Kellie Leitch
Encyclopedia
Kellie Leitch, O.Ont
, MP
, BA
, MD
, MBA
, FRCS (C)
(born July 30, 1970) is the Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe—Grey
elected in the 2011 federal election. She succeeded Member of Parliament Helena Guergis
, who was dismissed from the Conservative Party caucus. Following her election, Leitch was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour.
in 1991 with an undergraduate degree. She earned her doctorate of medicine from the University of Toronto
in 1994, MBA from Dalhousie University
in 1998, and completed the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program in 2001 at the University of Toronto. She became a fellow of clinical paediatric orthopaedics at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles/University of Southern California in 2002.
Leitch previously served at the University of Western Ontario
, where she served as the assistant dean of external affairs at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the chair of paediatric surgery at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
. In 2005, she was named one of Canada's Top 40 under 40.
She is an orthopaedic pediatric surgeon at SickKids Hospital. Leitch also serves as an associate professor at the University of Toronto
.
Leitch was the founding chair of the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership and lead the health sector stream of the MBA programme at the Richard Ivey School of Business
located at the University of Western Ontario
.
Leitch also founded the Kids Health Foundation in 2009, an organization that seeks to work with Academia, the Not-For-Profit sector, Government and Industry to make Canada the healthiest place on earth for children to grow-up.
and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
. She was a strategist in Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott
's leadership bid in 2009. She also served as president of the Ontario PC Campus Association, and has been actively involved in the Conservative Party since she was 14.
Leitch served as chair of the expert panel for the Children's Fitness Tax Credit in 2006, which made recommendations to Jim Flaherty
, Minister of Finance, regarding the best ways to implement this tax credit designed to encourage health and fitness among Canadian children. In 2008, Leitch authored the report entitled Reaching for the Top: A Report by the Advisor on Healthy Children & Youth. The report is a "call to action" for government and industry on key issues affecting Canadian children and youth.
Leitch serves on the boards for CANFAR, the National Research Council, YMCA
, and Genome Canada, among others.
On September 17, 2010, The Globe and Mail reported that Leitch would run for the Conservative nomination in Simcoe-Grey. The seat was, at the time, held by Helena Guergis
, who was expelled from the Conservative Party. The Globe described Leitch as a "star candidate" and noted that her launch event in Creemore
the following day would include former Ontario premier Bill Davis
and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
.
Leitch won the nomination over Collingwood mayor Chris Carrier and Paul Throop with 67% of all ballots cast in a large turnout. Leitch continued this momentum by winning the general election with more votes than any candidate for public office had ever received in Simcoe-Grey, with 31,784 ballots cast for her and a plurality of 20,590 votes, or 49.36% of the vote.
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
, FRCS (C)
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada ' , French: Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada, is a national, private, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a special Act of Parliament to oversee the medical education of specialists in Canada...
(born July 30, 1970) is the Canadian Member of Parliament for the riding of Simcoe—Grey
Simcoe—Grey
Simcoe—Grey is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.It was created in 1996 from parts of Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, Bruce—Grey, Simcoe Centre, Simcoe North, Wellington—Grey—Dufferin—Simcoe and York—Simcoe.It consists of...
elected in the 2011 federal election. She succeeded Member of Parliament Helena Guergis
Helena Guergis
Helena C. Guergis, PC, is a Canadian politician. She has represented Simcoe—Grey in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004, and was appointed Minister of State on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election...
, who was dismissed from the Conservative Party caucus. Following her election, Leitch was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour.
Training and medical career
Leitch graduated from Queen's UniversityQueen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in 1991 with an undergraduate degree. She earned her doctorate of medicine from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in 1994, MBA from Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
in 1998, and completed the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program in 2001 at the University of Toronto. She became a fellow of clinical paediatric orthopaedics at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles/University of Southern California in 2002.
Leitch previously served at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, where she served as the assistant dean of external affairs at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the chair of paediatric surgery at the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
Children's Hospital of Western Ontario
Children's Hospital of Western Ontario is a major paediatric facility in Southwestern Ontario and handles patients unable to get care in Toronto or Ottawa.-See also:* IWK Health Centre - Nova Scotia* Hospital for Sick Children...
. In 2005, she was named one of Canada's Top 40 under 40.
She is an orthopaedic pediatric surgeon at SickKids Hospital. Leitch also serves as an associate professor at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
Leitch was the founding chair of the Ivey Centre for Health Innovation and Leadership and lead the health sector stream of the MBA programme at the Richard Ivey School of Business
Richard Ivey School of Business
The Richard Ivey School of Business is located on the University of Western Ontario campus in London, Ontario, Canada, and is consistently rated as the top business school in Canada. It is offered, along with a range of other programs, by the University of Western Ontario, but is managed separately...
located at the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
.
Leitch also founded the Kids Health Foundation in 2009, an organization that seeks to work with Academia, the Not-For-Profit sector, Government and Industry to make Canada the healthiest place on earth for children to grow-up.
Political involvement
Leitch is an active member of the Conservative Party of CanadaConservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
. She was a strategist in Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott
Christine Elliott
Christine Janice Elliott is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a byelection on March 30, 2006. Elliott was a candidate in the 2009 Progressive Conservative leadership election and came in third place behind winner Tim Hudak and runner-up Frank...
's leadership bid in 2009. She also served as president of the Ontario PC Campus Association, and has been actively involved in the Conservative Party since she was 14.
Leitch served as chair of the expert panel for the Children's Fitness Tax Credit in 2006, which made recommendations to Jim Flaherty
Jim Flaherty
James Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
, Minister of Finance, regarding the best ways to implement this tax credit designed to encourage health and fitness among Canadian children. In 2008, Leitch authored the report entitled Reaching for the Top: A Report by the Advisor on Healthy Children & Youth. The report is a "call to action" for government and industry on key issues affecting Canadian children and youth.
Leitch serves on the boards for CANFAR, the National Research Council, YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, and Genome Canada, among others.
On September 17, 2010, The Globe and Mail reported that Leitch would run for the Conservative nomination in Simcoe-Grey. The seat was, at the time, held by Helena Guergis
Helena Guergis
Helena C. Guergis, PC, is a Canadian politician. She has represented Simcoe—Grey in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004, and was appointed Minister of State on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election...
, who was expelled from the Conservative Party. The Globe described Leitch as a "star candidate" and noted that her launch event in Creemore
Creemore, Ontario
Creemore is a former village, now part of Clearview Township, located in Simcoe County, Ontario. It lies approximately north of Toronto, 40 minutes west of Barrie, and 20 minutes south of Collingwood and Georgian Bay. It sits on the eastern boundary of the Niagara Escarpment.Creemore purportedly...
the following day would include former Ontario premier Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
Jim Flaherty
James Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
.
Leitch won the nomination over Collingwood mayor Chris Carrier and Paul Throop with 67% of all ballots cast in a large turnout. Leitch continued this momentum by winning the general election with more votes than any candidate for public office had ever received in Simcoe-Grey, with 31,784 ballots cast for her and a plurality of 20,590 votes, or 49.36% of the vote.