Vince Kerrio | |
|---|---|
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1975–1990 | |
| Preceded by | John Clement |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Harrington |
| Constituency | Niagara Falls |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vincent George Kerrio (1924-02-05)February 5, 1924 Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | October 30, 2009(2009-10-30) (aged 85) Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | Rose |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Vincent George Kerrio (February 5, 1924 – October 30, 2009) was a businessperson andpolitician in Ontario,Canada. He served in theLegislative Assembly of Ontario as aLiberal from 1975 to 1990, and was acabinet minister in the government ofDavid Peterson. He was the firstItalian-Canadian to serve as a cabinet minister in Ontario.
Kerrio's grandfather, also named Vincent, emigrated fromItaly to Canada at the start of the twentieth century. Kerrio was born in Niagara Falls and educated at Niagara Falls Collegiate Vocational Institute (NFCVI). Kerrio began working in the family business, then Kerrio Welding Works, in the 1930s. The company became Kerrio and Germano Construction and later Kerrio Construction, and the younger Kerrio its president. He was also the president of the Niagara FallsCurling Club. Kerrio and his wife Rose had two sons, Vincent Anthony and Michael. Vincent Anthony succeeded his father in the family business and became a member ofNiagara Falls City Council.[1]
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the1975 provincial election, defeating incumbentProgressive ConservativeJohn Clement by 172 votes in theNiagara Falls riding.[2] He was re-elected by greater margins in the elections of1977 and1981.[3][4]
The Ontario Liberal Party, which had been out of office since 1943, formed aminority government after the1985 provincial election. Kerrio, easily returned in Niagara Falls, was appointedMinister of Natural Resources andMinister of Energy on June 26, 1985.[5] He was retained in the former portfolio after the1987 provincial election. In 1988, Kerrio prohibited mineral exploration and mining activities in Ontario provincial parks. He banned large-scale water exports from Ontario in 1989. He also oversaw the reintroduction of thewild turkey to Ontario.
In 1988, Kerrio approved the expansion of theRed Squirrel logging road, directly throughAnishnabe territory inTemagami, Ontario, Canada. This prompted a series of roadblocks by theTeme-Augama Anishnabai and by environmentalists in 1988-1989. Kerrio was a prominent supporter of the "Beck 3" plan to build a thirdhydroelectric generating station on theNiagara River.[1]
Kerrio left cabinet on August 2, 1989, and did not run for re-election in 1990.
| Ontario provincial government ofDavid Peterson | ||
| Cabinet posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Alan Pope | Minister of Natural Resources 1985–1989 | Lyn McLeod |
| Mike Harris | Minister of Energy 1985–1987 | Bob Wong |
Kerrio remained a leading figure in Niagara Falls's Italian community. In addition to Kerrio Construction, his family came to run Can-Mar Manufacturing and Niagara Hospitality Inns. He died on October 30, 2009, at Greater Niagara General Hospital where he had been hospitalized withleukemia for six months.[1] Kerrio's spouse, Rose, died from natural causes on February 7, 2021.
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