

Scarpaleggia voiced objections to plans to reduce the flight attendant-to-passenger ratio on Canadian commercial flights, plans which would have been detrimental to air safety as highlighted by the crash of Air France flight 358 at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

Scarpaleggia was one of a small minority of Liberal MPs to vote against Bill C-38, which formally legalized same-sex marriage in Canada in accordance with a ruling by the judiciary.

Since October 2005, Scarpaleggia has chaired a new national Liberal caucus on water. As chair, Scarpaleggia has led the caucus as it focuses on the political, legislative, scientific, and public health issues surrounding Canada’s water supplies.

2006-present

Re-elected with a large margin in the Canadian federal election, 2006, and one of only thirteen Liberal MPs remaining in the province of Quebec, Scarpaleggia was named Associate Critic to the Minister of Heritage. Additionally, Scarpaleggia was named to the Committee of Canadian Heritage, and the Committee of Environment and Sustainable Development.

During the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership contest Scarpaleggia was one of two Quebec MPs who backed the candidacy of Stéphane Dion, who ultimately went on to win the race on December 2, 2006 at the Montreal convention centre.

Scarpaleggia once again broke with his party and voted with the Conservative government to re-open the same-sex marriage debate on December 7, 2006 (see Members of the 39th Canadian Parliament and same-sex marriage), the only Quebec Liberal MP to do so.

On October 9, 2007, Scarpaleggia was named Liberal Critic for Federal Water Policy.

External links

• Francis Scarpaleggia – Parliament of Canada biography