Stephen Woodworth (politician)

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).

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
Kitchener, Ontario
Political partyConservative (2008–present), Liberal (1988–93)
ProfessionLawyer

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
LiberalRaj Saini20,31636.69-12.09$71,251.01
GreenMike Morrice14,39425.99+22.94$72,289.70
ConservativeStephen Woodworth13,19123.82-6.54$86,969.26
New DemocraticAndrew Moraga6,23811.27-5.34$15,354.69
People'sPatrick Bernier1,0331.87none listed
Animal ProtectionEllen Papenburg2020.36none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 55,37499.17-0.28 
Total rejected ballots 4650.83+0.28
Turnout 55,83966.57-0.93
Eligible voters 83,884
Liberal hold Swing -17.52
Source: Elections Canada[7][8]
2015 Canadian federal election: Kitchener Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalRaj Saini25,50448.8+16.51
ConservativeStephen Woodworth15,87230.4-9.96
New DemocraticSusan Cadell8,68016.6-5.33
GreenNicholas Wendler1,5973.1-1.48
LibertarianSlavko Miladinovic5151.0
Marxist–LeninistJulian Ichim1120.2+0.02
Total valid votes/Expense limit 52,280100.0   $209,331.18
Total rejected ballots 292
Turnout 52,57268.45+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
ConservativeStephen Woodworth21,11942.39+5.70
LiberalKaren Redman15,59231.30-4.64
New DemocraticPeter Thurley10,74221.56+3.48$38,822.94
GreenByron Williston1,9723.95+1.06
IndependentAlan Rimmer1990.39-0.08
CommunistMartin Suter930.19-0.09
Marxist–LeninistMark Corbiere920.18none 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
ConservativeStephen Woodworth16,48036.69+4.56$75,291
LiberalKaren Redman16,14135.94-7.32$74,745
New DemocraticOz Cole-Arnal8,15218.08-0.35$26,622
GreenJohn Bithell3,8188.51+2.89$2,612
IndependentAmanda Lamka2150.47
CommunistMartin Suter1270.28-0.26$373
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,933100.00$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: Waterloo
Party Candidate Votes%±%
Progressive ConservativeWalter McLean26,94945.11–11.24
LiberalStephen Woodworth21,71536.35+11.78
New DemocraticScott Piatkowski10,41817.44–0.71
LibertarianRita Huschka-Sprague6631.11+0.18
Total valid votes 59,745100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing –11.51

References

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