Chris Charlton
| Chris Charlton BA (Western) MA (McMaster), MP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Hamilton Mountain | |
|
In office April 3, 2006 – 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Beth Phinney |
| Succeeded by | Scott Duvall |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Chris Happel July 4, 1963 Dortmund, West Germany |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Brian Charlton |
| Residence | Hamilton, Ontario |
| Alma mater |
University of Western Ontario McMaster University |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Director, Political Adviser, Public Affairs Consultant, Teaching Assistant |
| Website | http://www.chrischarlton.ca/ |
Chris Charlton, MA (born July 4, 1963) is a German-born, Canadian politician from the City of Hamilton, Ontario. As a New Democrat, she served as the Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain from 2006 until 2015.
Background
Charlton was born in Dortmund, Germany and immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1975. She attended the University of Western Ontario for undergraduate studies and then McMaster University to pursue a master's degree in Political Science. During this time, she became active with the New Democratic Youth club on campus.[1] Soon after, Bob Rae and the New Democrats came to power in Ontario, and Charlton received a job as a political advisor with the government, where her husband, Brian Charlton (whom she married in 1992), was a cabinet minister. When the Progressive Conservatives defeated Rae's government in the 1995 provincial election.
Politics
At the time the Hamilton Mountain New Democrats held their nomination meeting to declare a candidate to run against Beth Phinney in 1997, Charlton had become a Teaching Assistant at U of T and had nearly completed her studies.[2] Though only 33 at the time, she had already served as an advisor to Bob Rae's government, and went unopposed in the nomination.[3] On election night, she placed 4th out of 6 candidates, which would be the lowest she would ever poll in an election campaign.
Over the course of the next 9 years, she would run in the 1999 provincial election and the 2003 provincial election, the Hamilton municipal election of 2000 and two federal elections in 1997 and 2004.
Just prior to the 2006 election, she was the Director of Community Relations with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada,[4] but resigned her position to stand again, this time against Ward 7 Councillor Bill Kelly, who she attempted to unseat in the Hamilton municipal election of 2000. Charlton won that race by a 6-point margin, and retook the riding for the New Democrats after 17 years of Liberal representation.
In 2008, Charlton faced another former Ward 7 councillor, Terry Anderson of the Conservatives and local lawyer Tyler Banham of the Liberals. Despite an aggressive internet campaign on behalf of the Liberals,[5] the race became a New Democrat-Conservative match, which saw Charlton increase voter support despite a lower voter turnout than in 2006.
Charlton announce on December 5, 2014 that she was not going to run for re-election in the next federal election in a year's time, after almost a decade in parliament and 25 years in politics.[6]
In the 2009 Ontario New Democratic Leadership race, Charlton officially endorsed Andrea Horwath for leader, who would win the position on the third ballot.[7]
Electoral history
Federal
| Canadian federal election, 2011 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 25,573 | 47.2 | +3.4% | ||||
| Conservative | Terry Anderson | 17,946 | 33.1 | +2.4% | ||||
| Liberal | Marie Bountrogianni | 8,795 | 16.2 | -4% | ||||
| Green | Stephen Brotherston | 1,508 | 2.8 | -2.7% | ||||
| Total valid votes | 54,264 | – | -10.9% | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 261 | |||||||
| Turnout | – | % | ||||||
| Canadian federal election, 2008 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 22,796 | 43.7 | +6.4% | ||||
| Conservative | Terry Anderson | 16,010 | 30.7 | +3.5% | ||||
| Liberal | Tyler Banham | 10,531 | 20.2 | -11.7% | ||||
| Green | Stephen Brotherston | 2,884 | 5.5 | +2.9% | ||||
| Total valid votes | 52,221 | – | -10.9% | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 293 | |||||||
| Turnout | – | % | ||||||
| Canadian federal election, 2006 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 21,869 | 37.3% | |||||
| Liberal | Bill Kelly | 18,697 | 31.9% | |||||
| Conservative | Don Graves | 15,915 | 27.2% | |||||
| Green | Susan Wadsworth | 1,510 | 2.6% | |||||
| Christian Heritage | Stephen Downey | 458 | 0.8% | |||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Paul Lane | 131 | 0.2% | |||||
| Total valid votes | 58,580 | |||||||
| Canadian federal election, 2004 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | Beth Phinney | 18,548 | ||||||
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 17,552 | ||||||
| Conservative | Tom Jackson | 15,590 | ||||||
| Green | Jo Pavlov | 1,378 | ||||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Paul Lane | 214 | ||||||
| Canadian federal election, 1997 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | ||||||
| Liberal | Beth Phinney | 21,128 | ||||||
| Progressive Conservative | John Smith | 8,877 | ||||||
| Reform | Richard F. Gaasenbeek | 8,154 | ||||||
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 7,440 | ||||||
| Canadian Action | Christopher M. Patty | 374 | ||||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Iqbal Sumbal | 146 | ||||||
Provincial
| Ontario general election, 2003 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Marie Bountrogianni | 23,524 | 51.79 | +11.54 | |
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 12,017 | 26.46 | 4.05 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Shakil Hassan | 8,637 | 19.02 | -15.58 | |
| Family Coalition | Eleanor Johnson | 748 | 1.65 | +0.75 | |
| Green | Selwyn Inniss | 494 | 1.09 | +0.13 | |
| Ontario general election, 1999 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Marie Bountrogianni | 19,076 | 40.25 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Trevor Pettit | 16,397 | 34.6 | |||||
| New Democratic | Chris Charlton | 10,622 | 22.41 | |||||
| Green | Kelli Gallagher | 456 | 0.96 | |||||
| Family Coalition | Jim Enos | 426 | 0.9 | |||||
| Natural Law | Bob Danio | 261 | 0.55 | |||||
| Independent | Rolf Gerstenberger | 159 | 0.34 | |||||
Municipal
Councillor - Ward 7[8]
- Bill Kelly (Incumbent) 10,482
- Chris Charlton 6,011
- Mark Allan Whittle 740
References
- ↑ "A campaign to put more women on the ballot", Dana Brown, May 26, 2007 Saturday Final Edition, LOCAL; Pg. A12, 1192 words
- ↑ "Charlton seeks federal NDP nod", January 21, 1997 Tuesday Final Edition, LOCAL NEWS; Pg. A4, 168 words
- ↑ Another Charlton will run on Mountain, February 6, 1997 Thursday Final Edition, LOCAL NEWS; Pg. A5, 261 words, Lee Prokaska
- ↑ "Perseverance pays off; NDP's Charlton, Marston finally make it", Wade Hemsworth, January 25, 2006 Wednesday Final Edition, LOCAL; Pg. A06, 386 words
- ↑ Charlton off to Ottawa for a second term; Hamilton Mountain, October 15, 2008 Wednesday, LOCAL; Pg. A06, 413 words, Jackson Hayes
- ↑ "Chris Charlton won't run for Hamilton Mountain MP again". December 5, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.andreahorwath.com/flash/endorsement.html
- ↑ "Expressway, balance sheet weigh heavy in Ward 7", October 30, 2003 Thursday Final Edition, LOCAL; Pg. A08, 948 words