[2] He first ran for Federal office in the 1988 election, as part of a group of four Liberals who, according to author William Johnson, "brought a new turbulence to the politics of Metro Toronto.
"[3] The group, which included Joe Volpe, Armindo Silva, and Jasbir Singh, worked together and used aggressive tactics to secure nominations in the Toronto area.
Ianno narrowly held the diverse downtown riding through four federal elections, facing strong competition from New Democratic Party candidates.
In the 2004 election, Ianno again faced councillor Chow and managed to win re-election by a slim margin, as the Liberals were reduced to a minority government due to the Sponsorship Scandal.
After the election, The Globe and Mail reported on February 11, 2006 that Ianno had been "burning up the caucus phone lines" testing the waters for a possible bid in the Liberal leadership campaign to replace Martin.
[8] On March 9, 2010, the Ontario Securities Commission made allegations of market manipulation based on what they deemed "acting against public interest" against Ianno.