Charles Caccia - Definition

Charles L. Caccia (born April 28, 1930 in Milan, Italy) is a Canadian politician.

Caccia is a former Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons who represented the riding of Davenport between1968 and 2004. A professor of forestry at the University of Toronto Caccia is best known for his strong pro-environment views on the left of the Liberal party. He has served as Minister of Labour, Minister of the Environment, Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Manpower and Immigration. He most recently was the Chair of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, and of the subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

One of the most left leaning Liberal MPs known for his stance on environmental issues and his staunch opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq he was one of the few Liberal MPs to back Sheila Copps in the 2003 Liberal Party of Canada leadership race. His left leaning politics and support of Copps ended his political career when the more right leaning Martin took over and backed former Toronto city councillor Mario Silva for the nominatin battle. When Silva seemed poised to win the Liberal nomination Caccia did not challenge, and after some talk also chose not to run as an independent in the 2004 election.