- Alan Tonks
Infobox CanadianMP | name=Alan Tonks
term_start=2000 election
term_end=
predecessor=John Nunziata
birth_date= birth date and age|1943|04|02
birth_place=Toronto ,Ontario
successor=
death_date=
death_place=
profession=Teacher
party=Liberal
party colour=Liberal
residence=Toronto
riding=York South-Weston
footnotes=
term_start2=
term_end2=
predecessor2=
successor2=
spouse=Cecile Tonks|Alan Tonks (born
April 2 ,1943 inToronto ,Ontario ) is a Canadian politician, and was the finalMetro Toronto Chairman before the amalgamation ofMetro Toronto into the new City ofToronto .Tonks is the son of the late
Chris Tonks who was amayor andalderman in what was then theBorough of York in Metropolitan Toronto. After graduating fromYork Memorial Collegiate Institute Alan Tonks attendedYork University where he earned aMaster's degree in political economy and theUniversity of Toronto where he received a Masters in Education. He spent time working for a Canadian aid agency inJamaica before becoming a junior high teacher for the Scarborough Board of Education for several years.Municipal Politics
Tonks entered municipal politics in the 1970s and served as an
alderman in York before being serving asmayor from 1982 to 1988.Provincial Politics
He first ran for the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1975 provincial election as a candidate of theOntario Liberal Party , and finished third inYork South against former New Democratic Party leaderDonald C. MacDonald .He was also unsuccessful in the 1987 Ontario election, losing to NDP leader
Bob Rae by only 333 votes inYork South .Metro Politics
In 1988, Tonks was elected
Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto by the other members of Metro Toronto Council defeating incumbent Metro ChairmanDennis Flynn , the first and only time a sitting Metro Chairman would be defeated by a challenger. Tonks served as Metro Chairman until 1997 when the municipality was amalgamated by the provincial government ofMike Harris resulting in the abolition of Metro Council and the replacement of the Metro Chairman by a new Mayor of Toronto directly elected by all voters. Tonks was a supporter of the city's amalgamation, and led the Transition Team responsible for administering the new City of Toronto. He did not run in the 1997 "Megacity" election for the position of mayor and retired from elected municipal politics. In 1999, he was appointed chair of theGreater Toronto Services Board and served until 2000.Federal Politics
He was elected to the
Canadian House of Commons in the 2000 election as the Liberal MP forYork South—Weston defeating Independent MP (and former Liberal)John Nunziata by 1,497 votes. He served as aparliamentary secretary in 2003, and was re-elected by a much greater margin in the federal elections held in 2004 and 2006 and is currently, with the rest of the Liberal caucus, sitting on the Opposition benches. He has been nominated for re-election as the Liberal candidate in the 2008 general election.Family Life
Married to Cecile, Tonks has three adult children, Chris, Matthew and Alison. His son Chris is now a trustee on the
Toronto District School Board .References
* [http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/A/Alan-Tonks.htm Alan Tonks]
External links
* [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=7be31897-2aa9-4cff-8581-8f6eb0edff6e&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience Parliament Webpage]
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