Kellie Leitch

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The Honourable
Kellie Leitch
PC OOnt MP
KellieLeitch2014.jpg
Leitch in 2014
Official Opposition Critic for Health
In office
November 20, 2015 – April 7, 2016
Leader Rona Ambrose
Preceded by Murray Rankin
Succeeded by Colin Carrie
Minister of Labour
In office
July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Preceded by Lisa Raitt
Succeeded by MaryAnn Mihychuk
Minister responsible for Status of Women
In office
July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Preceded by Rona Ambrose
Succeeded by Patty Hajdu
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Simcoe—Grey
Assumed office
May 2, 2011
Preceded by Helena Guergis
Personal details
Born Khristinn Kellie Leitch
(1970-07-30) July 30, 1970 (age 45)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party Conservative
Residence Creemore, Ontario
Profession Orthopaedic paediatric surgeon; professor

Khristinn Kellie Leitch PC OOnt MP (born July 30, 1970) is a Conservative MP in the Canadian House of Commons She was first elected in 2011, succeeding Member of Parliament Helena Guergis who was dismissed from the Conservative Party caucus. Following her election, Leitch was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. On July 15, 2013, Prime Minister Harper named Leitch Minister of Labour and Minister for the Status of Women. She served in Cabinet until the defeat of the Conservative government in the 2015 federal election. Leitch declared her candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party on April 6, 2016.[1]

Training and medical career[edit]

Leitch was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the daughter of Eleanor Lynne (Conway) and Kelburne "Kit" McNabb Leitch, who owned and operated a construction company.[2][3][4] She graduated from Queen's University in 1991 with an undergraduate degree.[5] She earned her MD from the University of Toronto in 1994, MBA from Dalhousie University in 1998, and completed the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program in 2001 at the University of Toronto. She became a fellow of clinical paediatric orthopaedics at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles/University of Southern California in 2002.[6]

Leitch previously taught at the University of Western Ontario, where she served as the assistant dean of external affairs at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the chair of paediatric surgery at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario.

She is an orthopaedic pediatric surgeon at SickKids Hospital. Leitch is also an associate professor at the University of Toronto.[6]

Leitch was the founding chair of the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership and led the health sector stream of the MBA programme at the Richard Ivey School of Business located at the University of Western Ontario.

Leitch also founded the now-defunct Kids Health Foundation in 2009, an organization that sought to work with academia, the not-for-profit sector, government and industry to make Canada the healthiest place on earth for children to grow-up.[7]

Leitch has maintained her medical credentials while serving in politics, and has hospital privileges at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa and Collingwood General and Marine Hospital in Collingwood, Ontario.[8]

Political involvement[edit]

Leitch is an active member of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.[9] She was a strategist in Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott's leadership bid in 2009.[10] She also served as president of the Ontario PC Campus Association, and has been actively involved in the Conservative Party since she was 14.

Leitch served as chair of the expert panel for the Children's Fitness Tax Credit in 2006, which made recommendations to Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, regarding the best ways to implement this tax credit designed to encourage health and fitness among Canadian children.[11] In 2008, Leitch authored the report entitled Reaching for the Top: A Report by the Advisor on Healthy Children & Youth. The report is a "call to action" for government and industry on key issues affecting Canadian children and youth.[6]

Leitch serves on the boards for CANFAR, the National Research Council, YMCA, and Genome Canada, among others.[6]

Federal politics[edit]

On September 17, 2010, The Globe and Mail reported that Leitch would run for the Conservative nomination in Simcoe-Grey. The seat was, at the time, held by Helena Guergis, who was expelled from the Conservative Party. The Globe described Leitch as a "star candidate" and noted that her launch event in Creemore the following day would include former Ontario premier Bill Davis and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.[12]

Leitch won the nomination over Collingwood mayor Chris Carrier and Paul Throop with 67% of all ballots cast in a large turnout. Leitch continued this momentum by winning the general election with more votes than any candidate for public office had ever received in Simcoe-Grey, with 31,784 ballots cast for her and a plurality of 20,590 votes, or 49.36% of the vote.[13] Following her election, Leitch was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

Minister of Labour and Minister for the Status of Women[edit]

As part of the February 2014 budget, Leitch announced a 25-million plan to address violence against aboriginal women and girls.[14]

On July 15, 2013, Prime Minister Harper named Leitch Minister of Labour and Minister for the Status of Women. During the 2015 Canadian federal election, Leitch said that she was pro-life when asked at a local debate, citing her experience as a paediatric surgeon as her reason.[15]

On October 2, 2015, during the general election, Leitch and then-Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander announced an RCMP "tip line" where Canadians could report "barbaric cultural practices", which, along with the niqab issue, was widely viewed as an attempt to keep cultural and immigration issues at the forefront of the election campaign.[16]

Conservative leadership election[edit]

Although Leitch was re-elected in the 2015 election, the Conservatives were relegated to Official Opposition status. During the election, Leitch campaigned with over 70 Conservative candidates, which prepared the groundwork for her participation in the upcoming Conservative leadership election to replace Stephen Harper.[17] She has recruited Nick Kouvalis, former Toronto mayoralty campaign manager for Rob Ford and John Tory, to head her leadership campaign. Andy Pringle of the Toronto Police Services Board is her chief fundraiser.[18]

Electoral history[edit]

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Conservative Kellie Leitch 30,612 46.6 -1.8 –
Liberal Mike MacEachern 25,352 38.6 +25.9 –
New Democratic David Matthews 6,332 9.6 -7.8 –
Green JoAnne Fleming 2,923 4.4 -1.1 –
Christian Heritage Len Noordegraaf 528 0.8 – –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 65,747 100.0     $240,274.24
Total rejected ballots 225 – –
Turnout 65,972 – –
Eligible voters 97,145
Conservative hold Swing -13.85
Source: Elections Canada[19][20]
Canadian federal election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Conservative Kellie Leitch 31,784 49.36 -5.68 –
New Democratic Katy Austin 11,185 17.38 +6.18 –
Independent Helena Guergis 8,714 13.50 – –
Liberal Alex Smardenka 8,207 12.75 -8.80 –
Green Jace Metheral 3,482 5.41 -4.71 –
Christian Heritage Peter Vander Zaag 757 1.18 – –
Canadian Action Gord Cochrane 244 0.38 – –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 64,373 100.00
Total rejected ballots 269 0.42 +0.08
Turnout 64,642 66.13 +6.03
Eligible voters 97,755 – –
Conservative hold Swing -5.93

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/conservative-leadership-race-kicks-off-with-kellie-leitch-bid-1.2847247
  2. ^ http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/2052488-who-is-kellie-leitch-/
  3. ^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/shes-so-young-to-take-on-the-leadership-role/article4289719/
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Queen's staff (2010-01-27). "Queen's alumni honoured with Order of Ontario". News Centre. Kingston, Ontario: Queen's University. Archived from the original on 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  6. ^ a b c d "Genome Canada-Board of Directors". Ottawa: Genome Canada. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  7. ^ Leitch, Kellie (2010-03-03). "Kids Health Foundation founder Dr. Kellie Leitch commends the Speech from the Throne" (Press release). Toronto: Newswire. Archived from the original on 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  8. ^ http://www.cpso.on.ca/public-register/doctor-details.aspx?view=1&id=%2068310
  9. ^ Benzie, Robert (2009-03-18). "Mike Harris is back as Tory kingmaker". The Toronto Star (Toronto). Archived from the original on 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2010-05-07. 
  10. ^ Cheadle, Bruce (2012-06-12). "Dr. Kellie Leitch, Conservative MP, Moonlights As Pediatric Surgeon". The Huffington Post (Ottawa). The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  11. ^ Richer, Eric (2006-07-31). "Minister of Finance Appoints Expert Panel to Advise on Children's Fitness Tax Credit". Government of Canada. Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada. Archived from the original on 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  12. ^ Leblanc, Daniel (2010-09-17). "With Guergis out in the cold, Tories to unveil new star candidate". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  13. ^ Adams, Morgan Ian (2011-05-03). "Simcoe—Grey, by the numbers". The Enterprise Bulletin (Collingwood, Ontario). Archived from the original on 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2013-10-25. 
  14. ^ Mas, Susana (15 September 2014). "Tories table plan to stop violence against aboriginal women and girls". CBC News. Retrieved 3 April 2016. 
  15. ^ Lum, Zi-Ann (2 October 2015). "Kellie Leitch, Status Of Women Minister, Tells Crowd She's 'Pro-Life'". Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved 2 October 2015. 
  16. ^ Milewski, Terry. "Conservatives crank up values clash by taking aim at 'barbaric cultural practices'". CBC. CBC. Retrieved 11 April 2016. 
  17. ^ "Kellie Leitch campaigned with nearly 70 candidates during election". ipolitics.ca. Retrieved 2015-12-25. 
  18. ^ Proudfoot, Shannon. "Behind Kellie Leitch’s ‘sort-of’ campaign for Conservative leader". Maclean's. Maclean's. Retrieved 11 April 2016. 
  19. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Simcoe—Grey, 30 September 2015
  20. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links[edit]

28th Ministry – Cabinet of Stephen Harper
Cabinet Post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Lisa Raitt Minister of Labour
2013–2015		 MaryAnn Mihychuk
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