Stephen Woodworth (politician)

Stephen Woodworth
File:Stephen Woodworth ~ 2694.jpeg
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Kitchener Centre
In office October 14, 2008 – October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Karen Redman
Succeeded by	Raj Saini
Personal details
Born	(1954-01-05) January 5, 1954 Kitchener, Ontario
Political party	Conservative (2008-present), Liberal (1988)
Profession	Lawyer

Stephen Woodworth (born January 5, 1954) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Kitchener Centre in the House of Commons of Canada for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 40th and 41st parliaments (2008-2015).

Life and career

Woodworth was born in Kitchener, Ontario. He attended Wilfrid Laurier University and then received a law degree from the University of Western Ontario. He was called to the bar in 1979 and set up a legal practice in Waterloo, which moved in 1993 to Kitchener. He ran unsuccessfully in the 1988 federal election as a Liberal in the riding of Waterloo.

Woodworth has participated in anti-abortion protests and, in December 2011, called for a national debate regarding fetal rights.

Prior to his election to parliament he served as a Catholic school board trustee from 1994 to 2003 in Kitchener. During this time he worked to ban public health nurses in high schools because of fears that they might discuss contraception as part of providing necessary medical care.

A private members motion (Motion 312) introduced by Stephen Woodworth received a one-hour debate on April 26, 2012, with a second hour of debate on September 21. The bill would create a special committee to examine the legal definition of when a fetus becomes a human being, though Woodworth conceded he is unlikely to get the support needed to move the initiative forward.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015: Kitchener Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Raj Saini	25,504	48.8	+16.51	–
	Conservative	Stephen Woodworth	15,872	30.4	-9.96	–
	New Democratic	Susan Cadell	8,680	16.6	-5.33	–
	Green	Nicholas Wendler	1,597	3.1	-1.48	–
	Libertarian	Slavko Miladinovic	515	1.0	–	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Julian Ichim	112	0.2	+0.02	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			52,280	100.0		$209,331.18
Total rejected ballots			292	–	–
Turnout			52,572	68.45	+5.32
Eligible voters			76,797
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+13.24
Source: Elections Canada

Canadian federal election, 2011: Kitchener Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Stephen Woodworth	21,119	42.39	+5.70	–
	Liberal	Karen Redman	15,592	31.30	-4.64	–
	New Democratic	Peter Thurley	10,742	21.56	+3.48	$38,822.94
	Green	Byron Williston	1,972	3.95	+1.06	–
	Independent	Alan Rimmer	199	0.39	-0.08	–
	Communist	Martin Suter	93	0.19	-0.09	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Mark Corbiere	92	0.18	–	none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit			49,809	100.00	$87,274.51
Total rejected ballots			209	0.42	+0.01
Turnout			50,018	63.13	+6.10
Eligible voters			79,232	–	–

Canadian federal election, 2008: Kitchener Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Stephen Woodworth	16,480	36.69	+4.56	$75,291
	Liberal	Karen Redman	16,141	35.94	-7.32	$74,745
	New Democratic	Oz Cole-Arnal	8,152	18.08	-0.35	$26,622
	Green	John Bithell	3,818	8.51	+2.89	$2,612
	Independent	Amanda Lamka	215	0.47	–
	Communist	Martin Suter	127	0.28	-0.26	$373
Total valid votes/Expense limit			44,933	100.00	$84,756
Total rejected ballots			183	0.41	-0.05
Turnout			45,091	57.03	-7.67
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+5.94

Canadian federal election, 1988: Waterloo
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Progressive Conservative	Walter McLean	26,949	45.11	–11.24
	Liberal	Stephen Woodworth	21,715	36.35	+11.78
	New Democratic	Scott Piatkowski	10,418	17.44	–0.71
	Libertarian	Rita Huschka-Sprague	663	1.11	+0.18
Total valid votes			59,745	100.0
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		–11.51

External links

• Stephen Woodworth
• Stephen Woodworth – Parliament of Canada biography