Wladyslaw Lizon

Wladyslaw Lizon (Polish: Władysław Lizoń; born June 27, 1954) is a Polish Canadian former politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015 who represented the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville. He was the first Polish-born Member of Parliament.

Wladyslaw Lizon
Lizon addressing the Senate of Poland, 2014
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Mississauga East—Cooksville
In office
2011–2015
Preceded byAlbina Guarnieri
Succeeded byPeter Fonseca
Personal details
Born (1954-06-27) June 27, 1954
Nowy Sącz, Poland
Political partyConservative
ResidenceMississauga, Ontario
ProfessionEngineer

Background

Lizon graduated from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland with a master's degree in mining engineering in 1978. He was an engineer in Poland's Silesia coal mines until 1983. In 1988 he immigrated to Canada, and created Gomark Enterprises, a consulting business that designs and supplies interior stone finishes and imports and services machinery used in the stone industry.[1]

He was the president of the Canadian Polish Congress from 2005 to 2010.[2] He assisted in the removal of visa requirements for visitors from Poland.[3] He is also a founding member of Tribute to Liberty, an organization dedicated to building a national monument in Ottawa to honour the victims of communism in the world.[4]

Politics

In the 2011 Canadian federal election, Lizon ran as Conservative candidate in the riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville. He defeated Liberal candidate Peter Fonseca by 676 votes.[5]

In September 2011, Lizon introduced Bill C-266, An Act to establish Pope John Paul II Day, also called by its short title: Pope John Paul II Day Act.[6] A similar bill was first introduced in October 2010 by Liberal MP Andrew Kania.[7] Both bills sought to recognize April 2 as a day to honour the memory of the late Pope John Paul II. Bill C-266 received Royal Assent on December 16, 2014, becoming law. April 2, 2015 marked the 10 year anniversary since the passing of Pope John Paul II and was incidentally the first Pope John Paul II Day observed in Canada.

In 2012, Lizon was criticized by the South Asian community and his colleagues in Parliament when he sent out a survey to his constituents asking what languages they spoke, with one of the languages listed as "Indian". Jim Karygiannis, the Liberal MP for Scarborough-Agincourt, issued a press release calling the mailer insulting, comparing it to asking someone if they speak Canadian or Mexican.[8]

In 2013, Lizon joined two other Conservative MPs (Saskatchewan MP Maurice Vellacott and Alberta MP Leon Benoit) in writing a letter to the RCMP requesting a homicide investigation into some late term abortions that may have resulted in live births. The letter was criticized as an attempt to reopen the abortion debate. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, "I think all members of this House, whether they agree with it or not, understand that abortion is legal in Canada and this government, myself included, have made it very clear that the government does not intend to change the law in this regard."[9][10]

In the 2015 election Lizon again faced Liberal candidate Fonseca. This time Fonseca defeated him by 9,801 votes.[11]

In the recent 2019 Election, Lizon was defeated by Liberal candidate Peter Fonseca by 9,821 votes.

Electoral record
2015 Canadian federal election: Mississauga East—Cooksville
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalPeter Fonseca28,15454.23+18.07$85,296.75
ConservativeWladyslaw Lizon18,35335.35-8.20$109,692.04
New DemocraticAli Naqvi4,4818.63-9.03$34,143.24
GreenJaymini Bhikha7661.48-0.69–
Marxist–LeninistTim Sullivan1630.31––
Total valid votes/Expense limit 51,917100.00   $217,661.14
Total rejected ballots 2870.55
Turnout 52,20463.87
Eligible voters 81,736
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +13.13
Source(s)
  • "Mississaugs East--Cooksville". Election Results. Elections Canada. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  • Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
2011 Canadian federal election: Mississauga East—Cooksville
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeWladyslaw Lizon18,79639.97+7.42$90,142
LiberalPeter Fonseca18,12038.53-11.63$71,450
New DemocraticWaseem Ahmed8,83618.79+7.44$6,591
GreenJaymini Bhikha1,0322.19-3.05$968
Marxist–LeninistPierre Chénier2410.51-0.16
Total valid votes/Expense limit 47,025100.00 $169,151
Total rejected ballots 289 0.61
Turnout 47,314 56.8
Eligible voters 83,018
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +9.52
Source(s)
Elections Canada (2011). "Official Voting Results: Forty-first General Election". Retrieved 28 September 2015.

References
  1. O'Toole, Megan (May 4, 2011). "Meet your new MPs; All nine are Conservatives". National Post. p. A12.
  2. "Past Presidents". Canadian Polish Congress. 2015.
  3. Khalil, Nouman (April 13, 2011). "Profiles of candidates fighting for key GTA ridings". South Asian Focus. Brampton, Ont. p. 1.
  4. Curry, Bill (March 19, 2015). "Tory-linked charity behind monument declared it was not active politically". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
  5. "Riding results from across Canada". Edmonton Journal. May 3, 2011. p. A6.
  6. "Bill C-266". Parliament of Canada. 2011-09-19. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  7. "Bill C-573". Parliament of Canada. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  8. "Tory MP to his South Asian constituents: Do you speak 'Indian'?". The Globe and Mail. January 20, 2012.
  9. Canadian Press (January 1, 2013). "Group Of Tory MPs Want Late Abortions Investigated As Murders". Huffington Post.
  10. "MPs' request to have RCMP investigate abortions is way off base". The Globe and Mail. 1 February 2013.
  11. Diebel, Linda (19 October 2015). "Peter Fonseca wins Mississauga East—Cooksville". Toronto Star. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
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