Councillor Anthony Perruzza was re-elected to Toronto City Council in 2022 as the representative for Ward 7 – Humber River Black Creek. He is the Vice Chair of Toronto’s Etobicoke & York Community Council, a Board Director of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, a member of the Infrastructure & Environment Committee, Exhibition Place Board of Governors, Hockey Hall of Fame Board of Directors, and is an Executive Member of the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority.
An experienced representative, Councillor Perruzza was a Trustee in the Metro Toronto Separate School Board (1985-88), a North York Councillor (1988-90), and a Member of the Provincial Parliament (1990-95). He served as the Toronto City Councillor of Ward 8 from 2006 until 2018 when he was re-elected to serve the new Ward 7.
Throughout his political career, Councillor Perruzza has delivered many beneficial projects to the community. A strong advocate for community programming and education, he secured funding for the expansion of the York Woods Library Theatre, the construction of the Oakdale Community Centre, and has supported agencies such as the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women. He also helped fund the reconstruction of St. Basil-the-Great College School, and worked to bring Seneca College to York University.
As the former Chair of the Spadina Subway Extension Committee, Councillor Perruzza played an important role in the TTC subway extension to York University and is very proud to see its completion. Being an outspoken supporter on the need for better transit, he strongly opposed both the scrapping of the Transit City Plan and the recent Subway Upload. He believes that Toronto requires solutions for a wide range of issues facing transit users, including accessibility, fares and gridlock.
Councillor Perruzza has led many improvements to public infrastructure. He has added and revitalized various community parks, including Elm Park, Oakdale Park and Sentinel Park. Both Fountainhead Park and Hullmar Park are on track for completion in 2019. The goal is to provide safe and clean outdoor spaces where children can learn and play together.
Working with staff at Toronto Water, Councillor Perruzza has also fought for crucial upgrades to the local sewer and watermain systems, namely the Basement Flooding Protection Program. The purpose of this program is to replace outdated pipes in order to ensure that water systems are equipped to handle intense storms. These investments are of significant value to the community.
Upon being his re-election in 2018 to represent the new Ward 7 – Humber River – Black Creek, Councillor Perruzza took on a new role as the Anti-Poverty Advocate for the City of Toronto. In this role, Councillor Perruzza continues to meet with community groups and activists to develop long-term goals and strategies in order to advocate for Toronto’s most vulnerable residents. He maintains that equitable input and collaborative efforts will push an agenda that relieves the root causes of poverty. We need to provide more accessible and affordable services for working families and increase employment opportunities for youth.
Councillor Perruzza immigrated to Canada at age 9, and has since lived in Humber River-Black Creek. His mother did factory shift work and his father was a carpenter. Educated at local schools, Anthony attended St. Jude’s Elementary School, St. Basil’s High School, and is a graduate of York University.
