Rafah DiCostanzo

Rafah DiCostanzo
Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
for Clayton Park West
Assumed office
May 30, 2017
Preceded byDiana Whalen
Personal details
Born (1962-05-02) May 2, 1962 (age 61)
Baghdad, Iraq
Political partyLiberal
SpouseJohn DiCostanzo
OccupationInterpreter

Rafah DiCostanzo (born May 2, 1962) is a Canadian politician. She was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2017 provincial election.

Early life and education

DiCostanzo was born in Baghdad, Iraq. She moved to Great Britain as a teenager and arrived in Canada in 1984. She graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University in 1988 with a bachelor of arts in modern languages. She has been an Arabic interpreter with Nova Scotia Interpreting Services since 1990.

Personal life

DiCostanzo is married to John DiCostanzo, a lawyer. Dicostanzo has lived in Clayton Park West for over 33 years.

DiCostanzo worked for Nova Scotia Interpreting Services and also has experience in banking administration, travel constituency, entrepreneurship and business ownership. DiCostanzo speaks five different languages and has worked as an interpreter for new immigrants and refugees for almost 30 years.

Political career

DiCostanzo is a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. First elected in 2017, DiCostanzo became the first Iraqi-Canadian elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. she has represented the electoral district of Clayton Park West since 2017.

DiCostanzo and other community leaders set up a "Stop Littering Committee" in Clayton Park West and challenged other MLAs to help reduce litter and start a conversation about waste management in their rides.

DiCostanzo is currently the Liberal Caucus Chair and vice-Chair of the Community Services Committee, and Chair of the Human Resources Committee, and Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Chair of the Private and Local Bills Committee, and Chair of the Health Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee. DiCostanzo is a member of the Public Accounts, Internal Affairs and Law Amendments Committees. She is also a member of the House of Assembly Management Commission.

DiCostanzo was re-elected in the 2021 provincial election.

Electoral record

2021 Nova Scotia general election: Clayton Park West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rafah DiCostanzo 3,603 47.60 +1.56
Progressive Conservative Nargis DeMolitor 1,875 24.77 -1.52
New Democratic Reena Davis 1,836 24.25 +4.12
Green Richard Zurawski 210 2.77 -3.00
Atlantica Helen Lau 46 0.61 -1.17
Total valid votes 7,570 99.74
Total rejected ballots 20 0.26
Turnout 7,590 52.63
Eligible voters 14,422
Liberal hold Swing +1.54


2017 Nova Scotia general election: Clayton Park West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Rafah DiCostanzo 4,035 46.04 -21.44
Progressive Conservative Paul Kimball 2,304 26.29 +11.31
New Democratic Rana Zaman 1,764 20.13 +2.58
Green Thomas Trappenberg 506 5.77 N/A
Atlantica Jonathan Dean 154 1.78 N/A
Total valid votes 8,763 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 30 0.34
Turnout 8,793 49.90
Eligible voters 17,620
Liberal hold Swing -16.38
Source: Elections Nova Scotia

This page was last updated at 2023-10-29 17:31 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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