‘I just think it's slimy’: Chris Fonseca and her MP husband Peter accused of using federal tax dollars to bolster her re-election campaign

In the weeks leading up to Mississauga’s municipal election, the name Fonseca was difficult to miss in and around Ward 3. It was on giant campaign-style electronic billboards, it was on stretched out posters that covered an entire side of bus shelters and it was plastered across expensive glossy magazine-style flyers mailed to households across parts of the city. 

The problem is, the marketing and promotional material flooding the area did not belong to incumbent councillor Chris Fonseca; it was plastered across neighbourhoods by her husband, Mississauga East—Cooksville Liberal Member of Parliament Peter Fonseca. 

The unusual overlap did not end there. Peter Fonseca’s advertisements, which critics allege were timed exactly with his wife’s municipal campaign, address issues that are almost exactly aligned with her municipal election campaign, issues more commonly associated with City Hall than Parliament Hill. 

Mississauga Liberal MP Peter Fonseca went on a huge advertising blitz right outside his wife Chris Fonseca’s council ward, as she was about to start campaigning ahead of the municipal election. The issues Peter Fonseca highlighted in his ads such as lower taxes, safer neighbourhoods, transit and local infrastructure, are almost exactly aligned with his wife’s campaign platform, and are more closely associated with City Hall matters than what federal MPs deal with. (Photos supplied)

“I find it completely unbalances what should be a fair playing field because he gets to start advertising way before, like weeks before I was able to put up a single sign,” Ward 3 candidate Kim Pines, who is running against Chris Fonseca, told The Pointer. 

Pines believes the placements of the advertisements and flyers mailed out by Peter Fonseca and paid for by federal taxpayers during the municipal election campaign is no coincidence, creating challenges for Chris Fonseca’s opponents that are difficult to overcome.

“The timing is just like, half the year you don't hear anything, and all of a sudden he's dumping flyers, he's door knocking, he's on the digital billboards, he's making robocalls. Where were you the last nine months?” Pines questioned.

“I just think it's slimy…I feel it's just like deliberate sabotage.”

A review of MP Peter Fonseca’s public expense disclosures shows he spent far more for marketing and advertising in the period leading directly into his wife’s election campaign, compared to previous periods. 

His expenses incurred for marketing in the quarter that ended in March of this year, with advertisements placed throughout the municipal election period, totalled $113,594; compared to $1,256 the previous quarter, $0 the quarter before that, and $49,114 the quarter before that.

An analysis of the placement of the outdoor ads, including large digital billboards on major thoroughfares and bus shelter advertisements, shows they were taken out immediately in and around the area Peter Fonseca's wife represents.

A map highlights Peter Fonseca’s federal riding in blue which includes all of Chris Fonseca’s municipal ward marked in red. His bus shelter ads are heavily concentrated in her ward and electronic billboards are displayed on high visibility spots on major thoroughfares where drivers go in and out of her ward. (Supplied)

Peter Fonseca was asked about the heavy placement of his advertisements coinciding with his wife’s municipal election campaign.

“Advertising expenditures can vary based on the timing, scope and volume of communications, and my communications reflect my federal responsibilities,” he responded via email on Thursday, October 22.

He was asked to explain why he used the advertisements to address issues that directly align with his wife’s campaign platform, such as lower taxes which has been a central focus of the Mississauga municipal election, transit and “local infrastructure” among other key topics that have dominated Mississauga’s local election and are more closely associated with municipal government than federal government.

“My communications as Member of Parliament for Mississauga East–Cooksville focus on issues that matter to residents, including affordability, seniors, housing, public safety, transit, infrastructure, and community spaces. These priorities are supported through federal initiatives such as the New Horizons for Seniors Program, the Building Communities Strong Fund, and other Government of Canada programs.

"There are many tangible examples of investments in our community, including improvements to parks in all Wards across Mississauga East–Cooksville. These projects demonstrate the importance of federal, provincial, and municipal governments working together and contributing funding to protect neighbourhoods, improve public spaces and strengthen our community. With the Building Communities Strong Fund, we look forward to supporting even more local infrastructure and community improvements in the years ahead.”

Mississauga Ward 3 councillor candiate Kim Pines who is also part of the Applewood Heights Residents’ Association, wants to see more transparency in the way elections are run. She is concerned that her opponent, incumbent Chris Fonseca, and her husband, MP Peter Fonseca who also represents the area, use tax dollars to help each other during campaign time, creating an almost insurmountable advantage. (Alexis Wright/The Pointer)

Chris Fonseca was asked about the overlap between her municipal campaign and the advertising blitz by her federal MP husband, Peter. 

“I value the relationships we have built and believe our community benefits when municipal, provincial and federal representatives work together, including the MP and MPP who also represent Ward 3, while respecting their individual responsibilities,” she responded via email on Thursday, October 22.

“The fact that they use and abuse the surname and she's coasting 16 years based on the surname she carries is pathetic,” Ward 3 councillor candidate Mendi Kabashi told The Pointer. “We're paying for those Fonseca signs on the buses [those] are paid by taxpayers' money. That's a waste, and abuse of power that you have that is being given to you by the people.

“We all know that it's all about face and name recognition, and that's what they have already worked on. They have designed a system that is meant to keep the same people in, because the only people they know, those are the only names they remember. It's carefully well thought out, and meticulously organized so nobody else can get to that elected chair that they have used as furniture for way too long.”

Mississauga Ward 3 councillor candidate Mendi Kabashi says the way Chris and Peter Fonseca use taxpayer dollars to promote each other, especially during campaign time, is an abuse of power and the public purse. (Supplied)

Former Ward 3 candidate Athina Tagidou, who came second to Fonseca in 2022, tried to get action on the way the couple uses their political advantages to help each other stay in office.

“I had brought it back then to the Integrity Commissioner for the federal government,” she told The Pointer. “That's what I was told to do, because the City of Mississauga said he (Peter) can do whatever he wants. He's an elected official. I complained to Jeff Wright about this. He was then the city's Transportation and Works Commissioner, and I complained to the mayor. They said they can't do anything because he is an elected official, and he can promote himself at any time during his elected term. Then I went to the federal government, and they put in a case, and they came back that it was not a conflict of interest.”

She says the Fonsecas have created a political partnership that makes it virtually impossible for anyone else to win.

“And how many times does a new candidate beat an incumbent? Very rare. So I had an incumbent, plus her husband, who was campaigning for her and promoting himself within the community. I was fighting against two incumbents, not one.”

She believes the reason Peter Fonseca has spent so much taxpayer money this municipal election to help his wife is because residents are growing frustrated.

“They know that Chris Fonseca is losing support from her Ward 3 constituents. We put a lot of pressure on her with the [Bloor street] bike issue, and other issues as well that have to do with development. People are not happy with her, and I think this is why they're putting additional pressure and more promotion of him and her within the community,” Tagidou said.

Two pages from a glossy flyer sent to Mississauga residents by MP Peter Fonseca in September. Photos of his wife Chris Fonseca (circled) who is running for re-election in Ward 3 were heavily featured in her husband’s taxpayer-funded promotional material sent out during her municipal election campaign. (Supplied)

Peter Fonseca was asked about his mailed flyers sent out throughout his wife’s election campaign, as recently as four weeks ago. It featured about a dozen pictures of his wife.

“My communications over the years have featured photographs with numerous elected officials. The flyer in question is consistent with this longstanding practice and includes several other elected officials and individuals, among them Mayoral candidates Dipika Damerla (Councillor Ward 7) and Carolyn Parrish (Mayor), MP Fares Al-Soud (Mississauga-Centre), Mississauga Councillors Fonseca (Ward 3) and Dasko (Ward 1), and MPPs Sheref Sabawy (Mississauga Erin Mills) and Deepak Anand (Mississauga Malton). Other communications have also featured numerous individuals participating in the current municipal elections, including Councillors representing wards within Mississauga East–Cooksville. These communications should therefore be considered in their full context, rather than viewed in isolation, as they reflect a broader and longstanding approach to community engagement involving elected officials across all levels of government.”

Chris Fonseca was asked about her involvement as an agent for her husband Peter’s previous election campaign public disclosures, which would have allowed her to see a range of information used in his campaign organization and strategy. She was asked why she used the name Christina Yaremczuk in the public disclosures that listed her as an agent who assisted her husband. 

“Christina Yaremczuk is my maiden name, which I used before marriage and have continued to use in work dating back to the early 2000s, including election campaigns,” she wrote in her emailed response. “Chris Fonseca is my married name and the name by which residents know me. I am proud of both names, which reflect my Ukrainian heritage and my family's Portuguese heritage.”

Both Chris and Peter Fonseca were asked if they commingle their social media presence and whether this allows them to use taxpayer money to promote and brand each other.

“I will continue working on behalf of the great people of Mississauga East-Cooksville, connecting residents with federal programs, and working with all levels of government to build a stronger, safer, and more vibrant community,” Peter Fonseca replied.

“My focus remains on the residents of Ward 3 and all of Mississauga,” Chris Fonseca responded. “I am grateful for the trust and friendships built over the years and remain dedicated to serving our community with integrity, openness and hard work.”

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