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2015 Newsmakers in Vaughan: Fantino can't fend off Liberal tide

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 1, 2016
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Former Conservative MP Julian Fantino’s loss to rookie Liberal Francesco Sorbara in October’s federal election was considered an upset, but there were signs early on that victory might elude the former top cop.

More than a year before the election, Fantino’s office distributed flyers throughout the community slamming Liberal leader Justin Trudeau for admitting to smoking pot and promising to legalize it.

It seemed odd given Fantino appeared to enjoy solid support in his Vaughan riding and the Grits were a third place party with only 34 seats in the House of Commons.

That was just one of the early signs that Conservatives were worried Vaughan voters could switch back to supporting the Liberals, which had held the riding for more than two decades before Fantino took the seat in a hotly contested 2010 byelection.

Of course, since then Fantino had been shuffled out of two cabinet posts - associate minister of national defence and minister of international cooperation - after highly publicized gaffes.

And things weren’t going much better for him as minister of veterans affairs.

His ministry had come under fire from the veterans’ ombudsman, who said the government wasn’t providing sufficient compensation to former soldiers.

Then came the announcement that veterans affairs planned to shutter eight regional offices.

When a group of angry veterans travelled to Ottawa to confront Fantino about the decision, he arrived more than an hour late for the meeting and then left abruptly following a few fiery exchanges.

That touched off a wave of outrage among some veterans who vowed to topple the Tories in the 2015 election.

Months later, he was spotted by the media in Ottawa reportedly snubbing from the spouse of a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder.

She’d come to confront him about why his ministry boosted its advertising budget by $4 million for ad campaign about its efforts to help vets transition into civilian life while many veterans were struggling to get the help they needed.

Then came revelations that his department allowed more than $1 billion of its budget to lapse and return to the federal treasury since 2006.

Following outcry by veterans and the media, Fantino was ultimately shuffled out of Veterans Affairs in January.

He returned to his previous post as associate minister of national defence.

Soon afterward, Laureen Harper, wife of then Prime Minister Stephen Harper, accompanied Fantino to a few carefully scripted events with local business people, seniors and parents of elementary school age children.

By this point, it had been widely reported the Conservatives were putting her front and centre as part of the party’s campaign strategy because her husband’s popularity was waning.
During her visit, she bristled at the suggestion her appearance alongside the embattled MP had anything to do with electioneering.

“Even when there wasn’t an election, I come anyways,” Ms. Harper angrily told a reporter. “Maybe you didn’t notice when I came out before, but I’ve always been out. So I always take issue with that statement because I think maybe you’re just figuring it out ... I’ve been coming to Vaughan for a long time.”

Once the writ dropped Aug. 2, there appeared to be growing concern amongst Fantino’s supporters that he might lose in the newly formed Vaughan-Woodbridge riding.

It soon became evident why.

As the election wore on, pundits shifted from calling it a sure bet for Fantino to a race that was too close to call.

On election night, Fantino like many of his Tory colleagues in Ontario, was swept out of office by the red wave that propelled the Liberals to a strong majority.

He lost by nearly 2,500 votes.

By the time Fantino arrived at his election night party, looking shaken, many of his well-wishers had left. With his wife Liviana, by his side, Fantino thanked his supporters and offered his best wishes for Sorbara

“I leave a happy camper,” the 73-year-old former police chief and one-time OPP commissioner said at the time.

But when it came time to speak to the media, he appeared less than happy.

Fantino answered just a handful of questions before a teary eyed staffer whisked him through the crush of reporters and out of the banquet hall.