Stephen Fuhr

Stephen Fuhr CD MP
Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office February 18, 2016
Preceded by	Peter Kent
Member of Parliament for Kelowna—Lake Country
Incumbent
Assumed office October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Ron Cannan
Personal details
Born	(1969-05-27) May 27, 1969 Edmonton, Alberta
Political party	Liberal
Residence(s)	Kelowna, British Columbia
Alma mater	Trinity Western University
Profession	Fighter pilot Entrepreneur
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service	1989–2009
Rank	Major

Stephen Fuhr MP (born May 27, 1969) is a Canadian Liberal politician, who was elected to represent the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.

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 Fuhr 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). Fuhr 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 lead 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. Prior to his election, he was working as a private pilot and was qualified as a captain on several different aircraft types.

Fuhr, who described himself as a "lifelong Conservative", began to switch his affiliation in 2010 and later served on the board of directors of his local Liberal riding association. Fuhr is the first Liberal MP to represent Kelowna since 1972, and his election was seen as an upset. 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

2015 Canadian federal election: Kelowna—Lake Country
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Stephen Fuhr	29,614	46.16	+34.69	$127,002.68
	Conservative	Ron Cannan	25,502	39.75	-18.63	$70,942.48
	New Democratic	Norah Mary Bowman	9,039	14.09	-7.28	$33,945.86
Total valid votes/expense limit			64,155	99.64		$228,718.18
Total rejected ballots			230	0.36	–
Turnout			64,385	70.65	–
Eligible voters			91,131
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing		+26.66
Source: Elections Canada