Paul Szabo
Paul John Mark Szabo (born
May 10,
1948 in
Toronto,
Ontario) is a
Canadian politician. He is a current member of the
Canadian House of Commons, representing the
riding of
Mississauga South for the
Liberal Party.
Szabo received a
Bachelor of Science degree from the
University of Western Ontario in
1970. He worked as an accountant for
Price Waterhouse in Toronto from
1970 to
1974, and received certification from the
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants in
1973. He received an
M.B.A. from
York University in
1975, was a Corporate Controller for
Heede International Ltd. in
1975-
76, and served the Director of Finance for
TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. from
1977 to
1983. He then worked as a Corporate Treasurer for
United Cooperative of Ontario from
1984 to
1990, when he opened a private accounting practice in
Mississauga. Szabo has also served as Vice-Chair and Director of the Mississauga Hospital for nine years, Director of Interim Place shelter for abused women for five years, and was a Director of the Peel Regional Housing Authority for five years.
Szabo has long been involved with the Liberal Party. He was the party's candidate in Mississauga South for the federal elections of
1980 and
1984, losing to
Progressive Conservative Don Blenkarn on both occasions (the first time by 473 votes, the second time by a greater margin). Szabo was first elected in the
election of 1993, defeating both Blenkarn and
Reformer John Veenstra by a significant margin.
He was re-elected in the
1997 election, easily defeating Reformer
Joe Peschisolido (who later became a Liberal MP) and PC candidate
Dick Barr. He won another comfortable victory in the
2000 election.
Szabo is known as one of the more
socially conservative members of the Liberal caucus. He is
pro-life, and has written two works on the perceived breakdown of traditional family values:
Divorce - The Bold Facts and
Strong Families Make a Strong Country. Szabo also led the opposition within the Liberal caucus to a bill permiting
stem cell research, and has been credited with (or blamed for) modifying the final wording of the bill. Not surprisingly, he is also an opponent of
same-sex marriage. In
2004, Szabo was awarded the
Joseph P. Borowski Award for his pro-life activities.
Szabo has also promoted children's issues, and has brought forward private member's legislation to provide stiffer criminal sentences for abusers of women and children. He has supported greater funding for maternal and parental leave. Here, as well, Szabo's views are strongly influenced by social conservatism. He has described women's shelters as perpetuating a cycle of poverty, and believes that only a stronger emphasis on the family unit will provide a viable solution to poverty issues.
In addition to the two works mentioned above, Szabo has written four other monographs:
Tragic Tolerance of Domestic Violence,
The Child Poverty Solution,
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - The Real Brain Drain and
The Ethics and Science of Stem Cells. All of his publications are available on-line, via his website (see below).
Szabo has never been appointed to
cabinet, though he served as
parliamentary secretary to the
Minister of Public Works and Government Services from
2000 to
2003. He also served as chair of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group for four years.
In
2004, Szabo faced a serious challenge from
Charles Sousa for the Liberal nomination in Mississauga South. Sousa was supported by many on the left-wing of the Liberal Party, and Szabo was supported by many on its right-wing. It has been speculated that
Carolyn Parrish, Liberal MP for a neighbouring riding, was assisting Sousa, and that the
Campaign Life organization was working for Szabo. Szabo won the challenge, 966 votes to 838.
The nomination proved to be Szabo's most difficult challenge in the
2004 campaign. Although the newly-founded
Conservative Party of Canada targeted his riding, Szabo was able to win re-election with over 50% support.
In the
Canadian federal election, 2006, Szabo faced a tough effort from Conservative candidate
Phil Green (who also ran for the Conservatives in 2004), but still managed to win by just over 2000 votes.
Notably, Szabo was determined to have spoken the most words in the 38th Parliament by the
How'd They Vote website.
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Official website
