Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay
Findlay in 2022
Chief Opposition Whip
Assumed office
September 13, 2023
LeaderPierre Poilievre
Preceded byBlaine Calkins
Minister of National Revenue
In office
July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byGail Shea
Succeeded byDiane Lebouthillier
Associate Minister of National Defence
In office
February 22, 2013 – July 15, 2013
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byBernard Valcourt
Succeeded byJulian Fantino
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice
In office
May 25, 2011 – February 21, 2013
MinisterRob Nicholson
Member of Parliament
for South Surrey—White Rock
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byGordie Hogg
Member of Parliament
for Delta—Richmond East
In office
May 30, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded byJohn Cummins
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1955-01-12) January 12, 1955 (age 69)
Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyConservative Party (since 2003)
Other political
affiliations
Canadian Alliance (before 2003)
Spouses
A. Boyd Ferris
(died 1989)
Brent Chapman
(m. 1993)
RelativesGreg Findlay (brother)
Residence(s)Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
Profession
  • Lawyer
  • Politician

Kerry-Lynne Donna Findlay PC KC MP (born January 12, 1955) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock since 2019, and previously represented the electoral district of Delta—Richmond East in the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, she had served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, Associate Minister of National Defence, and Minister of National Revenue while that party was in power under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Early life and legal career

Findlay was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, and lived in Nanaimo and Victoria; her brother Greg Findlay was a linebacker for the BC Lions Canadian football team. After graduating from Crofton House School in Vancouver, she attended the University of British Columbia, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science in 1975, and a law degree in 1978.

She articled at Kowarsky and Company in Vancouver, then worked there as an associate for two years before briefly serving as in-house counsel for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. She established her own practice in 1981, then joined Connell Lightbody in 1987 before switching to Watson Goepel Maledy in 1996. During her legal career, Findlay has been active in both the national and B.C. provincial branch of the Canadian Bar Association. She held various positions in that organization including national and provincial chair of the Constitutional Law Section and member of the National Task Force on Canadian Court Reform, and she was acclaimed 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 British Columbia, and served a five-year term as a Member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 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[citation needed].

Political career

Formerly a supporter of the federal Liberal Party, Findlay ran in the 2000 federal election as a Canadian Alliance candidate in the riding of Vancouver Quadra, but lost to Liberal candidate Stephen Owen.

She was named the Conservative Party's candidate for Delta—Richmond East in March 2011, and won the seat in that year's federal election. During the 41st Parliament, she served as member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, and sat on a selection panel to help choose a replacement for Marie Deschamps of Quebec, who retired as puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice in May 2011, and as Associate Minister of National Defence on February 22, 2013. She then served as the Minister of National Revenue from July 15, 2013, until November 4, 2015.

Party leader Andrew Scheer campaigning with Findlay in December 2017

She contested the reconstituted riding of Delta in the 2015 election, but lost to Liberal candidate Carla Qualtrough. She then ran for the Conservatives in the 2017 South Surrey—White Rock by-election, but was defeated by the Liberal's Gordie Hogg, taking 42.1% of the vote to Hogg's 47.5%.

In a re-match at the 2019 election, Findlay unseated Hogg by taking 42.6% of the vote. She served as shadow minister for Environment and Climate Change from November 2019 to September 2020. She received backlash in August 2020 after retweeting another user's Twitter post trying to connect Chrystia Freeland with George Soros; she deleted the tweet and apologized shortly after. She voted in support of Bill C-233 - an act to amend the Criminal Code (sex-selective abortion), 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.[non-primary source needed]

She was re-elected in 2021 by defeating Gordie Hogg again, and served as shadow minister for National Defence from November 2021 to October 2022. Following Erin O'Toole's ouster as Conservative leader in February 2022, Findlay announced her intention to run for interim party leader; Candice Bergen was ultimately chosen for the role. On September 13, 2022 Findlay was named Chief Opposition Whip by Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, becoming the first woman to serve in this role for the Conservatives.

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.[citation needed] In 2016, she was named a Distinguished Citizen by Alpha Gamma Delta.

Family

Findlay was married to lawyer A. Boyd Ferris, with whom she had two children. After Ferris died from a heart attack in 1989, she met actor Brent Chapman. The two married in 1993 and had two more daughters together; they also have five grandchildren.

Electoral record

2021 Canadian federal election: South Surrey—White Rock
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Kerry-Lynne Findlay 24,158 42.5 +0.6 $116,336.93
Liberal Gordie Hogg 22,166 39.0 +2.9 $106,216.01
New Democratic June Liu 8,395 14.8 +2.5 $5,597.59
People's Gary Jensen 2,186 3.8 +2.3 $2,520.21
Total valid votes/expense limit 56,905 99.6 $116,892.25
Total rejected ballots 340 0.4
Turnout 57,245 64.7 -6.7
Eligible voters 88,048
Conservative hold Swing -0.6
Source: Elections Canada
2019 Canadian federal election: South Surrey—White Rock
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Kerry-Lynne Findlay 24,310 41.9 -0.24 $109,768.11
Liberal Gordie Hogg 21,692 37.4 -10.09 none listed
New Democratic Stephen Crozier 6,716 11.6 +6.72 none listed
Green Beverly Pixie Hobby 4,458 7.7 +3.58 none listed
People's Joel Poulin 852 1.5 $5,942.36
Total valid votes/expense limit 58,028 100.0
Total rejected ballots 326
Turnout 58,354 69.4
Eligible voters 84,138
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +3.3
Source: Elections Canada
Canadian federal by-election, 2017: South Surrey—White Rock
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Gordie Hogg 14,369 47.49 +6.00
Conservative Kerry-Lynne Findlay 12,752 42.14 -1.89
New Democratic Jonathan Silveira 1,478 4.88 -5.53
Green Larry Colero 1,247 4.12 +0.70
Christian Heritage Rod Taylor 238 0.79
Libertarian Donald Wilson 89 0.29 -0.17
Progressive Canadian Michael Huenefeld 86 0.28 +0.09
Total valid votes/Expense limit 30,259 100.00
Total rejected ballots
Turnout 30,259 38.13 -36.60
Eligible voters 79,359
Liberal hold Swing +3.95
2015 Canadian federal election: Delta
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Carla Qualtrough 27,355 49.12 +30.55 $72,634.16
Conservative Kerry-Lynne Findlay 18,255 32.78 -15.17 $174,408.46
New Democratic Jeremy Leveque 8,311 14.92 -13.13 $59,352.24
Green Anthony Edward Devellano 1,768 3.17 -1.57
Total valid votes/expense limit 55,689 100.00 $206,935.20
Total rejected ballots 200 0.36
Turnout 55,889 74.47
Eligible voters 75,044
Liberal notional gain from Conservative Swing +22.86
Source: Elections Canada
2011 Canadian federal election: Delta—Richmond East
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Kerry-Lynne Findlay 26,059 54.24 -1.51
New Democratic Nic Slater 11,181 23.27 +8.82
Liberal Alan Beesley 8,112 16.88 -5.14
Green Duane Laird 2,324 4.84 -2.94
Independent John Shavluk 220 0.46
Libertarian Jeff Monds 147 0.31
Total valid votes/Expense limit 48,043 100.00
Total rejected ballots 168 0.35 -0.03
Turnout 48,211 60.39 +0.39
Eligible voters 79,831
2000 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Quadra
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Stephen Owen 22,253 44.83 +2.69 $60,542
Alliance Kerry-Lynne Findlay 18,613 37.50 +9.91 $64,240
Progressive Conservative Bill Clarke 4,112 8.28 -8.59 $12,355
New Democratic Loretta Woodcock 2,595 5.22 -4.81 $10,844
Green Doug Warkentin 1,434 2.88 +0.30 $16,556
Canadian Action Chris Shaw 390 0.78 $5,683
Natural Law Steven Beck 126 0.25 -0.22
Marxist–Leninist Anne Jamieson 109 0.21 -0.09 $18
Total valid votes 49,632 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 194 0.40
Turnout 49,826 63.34 -4.32
Liberal hold Swing -3.61
Change for the Canadian Alliance is based on the Reform Party.

This page was last updated at 2024-02-23 10:43 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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