Karen McCrimmon

Karen McCrimmon OMM CD MP (born c. 1957) is a Canadian Forces veteran, mediator, and politician who was elected Member of Parliament for Kanata—Carleton in the 2015 Canadian federal election. After a 31-year military career, McCrimmon retired as a lieutenant colonel. She was the first female navigator and the first woman to command a Canadian Forces air force squadron. She became involved in federal politics with the Liberal Party of Canada in 2008. In 2011, she was the Liberal candidate for the federal election in the Carleton—Mississippi Mills riding and, in 2013, she unsuccessfully bid for the Liberal leadership.

Lieutenant Colonel Karen McCrimmon OMM CD MP
Karen McCrimmon speaking at a community discussion night, 28 January 2014
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Incumbent
Assumed office August 31, 2018
Minister	Ralph Goodale
Preceded by	Mark Holland
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
In office January 30, 2017 – August 31, 2018
Minister	Marc Garneau
Preceded by	Kate Young
Succeeded by	Terry Beech
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence
In office December 2, 2015 – January 27, 2017
Minister	Kent Hehr
Preceded by	Pierre Lemieux
Succeeded by	Sherry Romanado
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Kanata—Carleton
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	New riding
Personal details
Born	1957 (age 62–63) Weston, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Rob McCrimmon
Residence	Kanata, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Windsor (B.A.)
Profession	Mediator Canadian Forces (retired)
Military service
Branch/service	Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service	1980–2006
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Commands	429 Transport Squadron
Awards	Order of Military Merit (1995) Canadian Forces Decoration with clasp

Background

McCrimmon was born in Weston, Ontario.[1] Her father, Charles Martin, was a metallurgic technician employed by the A.V.Roe Company working on the AVRO Arrow CF-105.[2] Her mother, Isabel, emigrated from Scotland on her own, at the age of 20. When the Arrow project was cancelled in 1959, her father found work with Trans-Canada Airlines and moved his family to Timmins, Ontario. In 1971, the family moved to Windsor, Ontario.

While in high school, McCrimmon joined the Royal Canadian Army Cadets.[2] In 1975, she joined The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) as a Reservist. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor in Russian and linguistics,[1] and originally wanted to work in Canada's diplomatic corps.[2]

McCrimmon then joined the Regular Force in 1980, and became an air navigator, the first female to gain such a qualification.[3]

In 1995, she was made a member of the Order of Military Merit and, in 1998, was promoted lieutenant-colonel and given command of 429 Transport Squadron, becoming the first woman to command a Canadian Forces flying squadron.[3] In 2000, she headed the Transport and Rescue Standardization and Evaluation Team. In July 2006, she was posted to Ramstein, Germany to serve as a Senior Staff Officer at the NATO Air Headquarters.[3] She did a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2004 where she was responsible for NATO Airlift Co-ordination.[3] She retired from the Forces in 2006.

Politics

McCrimmon became involved in federal politics with the Liberal Party in 2008. She was the Liberal candidate for the riding of Carleton—Mississippi Mills in the 2011 federal election, but lost to the Conservative incumbent Gordon O'Connor.[4] In December 2012, she announced her bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and, on April 14, 2013, she conceded to the winner Justin Trudeau.[5][6]

In the 2015 Canadian federal election, McCrimmon was the Liberal candidate in Kanata—Carleton, essentially the Ottawa portion of Carleton—Mississippi Mills. She defeated Conservative candidate Walter Pamic by a 7,600-vote margin as the Liberals swept to a majority government.[2] After the election, she was touted as a candidate for a cabinet portfolio.[7]

In the 2019 Canadian federal election, McCrimmon was the Liberal candidate in Kanata—Carleton, essentially the Ottawa portion of Carleton—Mississippi Mills. She defeated Conservative candidate Justina McCaffrey by a 4,000-vote margin as the Liberals won a minority government. McCrimmon was Chair of the Defence Committee in the 43rd Canadian Parliament.

Civilian career

On November 13, 2015, McCrimmon was sworn in as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Kanata – Carleton. Prior to her election, she was a consultant for private and public institutions and organizations.[8]

Married to Rob McCrimmon since 1985, the couple have two grown children. Karen McCrimmon is a private pilot and is a member of the Women's Executive Network (WXN), CFUW, FMWC, Royal Canadian Legion, and CWIA.[9]

Honours and decorations

McCrimmon received the following honours and decorations during her military career.

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Order of Military Merit (OMM)	Appointed on September 6, 1995 Invested on December 6, 1995[4]
	Gulf and Kuwait Medal	with Bar
	General Campaign Star	South West Asia Ribbon
	Special Service Medal
	Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
	Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)	1 Clasp

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Karen McCrimmon	27,802	43.03	-8.26
	Conservative	Justina McCaffrey	23,699	36.68	-2.53
	New Democratic	Melissa Coenradd	8,001	12.38	+5.57
	Green	Jennifer Purdy	4,182	6.47	+3.78
	People's	Scott Miller	929	1.44
Total valid votes/Expense limit			64,613	100.0
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters
Source: Elections Canada[10]

2015 Canadian federal election: Kanata—Carleton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Karen McCrimmon	32,447	51.24	+24.78	–
	Conservative	Walter Pamic	24,829	39.21	-14.5	–
	New Democratic	John Hansen	4,313	6.81	-8.48	–
	Green	Andrew West	1,704	2.69	-1.85	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			63,323	100		$212,958.74
Total rejected ballots			191	–	–
Turnout			63,514	–	–
Eligible voters			79,831
	Liberal notional gain from Conservative		Swing		+19.64
Source: Elections Canada[11][12]

2011 Canadian federal election: Carleton—Mississippi Mills
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Gordon O'Connor	43,723	56.95	-0.82	–
	Liberal	Karen McCrimmon	18,393	23.96	+1.62	–
	New Democratic	Erin Peters	11,223	14.62	+4.98	–
	Green	John Hogg	3,434	4.47	-5.76	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			76,773	100.00		–
Total rejected ballots			196	0.25	–
Turnout			76,969	72.77	+3.61
Eligible voters			105,770	–	–
	Conservative hold		Swing		-1.22

References

1. Duffy, Andrew (Apr 3, 2011). "Its Army versus air Force,". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
2. Egan, Kelly and Darren Major (20 October 2015). "McCrimmon soars to huge Liberal victory in Kanata-Carleton". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
3. Ottawa Citizen (Apr 14, 2011). "Liberal Party: Karen McCrimmon". Postmedia. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
4. Dunn, Derek (November 13, 2012). "Riding woman joins Liberal leadership race". Ottawa East News. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
5. "McCrimmon makes list of Liberal leadership candidates". West Carleton Review. December 13, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
6. "Federal Liberal leadership race". Canada. CBC news. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
7. Crawford, Alison (20 October 2015). "What might a Liberal cabinet look like?". CBC News. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
8. Smith, Teresa (November 12, 2012). "Retired Forces Lt.-Col. McCrimmon to launch federal Liberal leadership campaign". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
9. "Private pilot and volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society". Retrieved January 9, 2013.
10. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
11. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Kanata—Carleton, 30 September 2015
12. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Parliament of Canada
• Karen McCrimmon – Parliament of Canada biography
• Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca