Ursula Appolloni

Ursula Appolloni

Ursula Appolloni in front of her office, Confederation Building, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, in 1974
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for York South—Weston
In office
1979–1984
Preceded by Riding established
Succeeded by John Nunziata
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for York South
In office
1974–1979
Preceded by David Lewis
Succeeded by Riding abolished
Personal details
Born Ursula Carroll
(1929-12-07)7 December 1929
Cavan, Ireland
Died 28 December 1994(1994-12-28) (aged 65)
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Lucio Appolloni
Children 4
Profession Writer
Religion Catholic
Military service
Allegiance British
Service/branch Women's Royal Air Force
Years of service 1948-1950
Rank Corporal

Ursula Appolloni (7 December 1929 28 December 1994) was a Canadian politician. She served in the House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto ridings of York South and York South—Weston from 1974 to 1984.

Background

Appolloni was born in Cavan, Ireland as Ursula Carroll,[1] and she served in Britain's Women's Royal Air Force from 1948 to 1950. In 1954 she met her future husband, Lucio, who at the time was working at the Italian consulate in Liverpool, England. They married in 1958 in Italy where they resided until 1965. She became fluent in Italian. They had four children together, Luisa, Suzanne, Andrew, and Simon. Eventually they emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto.[1] Prior to entering politics, she was a freelance writer with numerous articles published in the Toronto Telegram, Toronto Star and Catholic Register and she worked as Chairman of the Board of Referees, Employment and Immigration Canada. Appolloni also directed a children's mime opera. After her election in 1974 they moved to Ottawa where they remained until her death.[2]

Politics

Appolloni was first involved in politics when she served as office manager for the campaign of Charles Caccia in the 1968 election.[3] In 1974 she ran as the Liberal Party candidate in the riding of York South against New Democratic Party leader David Lewis in the federal election. Appolloni upset Lewis by 1,863 votes ending Lewis' political career. At his defeat, Lewis joked "One of the basic democratic rights is the right for the people to be wrong."[4] Her husband, Lucio, had been the Liberal candidate in York South in the 1972 election. He lost to Lewis by almost 5,000 votes.

She remained as MP for York South and its successor riding, York South—Weston, until she retired in 1984. She was a backbencher for most of her parliamentary career, except for serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence from 1980 to 1982. Issues that she supported during her tenure included the creation of pensions for housewives and putting unemployed youth in the military reserve.[2] She supported the abolition of the death penalty[5] and was an anti-abortionist. Some argued that it was her anti-abortion stance that kept her out of cabinet.[2]

Later life

After leaving politics she worked as an editor for Health and Welfare Canada. A long-time smoker, she was diagnosed with lung cancer in June 1994 and died seven months later. Fellow Liberal Charles Caccia described her as "a person with a very big social conscience, with a particular interest in pensioners, women's rights and social justice."[1][2]

Electoral record

York South

Canadian federal election, 1974
Party Candidate Votes
     Liberal Ursula Appolloni 12,485
     New Democratic Party David Lewis 10,622
     Progressive Conservative Paul J. Schrieder 5,557
     Independent Richard Sanders 103
Marxist–Leninist Keith Corkill 102
     Independent Robert Douglas Sproule 97

York South-Weston

Canadian federal election, 1979
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalUrsula Appolloni 14,913 40.2
Progressive ConservativeJohn Oostrom 11,236 30.3
New DemocraticVito Cautillo 10,451 28.2
LibertarianMaria Sproule 336 0.9
Marxist–LeninistTim Sullivan 117 0.3
Total valid votes 37,053 100.0
Canadian federal election, 1980
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalUrsula Appolloni 16,520 47.2 +7.0
New DemocraticVince Del Buono 9,280 26.5 -1.7
Progressive ConservativeJohn Oostrom 8,711 24.9 -5.4
LibertarianGeorge Dance 299 0.9 -0.1
CommunistMike Phillips 99 0.3
Marxist–LeninistBarbara Nunn 82 0.2 -0.1
Total valid votes 34,991100.0

References

  1. 1 2 3 Van Rijn, Nicolaas (31 December 1994). "Ursula Appolloni was dedicated York South MP". Toronto Star. p. A7.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ursula Appolloni: ex-MP 'a person with a social conscience'". The Ottawa Citizen. 31 December 1994. p. C1.
  3. Rae, Bob (2006). From Protest to Power: Personal Reflections on a Life in Politics. McClelland & Stewart. p. 42. ISBN 9781551991733.
  4. "Canada: Triumph for Trudeau". Time. 22 July 1974.
  5. "Hanging still affects votes as MPs face election day". The Globe and Mail. 1 April 1978. p. 12.
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