Kimble Sutherland (born May 15, 1966) is former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He was a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1990 to 1995.

Background

He first became active in politics in 1981, when he joined the local NDP riding executive during a provincial campaign. Sutherland also had a labour background, having served as a shop steward with

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a trade union, labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufa ...

Local 1977 while working at the Zehrs grocery store in Ingersoll.

Politics

Sutherland was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1990 provincial election in the rural constituency of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

defeating both

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

incumbent Charlie Tatham and a Progressive Conservative candidate by over 2,500 votes. The NDP under

Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...

won a majority government in this election, and elected many

Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of Pro ...

(MPPs) who had little experience in politics and no expectation of winning. Sutherland was only 24 years old at the time, and was studying Political Science at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. Sutherland had been elected student council president at UWO prior to his provincial election, and actually served in that position in the 1989–1990 year. During the summer of 1990, his job had been as a vendor at London's

Labatt Park Labatt Memorial Park (formerly Tecumseh Park, 1877–1936) is a baseball stadium near the forks of the Thames River in central London, Ontario, Canada. It is in size, has 5,200 seats and a natural grass field. From home plate to centre field t ...

, selling hot dogs at baseball games. He agreed to run for the NDP in 1990, after a riding association member broached the possibility with him during a ball game. Sutherland served as a

parliamentary assistant In British politics and some Commonwealth nations, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan staff member employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work ...

to three cabinet ministers from 1991–1995. The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election and Sutherland came in second against Progressive Conservative

Ernie Hardeman Ernie Hardeman (born December 4, 1947) is a Canadian politician who served as Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs from 2018 to 2021 in the Doug Ford government and as Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1999 to 2001 in ...

Later career

Sutherland served as the Executive Director of the United Way in Oxford and Brant from 1997 to 2007. As of 2016, Sutherland taught history, as well as Civics and Careers, at Central Elgin Collegiate Institute.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Kimble 1966 births Living people Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Politicians from London, Ontario United Food and Commercial Workers people Trade unionists from Ontario 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario