Stephen Fuhr
CD
Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Defence
In office
February 18, 2016 – September 11, 2019
Preceded byPeter Kent
Succeeded byKaren McCrimmon
Member of Parliament
for Kelowna—Lake Country
In office
October 19, 2015 – September 11, 2019
Preceded byRon Cannan
Succeeded byTracy Gray
Personal details
Born (1969-05-27) May 27, 1969
Edmonton, Alberta
Political partyLiberal (2010-present)
Conservative (2003-2010)
Canadian Alliance (2000-2003)
Reform (?-2000)
Residence(s)Kelowna, British Columbia
Alma materTrinity Western University
ProfessionFighter pilot
Entrepreneur
Military service
Allegiance Canada
Branch/service Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service1989–2009
RankMajor

Stephen Fuhr (born May 27, 1969) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who represented the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country in Canada's 42nd Parliament.

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 he 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). He 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 led 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.[1] Prior to his election, he was working as a private pilot[2] and was qualified as a captain on several different aircraft types.

Fuhr, who described himself as a "lifelong Conservative," wrote in an op-ed for HuffPost Canada that he grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Conservatives from 2010 onward. He started moving away from the Conservatives after the Stephen Harper government tried to sole-source new F-35 jets that he claimed were unreliable and expensive. This and other moves by Harper led Fuhr to believe that the Harper government had "completely lost sight of everything it said it stood for." "[3][4]

Fuhr is the first Liberal MP to represent Kelowna since 1972, and his election was seen as an upset.[5] 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

2019 Canadian federal election: Kelowna—Lake Country
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeTracy Gray31,49745.57+5.82$118,425.23
LiberalStephen Fuhr22,62732.74-13.42$103,263.61
New DemocraticJustin Kulik8,38112.13-1.96$12,410.64
GreenTravis Ashley5,1717.48–$6,745.70
People'sJohn Barr1,2251.77–$7,213.32
IndependentDaniel Joseph1520.22–none listed
IndependentSilverado Socrates670.10–$0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 69,12099.56
Total rejected ballots 3050.44+0.08
Turnout 69,42568.39-2.26
Eligible voters 101,507
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +9.62
Source: Elections Canada[6][7][8]
2015 Canadian federal election: 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 64,15599.64 $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[9][10][11]

References

  1. ↑ "SkyTrac Systems Announces CEO". September 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ Meet Stephen Fuhr, Liberal.ca.
  3. ↑ "I'm a Lifelong Conservative But I'm Running for the Liberals". February 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Stephen Fuhr: How a lifelong Conservative supporter ended up running for Justin Trudeau's Liberals". The Georgia Straight. 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  5. ↑ Kevin Parnell, Lake Country expected to meet with new MP Stephen Fuhr, The Kelowna Capital News, October 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  9. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Kelowna—Lake Country, 30 September 2015
  10. ↑ Official Voting Results - Kelowna—Lake Country
  11. ↑ "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on August 15, 2015.
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