Karen Redman, (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Longo; born January 8, 1953) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She was a member of 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 1997 to 2008, representing the riding of

Kitchener Centre Kitchener Centre (french: Kitchener-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Geography The district includes the north-central and north-eastern parts o ...

for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. She served as

Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

in the 2004–05 Parliament, and was the Chief Official Opposition Whip in the 2006–08 parliament. She was defeated in the 2008 federal election. She was elected to

Waterloo Regional Council The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

in the 2014 municipal election and is now the Waterloo Regional Chair.

Life and career

Redman was born in Kitchener,

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 ...

. After completing high school at

Eastwood Collegiate Institute Eastwood Collegiate Institute is a public high school located at 760 Weber Street East in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1956. The school teams are known as the "Lions ". Eastwood is known for its Provincially ranked soccer team ...

, Redman went on to graduate from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

, receiving 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 ...

degree in English in 1974. She subsequently worked as a writer, and was a member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Learning Disabilities Association and the Canadian Federation of University Women. She has been an elder in Kitchener's St. Andrew's

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church since 1991.

Politics

Redman served as a trustee on the Waterloo County Board of Education from 1988 to 1994, and was a city councillor for the

Kitchener City Council Kitchener City Council is the governing body for the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the Mayor of Kitchener and 10 ward councillors. 2006-2010 Council elected in the 2006 municipal election. 2010-2014 Council elect ...

and the

Regional Municipality of Waterloo The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

from 1994 to 1997. She was first elected to parliament in the federal election of 1997, defeating former Progressive Conservative MP

John Reimer John Henry Reimer (born July 16, 1936) is a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1980, and again from 1984 to 1993, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Reimer was born to a Mennonite f ...

by over 10,000 votes. She was re-elected by comfortable margins in the elections of

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. Redman served as parliamentary secretary to the

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

from 2000 to 2003. She was named

and sworn into the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

on July 20, 2004, an important role in a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

situation. Following the Liberal defeat in the 2006 election, she was named Chief Opposition Whip. In the 2008 federal election, she lost to Stephen Woodworth of 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 ...

by 339 votes. On November 17, 2009, upon a reconstitution of the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition under Chief of Staff

Peter Donolo Peter Donolo (born October 1959) is a Canadian communications and political strategist. From 1993 to 1999, he was the Director of Communications in the office of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien - the longest tenure of any prime ministerial communic ...

, Redman was named Caucus Liaison, a role drawing on her "strong and deep ties with her former – and future – caucus colleagues." Redman was renominated as the federal Liberal candidate for the riding of Kitchener Centre in the 2011 election, yet lost again to Conservative Stephen Woodworth. She was elected to

in the 2014 municipal election. In 2018 she successfully ran for and became the chair of the Waterloo Regional Council, receiving over 62% of the votes.

Election results

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redman, Karen 1953 births Canadian Presbyterians Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Kitchener, Ontario city councillors Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada University of Waterloo alumni Women in Ontario politics Women municipal councillors in Canada 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians

Life and career

Politics

Election results

See also

Notes

References