Kathryn McGarry

Kathryn McGarry is a Canadian politician serving as the current mayor of Cambridge, Ontario.[1] Prior to her election as mayor, she represented the riding of Cambridge in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018. She was a Minister in the Cabinet of Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Her Worship Kathryn McGarry
6th Mayor of Cambridge, Ontario
Incumbent
Assumed office December 1, 2018
Preceded by	Doug Craig
Minister of Transportation
In office January 18, 2018 – June 7, 2018
Preceded by	Steven Del Duca
Succeeded by	John Yakabuski
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
In office June 13, 2016 – January 18, 2018
Premier	Kathleen Wynne
Preceded by	Bill Mauro
Succeeded by	Nathalie Des Rosiers
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Cambridge
In office June 12, 2014 – June 7, 2018
Preceded by	Rob Leone
Succeeded by	Belinda Karahalios
Personal details
Political party	Independent (municipal politicians are elected on a non-partisan basis)
Other political affiliations	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Fred McGarry
Children	4
Residence	North Dumfries, Ontario
Profession	Critical Care Nurse

Background

McGarry began her career as a critical care nurse since 1978, working first at the Hospital for Sick Children, as well as Grand River Hospital and Cambridge Memorial hospital.[2]

McGarry was a founding member of Hospice Waterloo Region; past president of the Heritage Cambridge Board of Directors; and past chair of the Heritage Master Plan Implementation Committee. She is a member of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, and was a contributing member of the Community Leaders' Task Force on Municipal Restructuring.[3] McGarry has been a recipient of the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for voluntary, community and humanitarian service,[4] and the Bernice Adams Special Trustee award.[5]

Provincial politics

In the 2007 provincial election, McGarry vied as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Cambridge. She was defeated by Progressive Conservative incumbent Gerry Martiniuk by 3,238 votes.[6] McGarry ran a second time in the 2011 provincial election but was defeated by a reduced margin of 1,954 votes to new PC candidate Rob Leone.[7] McGarry ran a third time in 2014, this time defeating Leone by 3,067 votes.[8][9]

On June 24, 2014, McGarry was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, and given responsibility for drafting the province's driverless car regulation, reforming the province's intercity bus system and strengthening cycling and road safety.[10][11]

On November 20, 2014, McGarry introduced a private member's bill, The Lung Health Act 2014,[12] which called for the development and implementation of a comprehensive Ontario Lung Health Action Plan covering research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung disease.[13]

On June 13, 2016, McGarry was appointed Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry.[14] She introduced and passed legislation that increased accountability and oversight of Ontario’s 36 Conservation Authorities.[15] She also introduced the Aggregate Resources and Mining Modernization Act, which modernized the province's resource extraction rules by updating processes for fee and royalty increases on aggregates, expanded public participation in the extraction application process and enhanced environmental protections through clearer regulations and better oversight for aggregate companies.[16]

In a cabinet shuffle on January 18, 2018, McGarry was named Minister of Transportation.[17] As Minister, McGarry announced the government would conduct a feasibility study to extend GO Transit rail service to Cambridge, connecting the city to the Kitchener line through Guelph via a currently unused CN Rail owned track.[18]

McGarry lost her re-election bid in the 2018 provincial election to Belinda Karahalios.[19]

Cabinet positions

Municipal politics

On July 18, 2018, McGarry announced that she was running for Mayor of Cambridge, Ontario,[20] stating that the people of the city were no longer satisfied with Craig's leadership style, and pledged to run city hall in a more communicative and consultative manner.[20] During the campaign, Craig was forced to apologize to McGarry when his campaign staff edited her out of a photograph of a public event they had both attended while McGarry was still sitting in the Legislative Assembly.[21] On October 22, 2018, McGarry was elected Mayor of Cambridge, defeating 18 year incumbent Doug Craig as well as three other candidates with 13,404 votes and 47.7% of the vote, becoming the first candidate in the city's history to defeat an incumbent mayor.[22]

Election results

Cambridge mayoral election, 2018
Candidate	Votes	%
Kathryn McGarry	13,404	47.72
Doug Craig (X)	7,394	26.32
Ben Tucci	4,902	17.45
Colin Tucker	1,553	5.53
Randy Carter	836	2.98
Total	28,089	100.00
Source: City of Cambridge [23]

2018 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Belinda Karahalios	17,793	36.97%	+4.41
	New Democratic	Marjorie Knight	15,639	32.49%	+10.88
	Liberal	Kathryn McGarry	11,191	23.25%	-15.67
	Green	Michele Braniff	3,018	6.27%	+0.61
	Libertarian	Allan Dettweiler	490	1.02%	-0.24
Total valid votes				100.0
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		-
Source: Elections Ontario[24]

2014 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Kathryn McGarry	18,763	38.92	+5.85
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Leone	15,694	32.56	-5.13
	New Democratic	Bobbi Stewart	10,413	21.59	-3.02
	Green	Temara Brown	2,726	5.68	+3.18
	Libertarian	Allan R. Dettweiler	605	1.25	-0.24
Total valid votes			48,200	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			814
Turnout			49,015	49.04
Eligible voters			100,130
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+5.85
Source: Elections Ontario[8]

2011 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Rob Leone	15,947	37.69	-3.97
	Liberal	Kathryn McGarry	13,993	33.07	-1.04
	New Democratic	Atinuke Bankole	10,414	24.61	+10.81
	Green	Jacques Malette	1,056	2.50	-6.43
	Libertarian	Allan Dettweiler	629	1.49
	Independent	Robert Ross	271	0.64
Total valid votes			42,310	100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			187	0.44
Turnout			42,497	46.04
Eligible voters			92,310
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		-1.47
Source: Elections Ontario[7]

2007 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Gerry Martiniuk	17,884	41.66	-0.84
	Liberal	Kathryn McGarry	14,641	34.11	-1.08
	New Democratic	Mitchell Healey	5,923	13.80	-4.29
	Green	Colin Carmichael	3,835	8.93	+6.84
	Family Coalition	Paul Vendervet	650	1.50	-0.63
Total valid votes			42,933	100.00
Source: Elections Ontario[6]

References

1. "Kathryn McGarry unseats Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig". Global News, October 22, 2018.
2. "Meet the candidates - CambridgeTimes.ca". 18 September 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
3. "Cambridge- Kathryn McGarry - Liberal". 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
4. "YWCA announces Women of Distinction - CambridgeTimes.ca". 21 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
5. "Bernice Adams award winners - CambridgeTimes.ca". 6 June 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
6. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 10, 2007. p. 3 (xii). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2009. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
7. "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
8. "General Election by District: Cambridge". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
9. "Liberal Kathryn McGarry beats Tory in historic Cambridge win". CBC News. June 13, 2014.
10. Herhalt, Chris (Nov 5, 2014). "Waterloo Region's Liberal MPPs will help with jobs fund, driverless cars law". Waterloo Region Record. Waterloo Region. Archived from the original on 2014-11-13.
11. "2014 Parliamentary Assistant Mandate Letter: Transportation The Minister's instructions to the Parliamentary Assistant on priorities for the year 2014". Ontario.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
12. "Bill 41, Lung Health Act, 2016 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario - Bills & Lawmaking - Current Parliament". www.ontla.on.ca. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
13. "MPP McGarry stands up for lung health - CambridgeTimes.ca". 10 December 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
14. Hicks, Jeff (June 13, 2016). "McGarry gives Waterloo Region voice in Ontario cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Waterloo Region.
15. Werner, Kevin (June 12, 2017). "Ontario proposes stricter oversight of conservation authorities". Stoney Creek News. Hamilton.
16. "Bill 39, Aggregate Resources and Mining Modernization Act, 2017 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario - Bills & Lawmaking - Current Parliament". www.ontla.on.ca.
17. Martin, Ray (January 18, 2018). "McGarry surprised and excited with new post". Cambridge Times. Cambridge.
18. Davis, Brent (May 3, 2018). "GO train service to Cambridge to be studied". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener.
19. "PC Belinda Karahalios wins in Cambridge riding". CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. June 7, 2018.
20. "Kathryn McGarry running for mayor in Cambridge". Waterloo Region Record. July 18, 2018.
21. "Cambridge, Ont., mayor apologizes after image of political rival edited out of campaign photo". CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, September 14, 2018.
22. "Mayor Doug Craig defeated as Cambridge elects a new mayor". Cambridge Times. October 23, 2018.
23. "2018 Election Results". City of Cambridge. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
24. "Candidate Search". Elections Ontario. Retrieved 18 May 2018.

External links

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