Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay (born 12 January 1955) is a Canadian politician, who was elected as the MP for
South Surrey—White Rock
South Surrey—White Rock (french: Surrey-Sud—White Rock) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It encompass a portion of British Columbia previously ...
in the 2019 federal election. She previously sat in the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
from the
2011 election until 2015. She represented the electoral district of
Delta—Richmond East
Delta—Richmond East was a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 until 2013.
Geography
It was located in the Metro Vancouver, and consisted of:
* ...
as a member of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. She was appointed and sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice on June 1, 2011, and as Associate Minister of National Defence on February 22, 2013. She served as the Minister of National Revenue from July 15, 2013, until November 4, 2015.
Education
Findlay graduated from the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science. She then graduated from the same university in 1978 with a law degree.
Legal career
During her legal career, Findlay has been active in both the national and B.C. provincial branch of the Canadian Bar Association holding various positions in that organization including national and provincial chair of the Constitutional Law Section, member of the National Task Force on Court Reform in Canada, and elected president of the B.C. Branch for the 1997–1998 term. Findlay was appointed a Queen's Counsel in March 1999 by the Attorney-General of B.C. and served a five-year term as a Member of the
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (french: Tribunal canadien des droits de la personne, link=no) is an administrative tribunal established in 1977 through the ''Canadian Human Rights Act''. It is directly funded by the Parliament of Canada and i ...
by appointment of the Federal Minister of Justice (2006–2011). She has also been recognized with the Vancouver YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in the category of Management, Professions and Trades (May 2001) and the national Cecilia I. Johnstone Award (2011) that recognizes women who have achieved professional excellence in their field and influenced other women to pursue legal careers, supported other women in career advancement or opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings that historically were closed to them.
Political career
Findlay sat on a selection panel to help choose a replacement for
Marie Deschamps
Marie Deschamps, CC (born October 2, 1952) is a former puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She retired from the court on August 7, 2012. In September 2019, Deschamps was appointed as a member of the National Security and Intelligence R ...
of Quebec, who retired from the bench.
She was defeated by
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidate
Carla Qualtrough in the
2015 election.
In 2017, Findlay announced her candidacy as the
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
candidate in the
South Surrey—White Rock
South Surrey—White Rock (french: Surrey-Sud—White Rock) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. It encompass a portion of British Columbia previously ...
by-election. Findlay was defeated by
Gordie Hogg
Gordon "Gordie" Hogg (born August 24, 1946) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock in the House of Commons of Canada from December 11, 2017 until October 21, 2019, as a member of the Liber ...
, taking 42.1% of the vote to Hogg's 47.5%.
In 2019, Findlay ran again for Member of Parliament of South Surrey—White Rock as the Conservative Party candidate. Findlay won in the riding at that year's federal election with 42.6% of the vote, unseating Gordie Hogg who entered Parliament through a by-election.
Findlay voted in support of Bill C-233 - an act to amend the ''Criminal Code'' (
sex-selective abortion
Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common where male children are valued over female children, especially in parts of Eas ...
), which would make it an indictable or a summary offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.
In August 2020, she received backlash after she retweeted another user's Twitter post trying to connect
Chrystia Freeland
Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Libe ...
with
George Soros. She deleted the tweet and apologized shortly after.
On September 13th, 2022 Findlay was named Chief Opposition Whip by Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre. She is the first woman in this role from the Conservative Party of Canada, which she currently holds.
Community
Findlay's volunteer posts, in addition to the Canadian Bar Association, have included chair of the Vancouver City Planning Commission, board member of Science World, executive member of the Junior Leagues of Canada, president of Delta Zeta chapter of
Alpha Gamma Delta International Fraternity, and honorary counsel for the Chinese Benevolent Association of Canada. In 2016, she was named a Distinguished Citizen by Alpha Gamma Delta.
Family
Findlay is married to actor Brent Chapman and has four children and five grandchildren.
Electoral record
References
External links
Official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Kerry-Lynne
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia
Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Women members of the House of Commons of Canada
Living people
Women in British Columbia politics
1955 births
University of British Columbia alumni
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Members of the 28th Canadian Ministry
Women government ministers of Canada
Canadian Alliance candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian King's Counsel
Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni
21st-century Canadian women politicians