KENORA — Incumbent MP Eric Melillo is counting on his constituents to return him to Parliament Hill in the upcoming federal election.
Melillo is running for the Conservatives in the Kenora–Kiiwetinoong riding for a third time, after being elected in 2019 and 2021. At the dissolution of the most recent Parliament, he was the party’s shadow minister for FedNor and held a similar associate position for Crown-Indigenous Relations.
Shadow ministers effectively focus on their in-power counterparts in terms of holding them and their ministries to account.
Melillo was not made available for an interview, despite multiple requests from Dougall Media throughout the campaign.
His biography on the Conservative Party of Canada website said he has an employment background in business consulting and has been a policy research analyst. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Lakehead University.
An alumni spotlight feature on Melillo by Lakehead said, when he was first elected in 2019, he was the youngest Conservative MP in Canada’s history at 21 years of age.
In that election, he defeated Liberal Bob Nault, who served 20 non-consecutive years as an MP — the only time Nault lost an election was to Melillo in that race, as Nault elected not to run in 2004.
The LU alumni feature said Melillo started out in politics in 2015 volunteering for then-Kenora MP Greg Rickford’s campaign, eventually working for the veteran Conservative politician.
In 2024, he told Newswatch he opposed the most recent federal budget tabled by the Liberals on the basis that it “keeps taxes high, builds bureaucracy instead of homes, and increases spending,” calling it “a classic NDP-Liberal budget.”
“There’s a lot of spending in it (and) no plan to get back to balance,” he said at the time. “It’s going to add a lot more fuel to the inflationary fire.” He did direct some praise towards “little bits and pieces” for the riding, like pledged money for a bridge over the Berens River, near Pikangikum First Nation.
That project is part of announced wider efforts between Ottawa, the province and Pikangikum’s Whitefeather Forest Community Resource Management Authority to establish all-season road access to the remote First Nation.
Melillo’s party biography said he’s been a “strong representative” for the people of his riding “by standing up to support critical infrastructure projects, meaningful supports for Indigenous communities, and creating better economic opportunities for all.”
Melillo is running against Charles Fox for the Liberals, Tania Cameron for the NDP, Jon Hobbs for the Greens, Bryce Desjarlais for the People’s Party and independent candidate Kelvin Boucher-Chicago.
-With files from Mike Stimpson
