Karen A. McCrimmon
(born 1959) is a
Canadian Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
veteran, mediator, and politician who was elected Member of Parliament for
Kanata—Carleton in the
2015 Canadian federal election
The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister.
The election was held to elect m ...
. After a 31-year military career, McCrimmon retired as a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
. She was the first female
navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
and the first woman to command a Canadian Forces air force squadron. She became involved in federal politics with the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
in 2008. In 2011, McCrimmon was the Liberal candidate for the federal election in the
Carleton—Mississippi Mills
Carleton—Mississippi Mills (formerly known as Lanark—Carleton and Carleton—Lanark) was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015.
This riding was created in 19 ...
riding and, in 2013, she unsuccessfully bid for the
Liberal leadership. In August 2021, she announced that she would retire from politics and did not seek re-election.
Background
McCrimmon was born in Weston,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
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
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
on her own, at the age of 20. When the Arrow project was cancelled in 1959, her father found work with
Trans-Canada Airlines
Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...
and moved his family to
Timmins
Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...
, Ontario. In 1971, the family moved to
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
, Ontario.
While in high school, McCrimmon joined the
Royal Canadian Army Cadets
The Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC; french: Cadets royaux de l’Armée canadienne) is a national Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Under the authority of the National D ...
.
In 1975, she joined
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC)
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) is a Primary Reserve armoured regiment of the Canadian Army, based in Windsor, Ontario and is part of the 4th Canadian Division's 31 Canadian Brigade Group.
Lineage
The Windsor Regiment (RCAC)
The Windsor Regiment ...
as a
Reservist
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...
. She graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from the
University of Windsor
, mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge
, established =
, academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada
, former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963)
, type = Public universit ...
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 female 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
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to serve as a Senior Staff Officer at the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
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
Carleton—Mississippi Mills (formerly known as Lanark—Carleton and Carleton—Lanark) was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015.
This riding was created in 19 ...
in the
2011 federal election, but lost to the Conservative incumbent
Gordon O'Connor
Gordon James O'Connor, (born May 18, 1939) is a retired Brigadier-General, businessman, lobbyist, and was a Conservative Member of Parliament from 2004 to 2015.
He served as Minister of National Defence (2006-2007) and then Minister of Natio ...
.
In December 2012, she announced her bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and, on April 14, 2013, she conceded to the winner
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
.
In the
2015 Canadian federal election
The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister.
The election was held to elect m ...
, 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.
McCrimmon was reelected in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, 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
The 43rd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 5, 2019, to August 15, 2021, with the membership of its Lower House, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2019 federal election held on October 21, ...
.
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
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
and is a member of the Women's Executive Network (WXN), CFUW, FMWC,
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...
, and CWIA.
Honours and decorations
McCrimmon received the following honours and decorations during her military career.
Electoral record
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCrimmon, Karen
1959 births
Canadian Army officers
Women members of the House of Commons of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidates
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Living people
Politicians from Ottawa
Officers of the Order of Military Merit (Canada)
Canadian female military personnel
Women in Ontario politics
21st-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian women politicians