Karen McCrimmon

Karen A. McCrimmon (née Martin; born 1959) is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, mediator, and politician. She is the member of provincial parliament (MPP) for Kanata—Carleton and was elected in a by-election on July 27, 2023 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party. She previously served as the Member of Parliament for Kanata—Carleton from 2015 to 2021. After a 31-year military career, McCrimmon retired as a lieutenant colonel. She was the first female navigator and the first woman to command a Canadian Forces air force squadron. She became involved in federal politics with the Liberal Party of Canada in 2008. In 2011, McCrimmon was the Liberal candidate for the federal election in the Carleton—Mississippi Mills riding and, in 2013, she unsuccessfully bid for the Liberal leadership. She was first elected to Parliament in the 2015 federal election and re-elected in 2019. She did not seek re-election in 2021, citing health issues. In 2023, McCrimmon was elected to Provincial Parliament in the Kanata-Carleton by-election.

Background
McCrimmon was born in Weston, Ontario. Her father, Charles Martin, was a metallurgic technician employed by the A.V. Roe Company working on the Avro Arrow CF-105 fighter aircraft. Her mother, Isabel, emigrated from Scotland on her own, at the age of 20. When the Arrow project was cancelled in 1959, her father found work with Trans-Canada Airlines and moved his family to Timmins, Ontario. In 1971, the family moved to Windsor, Ontario.

While in high school, McCrimmon joined the Royal Canadian Army Cadets. In 1975, she joined The Windsor Regiment (RCAC) as a Reservist. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor in Russian and linguistics, and originally wanted to work in Canada's diplomatic corps.

McCrimmon then joined the Regular Force in 1980 and became an air navigator, the first woman to gain such a qualification.

In 1995, she was made a member of the Order of Military Merit and, in 1998, was promoted lieutenant-colonel and given command of 429 Transport Squadron, becoming the first woman to command a Canadian Forces flying squadron. In 2000, she headed the Transport and Rescue Standardization and Evaluation Team. In July 2006, she was posted to Ramstein, Germany to serve as a Senior Staff Officer at the NATO Air Headquarters. She did a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2004 where she was responsible for NATO Airlift Co-ordination. She retired from the Forces in 2006.

Politics
McCrimmon became involved in federal politics with the Liberal Party in 2008. She was the Liberal candidate for the riding of Carleton—Mississippi Mills in the 2011 federal election, but lost to the Conservative incumbent Gordon O'Connor. In December 2012, she announced her bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada and, on April 14, 2013, she placed sixth, losing to Justin Trudeau.

In the 2015 federal election, McCrimmon was the Liberal candidate in Kanata—Carleton, essentially the Ottawa portion of Carleton—Mississippi Mills. She defeated Conservative candidate Walter Pamic by a 7,600-vote margin as the Liberals swept to a majority government. She was the first Liberal in 48 years to win the riding or its predecessors in the absence of vote-splitting on the right.

McCrimmon was re-elected in 2019, defeating Conservative candidate Justina McCaffrey by a 4,000-vote margin as the Liberals won a minority government. McCrimmon was Chair of the Defence Committee in the 43rd Canadian Parliament.

McCrimmon did not run for re-election in the 2021 federal election. In her August 2021 announcement, she attributed her decision to not seek another term to health issues.

On May 29, 2023, McCrimmon was nominated by the Ontario Liberal Party as their candidate for the 2023 Kanata—Carleton by-election. On July 27, 2023, she won the by-election, flipping a seat that was previously held by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. She represents much of the same area that she represented federally.

As of July 7, 2024, she serves as the Liberal Party critic for Education, Colleges and Universities.

Civilian career
On November 13, 2015, McCrimmon was sworn in as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Kanata – Carleton. Prior to her election, she was a consultant for private and public institutions and organizations.

Married to Rob McCrimmon since 1985, the couple have two grown children. Karen McCrimmon is a private pilot and is a member of the Women's Executive Network (WXN), CFUW, FMWC, Royal Canadian Legion, and CWIA.

Honours and decorations
McCrimmon received the following honours and decorations during her military career.