Karen McCrimmon

Lieutenant Colonel Karen McCrimmon OMM CD MPP
McCrimmon speaking at a community discussion night, January 28, 2014
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Kanata—Carleton
Incumbent
Assumed office July 27, 2023
Preceded by	Merrilee Fullerton
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
In office August 31, 2018 – August 15, 2021
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
In office December 2, 2015 – January 27, 2017
Minister	Kent Hehr
Preceded by	Pierre Lemieux
Succeeded by	Sherry Romanado
Member of Parliament for Kanata—Carleton
In office October 19, 2015 – September 20, 2021
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Jenna Sudds
Personal details
Born	Karen A. Martin 1959 (age 64–65) Weston, Ontario, Canada
Political party	Liberal Party of Canada (federal) Ontario Liberal Party (provincial)
Spouse	Rob McCrimmon
Children	2
Residence	Woodlawn, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Windsor (BA)
Profession	Mediator, soldier
Awards	Order of Military Merit Canadian Forces' Decoration with clasp
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Army Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service	1975–1980 (Army) 1980–2006 (Air Force)
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	The Windsor Regiment
Commands	429 Transport Squadron
Battles/wars	Gulf War Afghanistan War

Karen A. McCrimmon OMM CD MPP (née Martin; born 1959) is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, mediator, and politician. She is the member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Kanata—Carleton and was elected in a by-election on July 27, 2023 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party. She previously served as the Member of Parliament for Kanata—Carleton from 2015 to 2021. 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, McCrimmon was the Liberal candidate for the federal election in the Carleton—Mississippi Mills riding and, in 2013, she unsuccessfully bid for the Liberal leadership. She was first elected to Parliament in the 2015 federal election and re-elected in 2019. She did not seek re-election in 2021, citing health issues. In 2023, McCrimmon was elected to Provincial Parliament in the Kanata-Carleton by-election.

Background

McCrimmon was born in Weston, Ontario. Her father, Charles Martin, was a metallurgic technician employed by the A.V. Roe Company working on the Avro Arrow CF-105 fighter aircraft. 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. 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, and originally wanted to work in Canada's diplomatic corps.

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

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. 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. She did a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2004 where she was responsible for NATO Airlift Co-ordination. 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. In December 2012, she announced her bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and, on April 14, 2013, she placed sixth, losing to Justin Trudeau.

In the 2015 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. She was the first Liberal in 48 years to win the riding or its predecessors in the absence of vote-splitting on the right.

McCrimmon was re-elected in 2019, defeating 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.

McCrimmon did not run for re-election in the 2021 federal election. In her August 2021 announcement, she attributed her decision to not seek another term to health issues.

On May 29, 2023, McCrimmon was nominated by the Ontario Liberal Party as their candidate for the 2023 Kanata—Carleton by-election. On July 27, 2023, she won the by-election, flipping a seat that was previously held by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. She represents much of the same area that she represented federally.

As of July 7, 2024, she serves as the Liberal Party critic for Education, Colleges and Universities.

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.

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.

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
	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

Ontario provincial by-election, July 27, 2023: Kanata—Carleton Resignation of Merrilee Fullerton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Karen McCrimmon	11,214	34.53	+11.11
	Progressive Conservative	Sean Webster	10,416	32.07	-11.54
	New Democratic	Melissa Coenraad	9,560	29.43	+5.19
	New Blue	Jennifer Boudreau	636	1.96	-0.42
	Green	Steven Warren	442	1.36	-4.13
	Independent	Josh Rachlis	90	0.28
Total valid votes			32,358
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			121
Turnout				35.14	-16.24
Eligible voters			91,666
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+11.10

2019 Canadian federal election: Kanata—Carleton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Karen McCrimmon	28,746	43.05	−8.24	$101,971.36
	Conservative	Justina McCaffrey	24,361	36.48	−2.73	none listed
	New Democratic	Melissa Coenraad	8,317	12.46	+5.64	$17,833.67
	Green	Jennifer Purdy	4,387	6.57	+3.88	$15,580.62
	People's	Scott Miller	961	1.44		$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit			66,772	99.35
Total rejected ballots			438	0.65	+0.35
Turnout			67,210	77.00	−1.96
Eligible voters			87,281
	Liberal hold		Swing		−2.76
Source: Elections Canada

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

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

External links

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