Kim Rudd

Kim Elizabeth Rudd (November 18, 1957 – March 12, 2024) was a Canadian politician and businesswoman. She was elected a Member of Parliament for Northumberland – Peterborough South in 2015 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2018.

Rudd was a past president and owner of Willis College in Cobourg, Ontario, a former owner of Cook's Day School, and a past president of the Northumberland Central Chamber of Commerce.

Career
Before becoming involved in politics as a career, Rudd was a long-time advocate of childcare and previously worked on the creation of daycares in Cobourg, Ontario. She was a former owner of Cook's Day School, Willis College, and Archer CPR Training.

In 2011, Rudd was among six award recipients of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award. Contributions to economies locally, nationally, and globally were among the criteria for winning the award. Rudd was a consultant at the Canadian Nuclear Association.

In 2020, Rudd joined the Advisory Board for Arnprior Aerospace Inc. She served as the President of the Northumberland Central Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee of Northumberland, Vice-Chair of the Ontario Training Completion Assurance Fund Secretariat, Vice-President of the Association of Career Colleges and as the founding Executive Director of the Association of Private Colleges.

Political career
After an unsuccessful bid to become a Member of Parliament in the 2011 Canadian federal election, Rudd was elected in 2015 to the House of Commons of Canada to represent the riding of Northumberland – Peterborough South. She also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2018 when she announced she chose to step down to better represent her riding; while stepping down from Parliamentary Secretary, Rudd declared she would not be ruling out future opportunities for more responsibility in future government. On October 1, 2018, Rudd was named the chair of the Parliamentary Health Research Caucus and served as a member of the standing committees on finance and natural resources.

Rudd opposed eliminating a tax on heating fuel and supported tax credits such as the Canada Child Tax Credit. She said that eliminating a tax on heating fuel would have varying degrees of impact on people living in different parts of Canada and that the Canada Child Tax Credit would be more universal.

Rudd said she supported improving the Canada Pension Plan and increasing benefits to widows.

She ran for reelection and was defeated in the 2019 Canadian federal election by more than 2,500 votes.

Personal life and death
Kim Elizabeth Rudd was born on November 18, 1957. When she was growing up, her alcoholic father had to quit work after an accident, so her mother started working at a more demanding job, which led to Rudd having significant household responsibilities as a child. She had Métis ancestry via her maternal grandfather.

Rudd and her husband Tom Rudd had two daughters, Alison and Stefanie. They adopted Alison.

Kim Rudd died of ovarian cancer at a hospice in Cobourg, Ontario, on March 12, 2024, at the age of 66.