Kimble Sutherland (born May 15, 1966) is former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

in Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. He was a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 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 labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

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 in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

defeating both Liberal 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 P ...

(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), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...

. 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 UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

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 t ...

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 Central Elgin Collegiate Institute is the smallest of three public secondary schools in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. At one time the school was part of the International Baccalaureate Organization; however, that status is no longer recognized. C ...

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