Catherine Fife

Catherine Fife (born 1968/1969)[1] 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 MPP
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office June 7, 2018
Preceded by	New riding
Constituency	Waterloo
In office September 6, 2012 – June 7, 2018
Preceded by	Elizabeth Witmer
Succeeded by	Riding abolished
Constituency	Kitchener—Waterloo
Personal details
Born	1968/1969 (age 51–52)[1]
Political party	New Democratic
Spouse(s)	Dale Fife
Children	2
Residence	Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
Occupation	Research coordinator

Background

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.

Politics

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.[2]

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.[3][1] She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election defeating Liberal candidate Jamie Burton by 3,843 votes.[4]

She is the party's critic for Jobs, Employment, Research and Innovation and the Chair for Standing Committee on Public Accounts.[5]

Election results

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[6]

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

1. "Ontario NDP’s by-election win leaves majority outside Liberals’ grasp". The Globe and Mail, September 6, 2012.
2. "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.
3. "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.
4. "General Election by District: Kitchener-Waterloo". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014.
5. "Catherine Fife (Waterloo)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. October 2, 2018.
6. "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. p. 12. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)