Eric Melillo (born March 27, 1998) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the

2019 Canadian federal election The 2019 Canadian federal election was held on October 21, 2019. Members of the House of Commons were elected to the 43rd Canadian Parliament. In keeping with the maximum four-year term under a 2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', ...

. Having been elected to Parliament at age 21, Melillo is the youngest Conservative MP ever elected in Canada, and the youngest of the 43rd and 44th parliaments. He was the first Gen Z MP to be elected to the House.

Background

Melillo graduated from

Beaver Brae Secondary School Beaver Brae (BBSS) (2022 population 550) is a secondary school situated in Kenora, Ontario, Canada. Beaver Brae Secondary School offers grades seven through twelve, and has 65 staff members. The school offers trades, college, and university lev ...

where he showed political aspirations as a high-school student. Prior to election, he studied economics at

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...

, worked for a non-partisan think tank in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

(Northern Policy Institute) conducting policy analysis, served as an associate for a business consulting firm, and worked as the campaign manager for Kenora—Rainy River MPP

Greg Rickford David Gregory Rickford (born September 24, 1967) is a Canadian politician. He is the Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Indigenous Affairs in the Executive Council of Ontario under Premier Doug Ford. He represents the Kenora� ...

Career

43rd Parliament

In December 2019, Melillo was appointed the Conservative Party's Deputy Shadow Minister for Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, and Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario. Prior to the second session of the 43rd Parliament, Melillo was named to

Erin O'Toole Erin Michael O'Toole (born January 22, 1973) is a Canadian lawyer, former military officer and politician who was the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition from 2020 to 2022. O'Toole was elected ...

's Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs and Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario. Melillo served on the Natural Resources and the Indigenous and Northern Affairs standing committees during the 43rd Parliament. In his first term, he developed a reputation for his attention to constituency work that led to local popularity. He was re-elected at the

2021 Canadian federal election The 2021 Canadian federal election was held on September 20, 2021, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 44th Canadian Parliament. The Writ of election, writs of election were issued by Governor General of ...

44th Parliament

After the 2021 election, Melillo remained in the Conservative Shadow Cabinet and was appointed to the Natural Resources Committee. On March 15, 2022 Melillo was listed among 313 Canadians banned from entering

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The announcement came after Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

addressed the House of Commons in midst of the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. During the

2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election In 2022, the Conservative Party of Canada held a leadership election to elect the successor to Erin O'Toole. He was removed on February 2, 2022, as leader by the party's caucus in the House of Commons of Canada by a vote of 73–45. Five can ...

, Melilo endorsed Scott Aitchison.

Personal life

Melillo married Danaka Howden on June 3, 2022. His brothers-in-law Quinton and

Brett Howden Brett Howden (born March 29, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Howden was drafted 27th overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft by the Tampa Bay L ...

are professional ice hockey players.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melillo, Eric Living people Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario People from Kenora 1998 births 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada