Jump to content

David Piccini

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Honourable
David Piccini
ECO MPP
Piccini in 2019
Ontario Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 18, 2021
PremierDoug Ford
Preceded byJeff Yurek
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities
In office
June 26, 2018 – June 18, 2021
Minister
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Northumberland—Peterborough South
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 7, 2018
Preceded byRiding established
Personal details
BornDavid Winsor Piccini
(1988-09-29) September 29, 1988 (age 37)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
SpouseFaith Chipman[1]
Residence(s)Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
OccupationPolitician

David Winsor Piccini[2] ECO MPP (born September 29, 1988) is a Canadian politician who became Ontario's Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training & Skills Development on September 22, 2023. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. He represents the riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

Early life

[edit]

Piccini grew up in Port Hope, an hour east of Toronto[clarification needed].[3]

Career

[edit]

Early career

[edit]

Piccini was employed supporting the international work of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada from 2015.[3] In 2018, he helped found the Canadian International Health Education Association, leading one of Canada's largest healthcare missions to the Gulf region.

In 2015, Piccini ran in Ottawa-Vanier for the Conservative Party of Canada, but finished third.[4]

Legislative Assembly of Ontario; Minister of the Environment

[edit]

Piccini was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.[5] He represents the riding of Northumberland—Peterborough South as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.[3]

After he was elected, Piccini served from 2018-21 as a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, served from 2018-19 as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Colleges and Universities, and served from 2021-23 as the youngest-ever (at 33 years of age) Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.[6][3]

Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development

[edit]

Piccini became Ontario's Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training & Skills Development on September 22, 2023.[6]

On November 14, 2023, Piccini introduced Ontario's Working for Workers Four Act, his first as Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.[7] The bill, which lowered the employment period needed by firefighters and fire investigators to be eligible to receive compensation when diagnosed with esophageal cancer from 25 to 15 years, received Royal Assent on March 21, 2024.[8] The legislation also made changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA), these included prohibiting employers from deducting wages for stolen property or unpaid bills, and mandating payment for trial shifts. The changes also required transparency in tip-sharing practices and salary disclosures in job postings,[9][10] banned the use of Canadian work experience as a job application requirement, improved oversight of third-party assessments for international qualifications, clarified vacation pay provisions, and allowed inflation-adjusted increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board benefits.[11]

In August 2024, he confronted Fred Hahn, the President of CUPE Ontario, and told Hahn "you have to stop hating Jews."[12] Piccini was praised for that by, among others, former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, and Conservative MPs Michelle Rempel Garner and Melissa Lantsman.[13]

In October 2025, the Auditor General of Ontario released a report on the Skills Development Fund overseen by Piccini that described the $2.5 billion fund as not being "fair, transparent or accountable". The auditor found that unlike similar funds in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador, Piccini's office was heavily involved in specific funding decisions, overriding the decisions of non-partisan civil servants more than half the time, for a total amount of at least $750 million in grants, and without documentation of their reasoning, including to applicants that civil servants had ranked as low-priority. Further reporting by The Trillium found that one lobbyist with multiple successful clients was also a close friend of Piccini's and that a majority of the $345 million in the most recent round of the SDF had gne All three opposition parties called for Piccini's resignation after the release of the report. Piccini defended his actions, saying that the fund had helped thousands of people find jobs.[14]

Electoral record

[edit]
2022 Ontario general election: Northumberland—Peterborough South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative David Piccini 26,419 50.93 +5.61
Liberal Jeff Kawzenuk 12,936 24.94 +0.77
New Democratic Kim McArthur-Jackson 6,806 13.12 −11.38
Green Lisa Francis 2,942 5.67 +1.14
Ontario Party Vanessa Head 1,598 3.08  
New Blue Joshua Chalhoub 1,170 2.26  
Total valid votes 51,871 100.0  
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 258
Turnout 52,129 51.72
Eligible voters 99,034
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +2.42
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.
2018 Ontario general election: Northumberland—Peterborough South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative David Piccini 27,386 45.32 +9.78
New Democratic Jana Papuckoski 14,804 24.50 +6.03
Liberal Lou Rinaldi 14,603 24.17 -17.35
Green Jeff Wheeldon 2,740 4.53 +0.27
Libertarian John O'Keefe 425 0.70
Trillium Derek Sharp 278 0.46
Stop Climate Change Paul Cragg 187 0.31
Total valid votes 60,423 100.0  
Progressive Conservative notional gain from Liberal Swing +1.88
Source: Elections Ontario[15]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Mauril Bélanger 36,474 57.57 +19.47 $163,698.89
New Democratic Emilie Taman 12,194 19.25 -9.43 $123,293.39
Conservative David Piccini 12,109 19.11 -8.84 $74,698.91
Green Nira Dookeran 1,947 3.07 -1.99 $8,775.54
Libertarian Coreen Corcoran 503 0.79 – $747.12
Marxist–Leninist Christian Legeais 128 0.2 -0.03 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 63,355 100.0   $219,479.72
Total rejected ballots 418 – –
Turnout 63,773 – –
Eligible voters 83,570
Source: Elections Canada[16][17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://www.cp24.com/politics/queens-park/2025/10/30/ontario-labour-ministers-wife-lobbied-for-advocate-of-colleges-that-got-millions-in-grants-records/
  2. ^ "Hon. David Piccini". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d McIntosh, Emma (January 5, 2022). "Meet David Piccini, environment minister in Ford's Ontario". The Narwhal.
  4. ^ "PC David Piccini elected in Northumberland-Peterborough South".
  5. ^ Draper, John (June 7, 2018). "David Piccini wins big". Cobourg News.
  6. ^ a b "Hon. David Piccini," ola.org.
  7. ^ "Ontario Newsroom".
  8. ^ "Ontario Newsroom".
  9. ^ "He earns how much?! Pay transparency is coming to Ontario, but are companies — and workers — ready for it?". Toronto Star. December 31, 2024.
  10. ^ "The end of secret salaries? What pay transparency means for you". The Globe and Mail. October 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "Ontario's Working for Workers' Act 2024 given royal assent".
  12. ^ "LILLEY: Piccini's grilling of Hahn was perfect, now Hahn must go; CUPE boss has repeatedly made antisemitic comments, it's time for Fred Hahn to be sent packing," The Toronto Sun.
  13. ^ "“Stop hating Jews”: Ontario labour minister confronts CUPE president Fred Hahn," True North.
  14. ^ Casey, Liam; Jones, Allison (October 20, 2025). "Ontario labour minister under fire after auditor finds office heavily involved in choosing funding projects". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  15. ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 8. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  16. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Ottawa—Vanier, 30 September 2015
  17. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Piccini&oldid=1319860387"