Kevin Lamoureux

Kevin Lamoureux MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Winnipeg North
Incumbent
Assumed office December 9, 2010
Preceded by	Judy Wasylycia-Leis
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
In office 1988–1999
Preceded by	Don Scott
Succeeded by	Becky Barrett
Constituency	Inkster
In office 2003 – November 1, 2010
Preceded by	Becky Barrett
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	January 22, 1962 (1962-01-22) Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party	Liberal
Residence	Winnipeg, Manitoba

Kevin Lamoureux, MP (born January 22, 1962) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. On November 29, 2010, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the constituency of Winnipeg North in a by-election. He was re-elected during the 2011 election by 44 votes. Lamoureux had previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1988 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2010, and he twice sought the leadership of the Manitoba Liberal Party. He serves in the House of Commons as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Background

Lamoureux was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was educated at the University of Winnipeg. He worked as a store manager and air traffic control assistant, also serving in the armed forces for three years.

Member of the Manitoba Legislature

Lamoureux first ran for the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 1986 election in the north end Winnipeg division of Logan. The Liberal Party did not have a strong provincial organization in this campaign, and Lamoureux finished a distant third against New Democrat Maureen Hemphill.

The Manitoba Liberal Party saw its popularity increase between 1986 and 1988, as many centre-left voters abandoned the New Democratic Party (NDP) government of Howard Pawley. In the 1988 election, the Liberals jumped from one seat to twenty and became the dominant party in both north and south Winnipeg. Lamoureux scored a narrow victory over NDP incumbent Don Scott in the north end division of Inkster and entered the legislature as a member of the Official Opposition.

The Liberal Party fell back to seven seats in the 1990 provincial election, finished third place behind a resurgent New Democratic Party. Lamoureux, however, was re-elected in Inkster with an increased margin of victory.

Leadership campaigns

Lamoureux ran for the Manitoba Liberal Party's leadership in 1993 after the resignation of Sharon Carstairs. He was seen as an "anti-establishment" candidate in this contest, representing north end Winnipeg communities against a party establishment dominated by south end Winnipeg interests. He lost to Paul Edwards.

The Liberals were leading in the polls before the 1995 provincial election, but their support base collapsed during the campaign and the party won only three seats. Lamoureux again increased his majority in Inkster, while Edwards was defeated in St. James.

Edwards announced his resignation in late 1995, and Lamoureux again stood for the party leadership. He was again regarded as an "anti-establishment" candidate, this time facing Ginny Hasselfield who was supported by the party's leadership. This contest was very divisive, and its ending was controversial. All party members were able to cast a ballot, and the results were "weighted" by constituency. It is generally acknowledged that Lamoureux received a greater number of total party membership votes than Hasselfield. Because his support was concentrated in north Winnipeg, however, Hasselfield won the weighted vote by 21 points.

Defeat and return

The divisions in the Manitoba Liberal Party continued after the leadership contest. Following the 1997 Canadian federal election, Lamoureux and Gary Kowalski announced that they could no longer support Hasselfield's leadership and would sit as "Independent Liberals". This decision left Neil Gaudry as the party's only official member of the legislature. Facing increased pressure, Hasselfield agreed to resign as party leader in early 1998. Jon Gerrard was elected as her successor, and Lamoureux and Kowalski rejoined the party caucus.

The Liberal Party entered the 1999 provincial election in a weakened state, damaged by the divisions of the previous years. The election itself became polarized between the governing Progressive Conservatives and the opposition New Democratic Party, and the Liberal Party's support fell significantly. Although still personally popular, Lamoureux was narrowly defeated by New Democrat Becky Barrett.

Lamoureux ran as a Liberal Party candidate in Winnipeg Centre in the 2000 Canadian federal election. He finished second to New Democratic Party (NDP) incumbent Pat Martin.

Becky Barrett did not seek re-election in 2003, and Lamoureux was again elected to the legislature for Inkster. The only other Liberal to win election in this campaign was Jon Gerrard. Both Lamoureux and Gerrard were re-elected in the 2007 election, but the party did not make any further gains.

Member of the Canadian House of Commons

Lamoureux resigned his provincial seat in 2010 to seek election to the Canadian House of Commons in a by-election that was held to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who stepped down to run for mayor. He was elected over NDP candidate Kevin Chief, and re-elected in the 2011 Federal Election a few months later.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Kevin Lamoureux	9,097	35.77%	-
	New Democrat	Rebecca Blaikie	9,052	35.59%	-
	Conservative	Ann Matejicka	6,709	26.38%	-
	Green	John Harvie	458	1.80%	-
	Communist	Frank Komarniski	118	0.46%	-
Total valid votes/Expense limit			25,434	100.00%		-
Total rejected ballots			138	-	-
Turnout			25,572	-	-

By-election on November 29, 2010 resignation of Judy Wasylycia-Leis on April 30, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Kevin Lamoureux	7,306	46.3
	New Democrat	Kevin Chief	6,508	41.2
	Conservative	Julie Javier	1,645	10.4
	Green	John Harvie	115	0.7
	Pirate	Jeff Coleman	93	0.6
	Communist	Frank Komarniski	71	0.4
	Christian Heritage	Eric Truijen	45	0.3
Total valid votes			15,783
Total rejected ballots
Turnout				30.8

2003 Manitoba provincial election : Inkster
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	+/-	Expenditures
	Liberal	Kevin Lamoureux	3,671	53.39	+10.75	$27,970.42
	New Democratic Party	Mario Santos	2,851	41.46	-2.99	$21,230.80
	Progressive Conservative	Michael T. Ledarney	251	3.65	-9.26	$10.69
	Green	Mario Ducusin	103	1.50	+1.50	$174.48
Total valid votes			6,876	98.86
Rejected and declined votes			79
Turnout			6,955	61.36	-10.91
Electors on the lists			11,335

Canadian federal election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democrat	Pat Martin	11,263	41.3%	+0.4%
	Liberal	Kevin Lamoureux	9,310	34.1%	-2.7%
	Canadian Alliance	Reg Smith	3,975	14.6%	+3.0%
	Progressive Conservative	Michel Allard	1,915	7.0%	-2.1%
	Green	Mikel Magnusson	698	2.6%
	Communist	Harold Dyck	134	0.5%
Total valid votes			27,295	100.0%

1999 Manitoba provincial election : Inkster
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	+/-	Expenditures
	New Democratic Party	Becky Barrett	3,501	44.45		$22,767.00
	Liberal	(x)Kevin Lamoureux	3,358	42.64		$23,318.00
	Progressive Conservative	George (Gurjant) Sandhu	1,017	12.91		$27,661.71
Total valid votes			7,876	100.00
Rejected and declined ballots			50
Turnout			7,926	72.27
Electors on the lists			10,967

External links

• Kevin Lamoureux - Parliament of Canada biography