Canadian surgeon and politician
|
---|
Leitch in 2017
|
|
|
In office
July 15, 2013 ? November 4, 2015
|
Prime Minister
| Stephen Harper
|
---|
Preceded by
| Lisa Raitt
|
---|
Succeeded by
| MaryAnn Mihychuk
|
---|
|
In office
July 15, 2013 ? November 4, 2015
|
Prime Minister
| Stephen Harper
|
---|
Preceded by
| Rona Ambrose
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Patty Hajdu
|
---|
|
In office
May 2, 2011 ? September 11, 2019
|
Preceded by
| Helena Guergis
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Terry Dowdall
|
---|
|
|
Born
| Khristinn Kellie Leitch
(
1970-07-30
)
July 30, 1970
(age 53)
Winnipeg
,
Manitoba
, Canada
|
---|
Political party
| Conservative
|
---|
Other political
affiliations
| Progressive Conservative
(Ontario)
|
---|
Residence(s)
| Creemore
,
Ontario
, Canada
|
---|
Alma mater
| Queen's University
University of Toronto
(
M.D.
)
Dalhousie University
(
M.B.A.
)
|
---|
Profession
| Orthopaedic paediatric surgeon; professor
|
---|
Field
| Business
,
medicine
|
---|
Institution(s)
| University of Southern California
University of Western Ontario
|
---|
Board
| CANFAR
,
National Research Council
,
YMCA
,
Genome Canada
|
---|
Website
| kellieleitchmp
.com
|
---|
|
Dr.
Khristinn Kellie Leitch
PC
OOnt
FRCSC
(born July 30, 1970) is a
Canadian
surgeon
and former politician who served as the
Member of Parliament
for the
riding
of
Simcoe?Grey
from 2011 to 2019 as a member of the
Conservative Party
. She was first elected in the
2011 federal election
, 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
Stephen 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 ran in the 2017 contest for the
leadership of the Conservative Party
.
[1]
On January 23, 2018, Leitch announced that she would not be seeking re-election for the
43rd Canadian federal election
and would return to being a full-time surgeon.
[2]
Early life, training, and medical career
[
edit
]
Leitch was born in
Winnipeg
,
Manitoba
and raised in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of
Fort McMurray, Alberta
.
[3]
She is the daughter of Eleanor Lynne (Conway) and Kelburne "Kit" McNabb Leitch, who owned a construction company in Fort McMurray.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
She graduated from
Queen's University
in 1991 with an undergraduate degree.
[7]
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
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
/
University of Southern California
in 2002.
[8]
Leitch formerly 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 is a former chair of paediatric surgery at the
Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
.
She was an orthopaedic pediatric surgeon at
SickKids Hospital
for one year before pursuing a career in politics. Leitch is also an associate professor at the University of Toronto.
[8]
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
.
In 2009, Leitch founded the Kids Health Foundation (now known as The Sandbox Project), 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.
[9]
Leitch maintained her medical credentials while serving in politics, and had hospital privileges at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.
[10]
Political involvement
[
edit
]
Leitch is an active member of the
Conservative Party of Canada
and the
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
.
[11]
She was a strategist in Progressive Conservative MPP
Christine Elliott
's leadership bid in 2009.
[12]
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.
[13]
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.
[8]
Leitch serves on the boards for
CANFAR
, the
National Research Council
,
YMCA
, and
Genome Canada
, among others.
[8]
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
.
[14]
Leitch won the nomination over Collingwood mayor Chris Carrier and Paul Throop with 67% of all ballots cast in a large turnout. Leitch won 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.
[15]
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.
[16]
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.
[17]
On October 2, 2015, during the general election, Leitch and then-
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Chris Alexander
announced a Royal Canadian Mounted Police "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.
[19]
Leitch later expressed regret in her involvement of the "barbaric cultural practices tip line".
[20]
However, in an interview, on the statement the tip line "is a good idea but wasn't communicated as effectively as it could be to the public" she characterised it as being "absolutely correct".
[21]
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
2017 Conservative leadership election
to replace Stephen Harper.
[22]
Leitch's policy stances faced similar controversy in October 2015 during the federal election, where she and fellow Conservative MP and Immigration Minister
Chris Alexander
pledged support and funding to establish a tip-line for Canadians to call in regards to what they called "barbaric cultural practices".
[23]
Leitch has since made an effort to apologize for her role in the proposed legislation, saying that she regrets her decisions.
[24]
She recruited
Nick Kouvalis
and
Richard Ciano
to head her leadership campaign,
[25]
and
Andy Pringle
of the
Toronto Police Services Board
was her chief fundraiser.
[26]
Leitch was the first official candidate to enter the race.
[27]
As part of her leadership campaign, Leitch proposed a Canadian value screening for all new residents.
[28]
Michael Chong
, Conservative MP for
Wellington-Halton Hills
and an opponent of Leitch in the leadership race, spoke out against Leitch's proposal, saying that it "does not represent our Conservative Party or our Canada".
[28]
Despite the censure, Leitch stood by her proposal. In a September interview with the Canadian Press, Leitch made the following statement in response to the backlash she had been receiving: "I don't think it's intolerant to believe in a set of values that we expect everyone to share here and include those people who are coming to visit or immigrate to Canada."
[29]
The focus of her campaign around the policies surprised some of her long-time mentors, such as former Conservative senator
Hugh Segal
, who couldn't support her leadership bid.
[30]
Leitch proposed screening visitors, refugees and immigrants for "
Canadian values
". This process would include face to face interviews by trained immigration officers with 100% of immigrants, rather than the 10% or so that happens now, with questions pertaining to their views on whether Canadian law should be the only set of laws that applies to all Canadians, hate speech, violence, and equality between genders, sexual orientation, religious & political views.
[31]
Stephen Maher, based on information he received from former staffers of Letich, argued that her campaign manager Nick Kouvalis, thought that it would give Leitch, a way to win.
[32]
In a November 9, 2016 interview with
Toronto Life
magazine, Leitch cited the belief that gays should not be sentenced to death as an example of one such Canadian value.
[33]
During the campaign she was endorsed by Council of European Canadians,
[34]
but her campaign rejected the endorsement.
[35]
Regarding the endorsement, Leitch said that for anyone to think her campaign is in any way based on ethnic nationalism is to be willfully ignorant of what her campaign is about.
[35]
Leitch finished sixth in the race.
After the leadership race
[
edit
]
She was not included into
Andrew Scheer
's
shadow cabinet
. In December 2017, it was reported that
Essa Township
mayor
Terry Dowdall
and physician Gillian Yeates were challenging Leitch for the Conservative nomination in
Simcoe?Grey
for the
next election
.
[36]
On January 23, 2018, Leitch announced that she would not seek re-election.
[27]
Leitch threw her support towards Marc Biss and Tim Bulmer, to be the party candidate for her riding arguing that they were "real conservatives" while believing Yeates and Dowdall were not.
[37]
On March 24, it was announced that Dowdall won the party nomination for her riding after it was rumoured that he defeated Yeates on the third ballot.
[38]
On January 23, 2018, Leitch announced that she would not be seeking re-election for the 43rd Canadian federal election and would return to being a full-time surgeon. As of December 1, 2019, she is chief of orthopaedic surgery at Children's of Mississippi in
Jackson, Mississippi
,
United States
.
[39]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Leitch was raised a Catholic, and still practices the religion.
[40]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
2015 Canadian federal election
:
Simcoe?Grey
|
Party
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
|
Expenditures
|
|
Conservative
|
Kellie Leitch
|
30,612
|
46.6
|
-1.8
|
$101,505.22
|
|
Liberal
|
Mike MacEachern
|
25,352
|
38.6
|
+25.9
|
$55,545.97
|
|
New Democratic
|
David Matthews
|
6,332
|
9.6
|
-7.8
|
$5,106.83
|
|
Green
|
JoAnne Fleming
|
2,923
|
4.4
|
-1.1
|
$5,324.15
|
|
Christian Heritage
|
Len Noordegraaf
|
528
|
0.8
|
–
|
$3,879.16
|
Total valid votes/Expense limit
|
65,747
|
100.0
|
|
$242,062.43
|
Total rejected ballots
|
225
|
–
|
–
|
Turnout
|
65,972
|
–
|
–
|
Eligible voters
|
97,145
|
Source:
Elections Canada
[41]
[42]
|
2011 Canadian federal election
:
Simcoe?Grey
|
Party
|
Candidate
|
Votes
|
%
|
|
Expenditures
|
|
Conservative
|
Kellie Leitch
|
31,784
|
49.36
|
-5.68
|
$96,128.50
|
|
New Democratic
|
Katy Austin
|
11,185
|
17.38
|
+6.18
|
7,993.48
|
|
Independent
|
Helena Guergis
|
8,714
|
13.50
|
–
|
57,289.66
|
|
Liberal
|
Alex Smardenka
|
8,207
|
12.75
|
-8.80
|
83,148.92
|
|
Green
|
Jace Metheral
|
3,482
|
5.41
|
-4.71
|
8,522.13
|
|
Christian Heritage
|
Peter Vander Zaag
|
757
|
1.18
|
–
|
4,385.89
|
|
Canadian Action
|
Gord Cochrane
|
244
|
0.38
|
–
|
2,512.75
|
Total valid votes/Expense limit
|
64,373
|
100.00
|
–
|
$99,651.72
|
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
]
- ^
"Kellie Leitch, Maxime Bernier enter Conservative leadership race"
.
CTV News
. April 6, 2016
. Retrieved
September 14,
2016
.
- ^
"Former Tory cabinet minister, leadership contender Leitch to quit politics"
.
National Post
. January 24, 2018.
- ^
a
b
Bates, Andrew (July 23, 2013).
"Kellie Leitch: From Beacon Hill to Parliament Hill"
.
fortmcmurraytoday
. Retrieved
2022-07-06
.
- ^
Edwards, John (April 3, 2011).
"Who is Kellie Leitch?"
.
simcoe.com
. Retrieved
September 14,
2016
.
- ^
Priest, Lisa (October 22, 2009).
"
'She's so young to take on the leadership role'
"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
September 14,
2016
.
- ^
Lumley, Elizabeth (May 1, 2009).
Canadian Who's Who 2009
. University of Toronto Press.
ISBN
9780802040923
.
- ^
Queen's staff (January 27, 2010).
"Queen's alumni honoured with Order of Ontario"
.
News Centre
. Kingston, Ontario: Queen's University. Archived from
the original
on October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Genome Canada-Board of Directors"
. Ottawa: Genome Canada. 2013. Archived from
the original
on October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
Leitch, Kellie (March 3, 2010).
"Kids Health Foundation founder Dr. Kellie Leitch commends the Speech from the Throne"
(Press release). Toronto: Newswire.
Archived
from the original on October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
"Leitch, Khristinn Kellie CPSO#: 68310"
. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
. Retrieved
September 14,
2016
.
- ^
Benzie, Robert (March 18, 2009).
"Mike Harris is back as Tory kingmaker"
.
The Toronto Star
. Toronto.
Archived
from the original on October 31, 2013
. Retrieved
May 7,
2010
.
- ^
Cheadle, Bruce (June 12, 2012).
"Dr. Kellie Leitch, Conservative MP, Moonlights As Pediatric Surgeon"
.
The Huffington Post
. Ottawa. The Canadian Press.
Archived
from the original on June 16, 2012
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
Richer, Eric (July 31, 2006).
"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 October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
Leblanc, Daniel (September 17, 2010).
"With Guergis out in the cold, Tories to unveil new star candidate"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Toronto
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
Adams, Morgan Ian (May 3, 2011).
"Simcoe?Grey, by the numbers"
.
The Enterprise Bulletin
. Collingwood, Ontario.
Archived
from the original on October 29, 2013
. Retrieved
October 25,
2013
.
- ^
Mas, Susana (September 15, 2014).
"Tories table plan to stop violence against aboriginal women and girls"
. CBC News
. Retrieved
April 3,
2016
.
- ^
Lum, Zi-Ann (October 2, 2015).
"Kellie Leitch, Status Of Women Minister, Tells Crowd She's 'Pro-Life'
"
.
HuffPost Canada
. Retrieved
October 2,
2015
.
- ^
"Canada and India continue to build strong economic ties"
.
Canada.ca
. January 9, 2015.
- ^
Milewski, Terry.
"Conservatives crank up values clash by taking aim at 'barbaric cultural practices'
"
.
CBC
. Retrieved
April 11,
2016
.
- ^
Zimonjic, Peter (April 21, 2016).
"Kellie Leitch tears up over role in barbaric cultural practices tip line"
. CBC News
. Retrieved
September 2,
2016
.
- ^
Charlton, Jonathan (September 2, 2016).
"Kellie Leitch: Barbaric cultural practices tip line was a good idea we failed to articulate"
. Saskatoon StarPhoenix
. Retrieved
September 2,
2016
.
- ^
Dickson, Janice (November 9, 2015).
"Kellie Leitch campaigned with nearly 70 candidates during election"
.
ipolitics.ca
. Retrieved
December 14,
2018
.
- ^
Maloney, Ryan (October 2, 2015).
"Tories Pledge Tip Line To Combat 'Barbaric Cultural Practices'
"
.
HuffPost Canada
. Retrieved
November 13,
2016
.
- ^
Zimonjic, Peter (April 21, 2016).
"Kellie Leitch tears up over role in barbaric cultural practices tip line"
. CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC
. Retrieved
November 13,
2016
.
- ^
"How Nick Kouvalis turns candidates into winners - Macleans.ca"
.
www.macleans.ca
. Retrieved
November 18,
2019
.
- ^
- ^
a
b
"Conservative MP Kellie Leitch won't run in 2019"
.
CBC News
. January 23, 2018
. Retrieved
January 23,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Tunney, Catherine (September 2, 2016).
"Kellie Leitch defends 'anti-Canadian values' survey question"
. CBC/Radio Canada. CBC News
. Retrieved
November 13,
2016
.
- ^
Smith, Joanna (September 6, 2016).
"Kellie Leitch says values test is about tolerance"
. Rogers Media. Maclean's
. Retrieved
November 13,
2016
.
- ^
Stone, Laura (January 24, 2018).
"Kellie Leitch, former Conservative leadership contender, to leave politics"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
January 24,
2018
.
- ^
"Kellie Leitch on screening for Canadian values"
.
Facebook
. February 25, 2017.
- ^
"The cautionary tale of Kellie Leitch - Macleans.ca"
.
www.macleans.ca
. Retrieved
November 18,
2019
.
- ^
"Q&A: Kellie Leitch, the potential future prime minister who wants to bring President-elect Trump's message to Canada"
. Torontolife.com. November 9, 2016
. Retrieved
December 29,
2016
.
- ^
McGregor, Janyce (December 6, 2016).
"Conservative leadership contenders spend more time agreeing than debating in Moncton, N.B."
CBC News
. CBC News
. Retrieved
December 29,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Browne, Rachel (December 5, 2016).
"
'I do not want their endorsement'
"
. Vice
. Retrieved
February 17,
2017
.
- ^
Levitz, Stephanie (December 19, 2017).
"Kellie Leitch Among Conservative MPs Facing Nomination Battle For 2019 Election"
.
The Canadian Press
. Retrieved
December 14,
2018
.
- ^
Cullen, Catherine (March 23, 2018).
"Kellie Leitch tears into rivals for her former riding, suggests they're not 'real' conservatives"
.
CBC News
. Retrieved
December 14,
2018
.
- ^
Adams, Ian (March 24, 2018).
"Essa Township's Dowdall wins Simcoe-Grey Conservative nomination"
.
Simcoe.com
. Retrieved
March 25,
2018
.
- ^
"Our Providers: Dr. Kellie Leitch brings world-class skills as surgical leader"
. The University of Mississippi Medical Center. December 1, 2019.
- ^
"How Kellie Leitch touched off a culture war - Macleans.ca"
. September 23, 2016
. Retrieved
September 29,
2016
.
- ^
Official Voting Results - General Election (October 19, 2015) - Simcoe--Grey (Ontario)
- ^
Elections Canada ? Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Ministers of Labour
(1900?96)
| |
---|
Ministers of Human Resources
Development (1996?2005)
2
| |
---|
Ministers of Human Resources
and Skills Development (2005?13)
| |
---|
Ministers of Employment
and Social Development (2013?15)
| |
---|
Minister of Families, Children
and Social Development (2015?present)
| |
---|
Ministers of Labour (1996?2015)
| |
---|
Minister of Employment, Workforce and Labour (2015?2019)
| |
---|
Minister of Labour (2019?present)
| |
---|
1
Until 1909, the office of the minister of Labour was a secondary function of the Postmaster-General of Canada. W. L. M. King was the first to hold the office independently.
2
The office of Minister of Employment and Immigration, and Minister of Labour were abolished and the office of Minister of Human Resources Development went in force on July 12, 1996. Under the new provisions, a Minister of Labour may be appointed. However, when no Minister of Labour is appointed, the Minister of Human Resources Development shall exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister of Labour.
3
Styled "Minister of Labour and Housing".
|