Stephen Fuhr

Stephen Fuhr
CD MP
Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Defence
Assumed office
February 18, 2016
Preceded by Peter Kent
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Kelowna—Lake Country
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by Ron Cannan
Personal details
Born (1969-05-27) May 27, 1969
Edmonton, Alberta
Political party Liberal
Residence Kelowna, British Columbia
Alma mater Trinity Western University
Profession Fighter pilot
Entrepreneur
Military service
Allegiance  Canada
Service/branch  Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service 1989–2009
Rank Major

Stephen Fuhr MP (born May 27, 1969) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[1][2]

Fuhr was born in Edmonton, and grew up in Kamloops. He attended Trinity Western University, earning a diploma in aviation technology, and subsequently joined what was then the Canadian Forces Air Command (now the Royal Canadian Air Force). As a pilot in the RCAF Fuhr served in several capacities to include flight training and standards. He also served as an operational fighter pilot and was involved in CF-18 fleet management. Fuhr was qualified as both a NORAD and NATO fighter operations evaluator and received a Commanders Commendation for his role as a Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) Fighter Officer (FO). Fuhr also received a Chief of the Air Staff Commendation for his part in regenerating Canada's tactical air control party (TACP) for the conflict in Afghanistan. In his final year in the RCAF Fuhr lead the team that restructured the course delivery method of the Canadian Forces Instrument Check Pilot School (ICPS).

He retired from the RCAF in 2009, and from 2009 to 2012 worked as an executive at SkyTrac Systems.[3] Prior to his election, he was working as a private pilot [4] and was qualified as a captain on several different aircraft types.

Fuhr, who described himself as a "lifelong Conservative",[5] began to switch his affiliation in 2010 and later served on the board of directors of his local Liberal riding association.[2] Fuhr is the first Liberal MP to represent Kelowna since 1972, and his election was seen as an upset.[6] He is also the first Liberal to represent a riding in the British Columbia Interior since 1979.

Fuhr was elected to chair the Standing Committee on National Defence on February 18, 2016.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Kelowna—Lake Country
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalStephen Fuhr29,61446.16+34.69$127,002.68
ConservativeRon Cannan25,50239.75-18.63$70,942.48
New DemocraticNorah Mary Bowman9,03914.09-7.28$33,945.86
Total valid votes/Expense limit 64,155100.00 $228,718.18
Total rejected ballots 2300.36–
Turnout 64,38570.65–
Eligible voters 91,131
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +26.66
Source: Elections Canada[7][8][9]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
  2. 1 2 https://www.straight.com/news/787466/stephen-fuhr-how-lifelong-conservative-supporter-ended-running-justin-trudeaus-liberals
  3. ↑ "SkyTrac Systems Announces CEO". September 23, 2011.
  4. ↑ Meet Stephen Fuhr, Liberal.ca.
  5. ↑ "I'm a Lifelong Conservative But I'm Running for the Liberals". February 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ Kevin Parnell, Lake Country expected to meet with new MP Stephen Fuhr, The Kelowna Capital News, October 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Kelowna—Lake Country, 30 September 2015
  8. ↑ Official Voting Results - Kelowna—Lake Country
  9. ↑ "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on August 15, 2015.
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