Eric Melillo

Eric Melillo MP (born March 27, 1998) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Kenora in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.^[2]

Eric Melillo MP
Melillo in 2019
Member of Parliament for Kenora—Kiiwetinoong Kenora (2019–2025)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Bob Nault
Personal details
Born	(1998-03-27) March 27, 1998 (age 27) Kenora, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Conservative Party of Canada
Relatives	Natalie Sourisseau (cousin)[1]
Residence	Kenora, Ontario
Alma mater	Lakehead University (BA, 2019)

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.^[3] He was the first Gen Z MP to be elected to the House.^[4]

Background

Melillo graduated from Beaver Brae Secondary School where he showed political aspirations as a high-school student.^[5] Prior to election, he studied economics at Lakehead University, worked for a non-partisan think tank in Thunder Bay (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.^[6]

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.^[7]

Prior to the second session of the 43rd Parliament, Melillo was named to Erin O'Toole's Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs and Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.^[8] Melillo served on the Natural Resources and the Indigenous and Northern Affairs standing committees during the 43rd Parliament.^[9]

In his first term, he developed a reputation for his attention to constituency work that led to local popularity.^[10] He was re-elected at the 2021 Canadian federal election.^[11]

44th Parliament

After the 2021 election, Melillo remained in the Conservative Shadow Cabinet and was appointed to the Natural Resources Committee.^[12]

On March 15, 2022 Melillo was listed among 313 Canadians banned from entering Russia. The announcement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the House of Commons in midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[13]

During the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, Melilo endorsed Scott Aitchison.^[14]

Electoral record

v t e 2025 Canadian federal election: Kenora—Kiiwetinoong
** Preliminary results — Not yet official **
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Eric Melillo	13,095	48.77	+5.45
	Liberal	Charles Fox	9,447	35.18	+15.33
	New Democratic	Tania Cameron	3,684	13.72	–15.42
	Green	Jon Hobbs	286	1.07	–0.32
	People's	Bryce Desjarlais	204	0.76	–5.55
	Independent	Kelvin Boucher-Chicago	137	0.51	N/A
Total valid votes/expense limit
Total rejected ballots
Turnout			26,853	60.19
Eligible voters			44,617
	Conservative notional hold		Swing		–4.94
Source: Elections Canada[15][16]

v t e 2021 Canadian federal election: Kenora
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Eric Melillo	11,103	42.6	+8.5	$76,445.84
	New Democratic	Janine Seymour	7,802	29.9	+1.4	$53,646.32
	Liberal	David Bruno	5,190	19.9	-10.1	$42,652.01
	People's	Craig Martin	1,625	6.2	+4.8	$6,563.10
	Green	Remi Rheault	364	1.4	-4.0	$2,974.40
Total valid votes			26,083	99.6
Total rejected ballots			118	0.4
Turnout			26,201	57.6
Eligible voters			45,500
	Conservative hold		Swing		+3.6
Source: Elections Canada[17]

v t e 2019 Canadian federal election: Kenora
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eric Melillo	9,313	34.1	+5.64
	Liberal	Bob Nault	8,188	30.0	-5.50
	New Democratic	Rudy Turtle	7,781	28.5	-5.38
	Green	Kirsi Ralko	1,475	5.4	+3.77
	People's	Michael Di Pasquale	382	1.4	-
	Independent	Kelvin Boucher-Chicago	165	0.6	+0.07
Total valid votes			27,304	100.00
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+9.04