Catherine Fife

Summary

Catherine Eileen Fife[1] (born 1968 or 1969)[2] is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represents the riding of Waterloo. She has been a Member of Provincial Parliament since first winning her seat in the 2012 Kitchener—Waterloo byelection.

Catherine Fife
Critic, Finance and Treasury Board
Assumed office
July 13, 2022
LeaderMarit Stiles
Critic, Jobs, Employment, Research and Innovation
In office
August 23, 2018 – June 2, 2022
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Critic, Finance and Treasury Board
In office
June 25, 2014 – June 7, 2018
LeaderAndrea Horwath
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
Assumed office
June 7, 2018
Preceded byNew riding
ConstituencyWaterloo
In office
September 6, 2012 – June 7, 2018
Preceded byElizabeth Witmer
Succeeded byRiding abolished
ConstituencyKitchener—Waterloo
Personal details
Born1968 or 1969 (age 54–55)
Political partyNew Democratic
SpouseDale Fife
Children2
Residence(s)Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
OccupationResearch coordinator

Background edit

Prior to entering politics, she spent 10 years with the Toronto District School Board as an educational assistant, a school community advisor and a settlement worker for new immigrants. She was the research coordinator for the Partnerships for Children and Families Project at Wilfrid Laurier University. She lives in Kitchener-Waterloo with her husband Dale and their two children[citation needed].

Politics edit

Fife was elected to represent Waterloo/Wilmot as a trustee for the Waterloo Region District School Board in 2003, and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010.

In the 2007 provincial election, Fife ran as the New Democrat candidate in the riding of Kitchener—Waterloo. She came in third behind incumbent Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer and Liberal candidate Louise Ervin.[3]

After Witmer resigned to take a position with the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board, Fife ran in a by-election on September 6, 2012 to replace her. She defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Tracey Weiler by 3,748 votes.[4][2] She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election defeating Liberal candidate Jamie Burton by 3,843 votes.[5]

She is the party's critic for Jobs, Employment, Research and Innovation and the Chair for Standing Committee on Public Accounts.[6]

Election results edit

2022 Ontario general election: Waterloo
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Catherine Fife 20,615 45.89 −4.65 $79,926
Progressive Conservative Andrew Aitken 13,176 29.33 −2.08 $55,487
Liberal Jennifer Tuck 6,251 13.92 +1.75 $28,468
Green Shefaza Esmail 3,110 6.92 +2.09 $7,305
New Blue Vladimir Voznyuk 1,178 2.62   $4,970
Ontario Party Benjamin Hufnagel 359 0.80   $0
Communist Christian Shingiro 130 0.29   $0
Electoral Reform Peter House 103 0.23   $0
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,922 99.52 +0.79 $130,920
Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots 216 0.48 -0.79
Turnout 45,138 48.41 -13.39
Eligible voters 93,522
New Democratic hold Swing −1.29
Source(s)
  • "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18.
  • "Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21.
2018 Ontario general election: Waterloo
Party Candidate Votes %
New Democratic Catherine Fife 27,315 50.54
Progressive Conservative Dan Weber 16,973 31.41
Liberal Dorothy McCabe 6,577 12.17
Green Zdravko Gunjevic 2,613 4.83
Libertarian Andrew Allison 566 1.05
Total valid votes 54,097 100.00
Turnout 64.5
Eligible voters 83,924
New Democratic pickup new district.
Source: Elections Ontario[7]
2014 Ontario general election: Kitchener—Waterloo
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Catherine Fife 20,536 37.43 -2.44
Liberal Jamie Burton 16,534 30.14 +6.15
Progressive Conservative Tracey Weiler 14,450 26.34 -5.49
Green Stacey Danckert 2,859 5.21 +1.94
Libertarian James Schulz 438 0.78 +0.49
Freedom Nicholas Roy 43 0.07 +0.05
Total valid votes 54,860 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 623 1.12
Turnout 55,483 54.95
Eligible voters 100,972
New Democratic hold Swing -4.29
Source(s)
Elections Ontario (2014). "Official Returns from the Records, 039 Kitchener—Waterloo" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2015.
Ontario provincial by-election, September 6, 2012: Kitchener—Waterloo
Resignation of Elizabeth Witmer
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Catherine Fife 18,599 39.87 +23.20
Progressive Conservative Tracey Weiler 14,851 31.83 -11.94
Liberal Eric Davis 11,194 23.99 -12.05
Green Stacey Danckert 1,525 3.27 +0.63
Libertarian Allan Dettweiler 156 0.33
Freedom David Driver 95 0.20 -0.05
Communist Elizabeth Rowley 85 0.18
Independent Garnet Bruce 77 0.17
People's Political Party Kevin Clarke 48 0.10
Pauper John Turmel 23 0.05
Total valid votes 46,653 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 128 0.27
Turnout 46,781 47.00
Eligible voters 99,544
New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +17.57
Source(s)
Elections Ontario (2012). "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Kitchener—Waterloo by-election" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2014.
2007 Ontario general election: Kitchener—Waterloo
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer 20,748 40.84 -2.24
Liberal Louise Ervin 15,848 31.20 -9.18
New Democratic Catherine Fife 8,902 17.52 +6.58
Green Judy Greenwood-Speers 4,707 9.27 +6.08
Family Coalition Louis Reitzel 598 1.18 -0.53
Total valid votes 50,803 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 313
Turnout 51,116 53.63
Eligible voters 95,319
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +3.47

References edit

  1. ^ @ONPARLeducation (July 13, 2022). "Within the halls of the Legislature are walls that contain the names of every Member of Provincial Parliament elected to Ontario's Legislature since 1867. The names for the 42nd Parliament were recently added. For the first time a Member's name was inscribed in Oji-Cree syllabics" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b "Ontario NDP’s by-election win leaves majority outside Liberals’ grasp". The Globe and Mail, September 6, 2012.
  3. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 7 (xvi). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  4. ^ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. September 6, 2012. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-01.
  5. ^ "General Election by District: Kitchener-Waterloo". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Catherine Fife (Waterloo)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. October 2, 2018.
  7. ^ "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 12. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history