Stephen Woodworth (politician)

Stephen Woodworth
Member of Parliament
for Kitchener Centre
In office
October 14, 2008 – October 19, 2015
Preceded byKaren Redman
Succeeded byRaj Saini
Personal details
Born (1954-01-05) January 5, 1954 (age 70)
Kitchener, Ontario
Political partyConservative (2008–present), Liberal (1988–93)
ProfessionLawyer

Stephen Woodworth (born January 5, 1954) is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Kitchener Centre in the House of Commons of Canada for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 40th and 41st Parliaments (2008–2015).

Politics and elected office

Woodworth first ran for public office in the 1988 federal election, representing the Liberal Party in the riding of Waterloo,[1] finishing second to veteran Progressive Conservative MP Walter McLean. For the 1993 federal election, he again sought the Liberal nomination in Waterloo, but this time lost to Andrew Telegdi.

In 1994, Woodworth was elected to the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, representing Kitchener, and served in that capacity until 2003. During his tenure, Woodworth fought to prevent sex education from being taught in local Catholic high schools.

In the 2008 Canadian federal election, Woodworth ran for the Conservative Party of Canada and was elected as an MP for Kitchener Centre, defeating incumbent Liberal Karen Redman by a margin of 339 votes. He was re-elected in 2011, topping Redman by more than 5,500 votes in a rematch of the 2008 contest.

As an MP, Woodworth served as a member of several parliamentary committees, including the committees for Environment and Sustainable Development, Justice and Human Rights, Public Accounts, and Fisheries and Oceans.

Abortion debate

In 2012, Woodworth introduced Motion 312, a private member's motion which attempted to reopen the debate around Canadian abortion law.[2] The bill proposed to create a special committee to redefine Canada's legal definition of human being.[3] The motion was defeated 203–91.

In 2013, Woodworth followed up with a second private member's motion, Motion 476, again attempting to challenge Canada's abortion laws.[4] However, Woodworth failed to receive the unanimous consent of Parliament required to reopen the debate after his previous motion was defeated.[5]

After Parliament

In the 2015 Canadian federal election, Woodworth lost his seat to Liberal candidate Raj Saini by a margin of nearly 10,000 votes.

In 2016, Woodworth founded the Democracy Defence Initiative,[6] an anti-abortion advocacy group.

He attempted a political comeback at Kitchener Centre in the 2019 Canadian federal election, placing third behind incumbent Raj Saini and Green Party candidate Mike Morrice.

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Kitchener Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Raj Saini 20,316 36.69 -12.09 $71,251.01
Green Mike Morrice 14,394 25.99 +22.94 $72,289.70
Conservative Stephen Woodworth 13,191 23.82 -6.54 $86,969.26
New Democratic Andrew Moraga 6,238 11.27 -5.34 $15,354.69
People's Patrick Bernier 1,033 1.87 – none listed
Animal Protection Ellen Papenburg 202 0.36 – none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 55,374 99.17 -0.28  
Total rejected ballots 465 0.83 +0.28
Turnout 55,839 66.57 -0.93
Eligible voters 83,884 – –
Liberal hold Swing -17.52
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]
2015 Canadian federal election: Kitchener Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Raj Saini 25,504 48.8 +16.51 –
Conservative Stephen Woodworth 15,872 30.4 -9.96 –
New Democratic Susan Cadell 8,680 16.6 -5.33 –
Green Nicholas Wendler 1,597 3.1 -1.48 –
Libertarian Slavko Miladinovic 515 1.0 – –
Marxist–Leninist Julian Ichim 112 0.2 +0.02 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 52,280 100.0     $209,331.18
Total rejected ballots 292 – –
Turnout 52,572 68.45 +5.32
Eligible voters 76,797
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +13.24
Source: Elections Canada[9][10]
2011 Canadian federal election: Kitchener Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Stephen Woodworth 21,119 42.39 +5.70 –
Liberal Karen Redman 15,592 31.30 -4.64 –
New Democratic Peter Thurley 10,742 21.56 +3.48 $38,822.94
Green Byron Williston 1,972 3.95 +1.06 –
Independent Alan Rimmer 199 0.39 -0.08 –
Communist Martin Suter 93 0.19 -0.09 –
Marxist–Leninist Mark Corbiere 92 0.18 – none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit 49,809 100.00 $87,274.51
Total rejected ballots 209 0.42 +0.01
Turnout 50,018 63.13 +6.10
Eligible voters 79,232 – –
2008 Canadian federal election: Kitchener Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Stephen Woodworth 16,480 36.69 +4.56 $75,291
Liberal Karen Redman 16,141 35.94 -7.32 $74,745
New Democratic Oz Cole-Arnal 8,152 18.08 -0.35 $26,622
Green John Bithell 3,818 8.51 +2.89 $2,612
Independent Amanda Lamka 215 0.47 –
Communist Martin Suter 127 0.28 -0.26 $373
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,933 100.00 $84,756
Total rejected ballots 183 0.41 -0.05
Turnout 45,091 57.03 -7.67
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +5.94
1988 Canadian federal election: Kitchener Centre
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Walter McLean 26,949 45.11 –11.24
Liberal Stephen Woodworth 21,715 36.35 +11.78
New Democratic Scott Piatkowski 10,418 17.44 –0.71
Libertarian Rita Huschka-Sprague 663 1.11 +0.18
Total valid votes 59,745 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing –11.51

References

  1. ^ "Kitchener Centre | CBC News". CBC.
  2. ^ "Debates (Hansard) No. 150 - September 21, 2012 (41-1) - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca.
  3. ^ "Publication Search". www.ourcommons.ca.
  4. ^ "Debates (Hansard) No. 65 - March 31, 2014 (41-2) - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca.
  5. ^ "Woodworth refused consent for new motion". 30 May 2014.
  6. ^ "The Democracy Defence Initiative – Defending Democracy and Freedom".
  7. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  9. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Kitchener Centre, 30 September 2015
  10. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates