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BY SANDRA BOLAN Staff Writer Mostlittlebwswanttobeafire- fighter or police officerwhenthey grawup.Butfl1emaresomeboys. who want to grow up to become worldleaders. . Like Paul Calandra â€" MP for Oak Ridges-Markham â€" who took a major step forwald towards becoming Prime Minister of Can- ada when he narrowly beat Oak Ridges-Markham Liberal incum- bent Lui Temelkovsld in November. “I appreciate I'll never get. 100 per cent of the vote, so 100 per cent of the people will not think the same way as me," Mr. Calandra said, referring to his '520-vote mar- gin of victory. “I want (everyone, no matter who they voted for) to feel comfortable to call me for anything. Ultimately, I'll try my best to not let them down." ” Mr. Calandra’s political aspha- tions started long before he knew the difference between a Conserva- tive and a Liberal. At age 9, he pestered his father to allow him to deliver flyers for his neighbourhood Progressive Con- servative candidate John Gamble. ONCE A YOUNG LIBERAL “I didn’t know who it was for; I just wanted to deliver flyers for a political party," he said. Throughout Mr. Calandra’s adolescence, he continued to manoeuvre the political landscape in an effort to figure out where he belonged. “Initially, in my high school days, I was a young Liberal," he said. “In the latter part of high school, when you start paying attention and ana- lyzing politics, I started developing my own ideas (and) by university, I was fully Conservative." Although Mr. Calandra was pnepping himself for a career in politics through his volunteer work, when it was time to head of? to university, he chose what interested him, not what would get him ahead in Ottawa. They just happened to be the same thing. After about two years at Carâ€" leton University studying political science and history, Mr. Calandra was fonced to leave the classroom behind. ” “I was always of the view that if it happened in politics (I’d) run with it. If not, that's OK," he said. “The Rae 'govemment, at that time, was catastrophic for our busi- nesses (as landlords), so I had to come home and help run the family business." he said. SUNâ€"TRIBUNE PEOPLE MP has always had political aspirations MP Paul Calandra enjoys a moment at home with his wife, Melanie, and their daughters, Natalie, 2, and Olivia, two months. Mr. Calandra said he never olfi- cially dropped out of university, which enabled him to complete his bachelor of arts degree via distance education. He finally graduated this past November. “I’ve always been proud of the fact I continued to take courses,” he said. “Do I have (my degree) on the wall in Ottawa? Yes, I’m very proud of it.” Throughout that time, Mr. Calandra, 38, also never gave up his political aspirations. “I always knew I was going to run for office,” he said, admitting that he would be interested in the country’s top job some time in the future. In 1995, Mr. Calandra accept- ed a position with the Mike Harâ€" ris government, where he served as chief of staff to MPP Steve Gilâ€" Christ, former Minister of Munici- pal Afiairs and Housing, chair of the Red Tape Commission and first Commissioner of Alternative Ener- gy. He also sewed as a campaign CAMPAIGN MANAGER manager in two federal elections and three provincial elections and as a regional organizer for Stephen Harper’s leadership campaign and Jim Flaherty’s provincial leadership campaign- When Mr. Calandra was elect- ed in November, he was eager to get moving on a variety of proj- ects. But since Parliament has been prorogued, Mr. Calandra has been forced to patiently await January's session re-start. “(I'm frustrated by) the speed at which the transition has taken place,” he noted. STAFF PHOTO/STEVE SOMERVILLE Stoufi'ville Sun-'I‘ribune I Salaam (an. 32 2009 Once session does finally resume in January, Mr. Calandra said he is ready to move ahead with such things as ensuring federal money from the Canada Building Fund is funneled into local projects; farmâ€" ing remains a viable occupation for area residents and the Markham Stouffville Hospital expansion takes place. “Ithink,andlknow,lcanbeof assistance to promote the hospital to Queen’s Park, and locally,” he said. Although a recent report by the Canadian Institute for Health Inforâ€" mation revealed that Markham Stouflville Hospital has the highest death rate in Canada, Mr. Calandra still believes the hospital provides a wonderful service to the com- munity. And what Mr. Calandra has seen, has been nothing but positive, not- ing his two children - two-and- a-half year old Natalie and two- month-old Olivia )oy were both born there. ‘ “I hlwayS like to take those reports and contrast them with what I’ve seen," he said. Rounding out Mr. Calandra’s family, which now resides in Stouflville, is-his wife of three years, Melanie, and their black Labrador retriever, Phoebe. LIVED IN MARKHAM Mr. Calandra spent the first few years of his life in Markham, before ' the family moved onto a farm in Ballantrae. Recognizing that at the time Hwy. 48 was the area’s main route north during the summer's cottage get- away season, the family made money by setting up shop on the side of the rode to sell fruits and vegetables grown on their farm. “I loved it, but it’s really hard having two young kids up in Bal- lantrae,” he said of why the family lives in town. “As much as I miss it, I love being in town.” One thing you probably didn’t know about Mr. Calandra is that while at Carleton University, he spent a year in the Cameron High- landers of Ottawa, a primary reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. ‘ “I (wanted to) go through basic training and understand what they go through," he said. TWO nights a week and dur- ing every weekend for a year, Mr. Calandra participated in basic training, which he admitted was extremely difficult because he was an overweight and out-ofâ€"shape 22-year-old, undisciplined student. “The first night my body seized up because I was so out of shape," he said. “It was probably the most difficult thing I had done until that time."