Judi Longfield

Infobox CanadianMP | name=Hon. Judi Longfield


cabinet=
term_start=1997 election
term_end=2006 election
predecessor= New district
successor= Jim Flaherty
birth_date=birth date and age |1947|04|23
birth_place=Timmins, Ontario
death_date=
death_place=
profession=Executive assistant, teacher
party=Liberal
party colour=Liberal
residence=Whitby
riding=Whitby—Ajax (1997-2004);
Whitby—Oshawa (2004-2006)
portfolio=
footnotes=
term_start2=
term_end2=
predecessor2=
successor2=
spouse=Alan Longfield|

Judi Longfield, PC, (born April 23, 1947 in Timmins, Ontario) is a Canadian politician. She was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2006, representing the riding of Whitby—Oshawa as a member of the Liberal Party. She has also campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Early career

Longfield was born in Timmins, Ontario. She graduated from North Bay Teacher's College, and worked as a community college teacher before taking time off to raise a family. She has also been a governor of the Trafalgar Castle School for Girls. Longfield began working for the Liberal Party in 1965 as an organizer, and was an executive assistant to Ontario Liberal Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) Allan Furlong and Steve Mahoney before starting her own political career. She was a field organizer in Jean Chrétien's 1990 leadership campaign, and co-managed Dalton McGuinty's bid to become provincial leader in 1996. [ [http://www.newsworld.cbc.ca/election97/ridings/185.html Canadian Broadcasting Corporation riding profile, 1997 federal election, Whitby—Ajax] .]

Longfield was first elected to the Whitby municipal council in 1991, winning a close victory in the city's second ward. [Doug Ibbotson, "Oshawa mayor loses to local councillor", "Toronto Star", 13 November 1991, E6.] She was returned without opposition in 1994. [Nicolaas van Rijn, "Some new faces on area councils", "Toronto Star" 16 November 1994, A9.] Longfield was involved with the local government division of the National Democratic Institute in this period, and represented Canada on delegations to Romania and Guyana. [CBC 1997 profile (see above).]

Government MP

Longfield was designated as the Liberal candidate for Whitby—Ajax in the 1997 federal election, as part of an effort by Prime Minister Chrétien to increase the number of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Liberal caucus. [Jim Brown, "Chrétien appoints four women", "Winnipeg Free Press", 12 March 1997, B1.] She won a convincing victory, and was returned in the 2000 and 2004 elections, fending off a strong challenge from the Conservative Party on the latter occasion. [Tracy Huffman, "Liberal wins after hard fight", "Toronto Star", 29 June 2004, E10.]

Longfield served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Labour from 1999 to 2001 under Chrétien, and was parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Labour and Housing in Paul Martin's government from 2004 to 2006. She also remained active with the Ontario Liberal Party, co-chairing that party's campaign in the 1999 provincial election. [William Walker, "Support from federal Liberals half-hearted", "Toronto Star", 17 March 1999, p. 1.] Initially associated with the Chrétien wing of the Liberal Party, Longfield sided with supporters of Chrétien's rival Paul Martin during a key procedural vote in 2002. [Jane Taber, "Backroom bid for solidarity fails to rally MPs to cause", "Globe and Mail", 6 November 2002.]

Longfield is a supporter of pay equity policies, and criticized her own government for appealing a Supreme Court decision on the issue in 1998. [Daniel LeBlanc, "Protests indicate rising anger with Liberals", "Globe and Mail", 22 September 1998, A7.] She is also a vocal proponent of affordable housing. [Mary Vallis, "Two successful politicians, just one federal seat", "National Post", 19 December 2005, A4.] She holds socially conservative views on some issues, opposing marijuana decriminalization in 2003 and voting against the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2005. [Campbell Clark, "Chrétien blasts his MPs for meddling with pot bill", "Globe and Mail", 21 August 2003, A4; Tim Naumetz, "Liberals to rush through same-sex hearings", "National Post", 6 May 2005, A6.]

Out of parliament

Longfield was defeated in the 2006 federal election by Conservative candidate Jim Flaherty, a former cabinet minister from the provincial government of Mike Harris. Shortly thereafter, she was chosen as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Flaherty's vacated provincial seat in a provincial by-election held on March 30, 2006. She finished a close second against Progressive Conservative candidate Christine Elliott, Flaherty's wife. [Journalist Ian Urquhart correctly predicted that Elliott would win the contest by a narrow margin. See [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1143548501781&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795 Ian Urquhart, "Conservative Elliott no shoo-in in byelection"] , "Toronto Star", March 29, 2006]

Longfield is now executive director of the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario). [ [http://www.lpco.ca/page.aspx?id=215 LPCO Staff] , Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario), accessed 23 March 2007.]

Table of offices held

Electoral record

Note: The above results are unofficial.

All federal electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. Italicized expenditures from elections after 1997 refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available. Expenditures from 1997 refer to submitted totals.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.judilongfield.ca/ Campaign website]

Persondata
NAME=Longfield, Judi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH=April 23, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH=Timmins, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH=living
PLACE OF DEATH=