Nello Altomare (December 19, 1963 – January 14, 2025) was a Canadian politician who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

in the

2019 Manitoba general election The 2019 Manitoba general election was held on September 10, 2019, to elect the 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The incumbent Progressive Conservatives, led by Premier Brian Pallister, were re-elected to a second majority ...

.Bryce Hoye
"Meet the rookies: Manitobans elect 13 first-time MLAs"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

Manitoba, September 11, 2019. He represented the electoral district of

Transcona Transcona is a ward and suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, located about east of the downtown area. Until 1972, it was a separate municipality, having been incorporated first as the Town of Transcona on 6 April 1912 and then as the City of Transc ...

as a member of the

New Democratic Party of Manitoba The New Democratic Party of Manitoba (Manitoba NDP; ), branded as Manitoba's NDP, is a social democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba ...

until his death in 2025.

Early life and career

Altomare was born to Italian immigrant parents in

in 1963, before the

amalgamation of Winnipeg The amalgamation of Winnipeg, Manitoba (also known as Unicity) was the Municipal corporation, municipal incorporation of the old Winnipeg, City of Winnipeg, eleven surrounding municipality, municipalities, and the Metropolitan Corporation of Grea ...

took effect in 1972. He attended

Transcona Collegiate Institute Transcona Collegiate Institute (TCI) is a secondary education institution located in the Transcona suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Transcona Collegiate teaches grades nine through twelve, with approximately 670 students and 60 staff members. Transc ...

, earned bachelors degrees in education and arts from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

, and completed post-graduate studies at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

. Altomare was certified as a teacher in 1986, and became a school administrator in the Transcona-Springfield and later

River East Transcona School Division River East Transcona School Division (RETSD) is a school division located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As the second largest school division in the province, it is composed of parts of what used to be two separate divisions that merged in 2002: the urb ...

s, based in northeast

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Political career

In the 2019 election, Altomare defeated Progressive Conservative (PC) incumbent Blair Yakimoski to become the

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

for the district of Transcona. In the

42nd Manitoba Legislature The 42nd Manitoba Legislature was created following a general election in 2019. The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Brian Pallister, formed a majority government after winning a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. ...

, Altomare served as the NDP's critic for education and early childhood learning. He was appointed to serve as minister for the same portfolio after the NDP replaced the PCs as the governing party in the

2023 Manitoba general election The 2023 Manitoba general election was held on October 3, 2023, to elect 57 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. The New Democratic Party of Manitoba, led by Wab Kinew, formed a majority government, defeating the two-term Progressive ...

. As Minister, he oversaw the creation of a searchable online database of Manitoban teachers as part of an effort to increase transparency around misconduct in education. He also oversaw the passing of legislation to create a permanent universal school food program, which

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Wab Kinew Wabanakwut "Wab" Kinew (born December 31, 1981) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 25th premier of Manitoba since October 18, 2023 and the leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party (NDP) since September 16, 2017. Kinew represents ...

said would be named "Nello's Law". Other reforms included bans on cellphones in elementary school and stricter rules on requiring devices to be silenced during high school classes. Altomare was diagnosed with stage II

Hodgkin’s lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

shortly after he was first elected as an MLA in 2019. Going on medical leave on October 8, 2024, he died 14 weeks later, on January 14, 2025, due to complications from chemotherapy. He was 61 years old. The

Manitoba Legislative Building The Manitoba Legislative Building (), originally named the Manitoba Parliament Building, is the meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, located in central Winnipeg, as well as being the twelfth provincial heritage site of Manitoba.< ...

's flags were lowered to

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...

after his death. The

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to replace him was held on March 18, 2025.

Personal life

Altomare married his wife, Barb, in 1997 and was survived by two adult children.

Electoral results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altomare, Nello 1960s births Year of birth uncertain 2025 deaths Canadian people of Italian descent Deaths from cancer in Manitoba Deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Politicians from Winnipeg 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba