Chris Charlton

Chris Charlton, MA (born July 4, 1963) is a German-born, Canadian politician from the City of Hamilton, Ontario. As a New Democrat, she served as the Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain from 2006 until 2015.

Background

Charlton was born in Dortmund, Germany and immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1975. She attended the University of Western Ontario for undergraduate studies and then McMaster University to pursue a Master's Degree in Political Science. During this time, she became active with the New Democratic Youth club on campus. Soon after, Bob Rae and the New Democrats came to power in Ontario, and Charlton received a job as a political advisor with the government, where her husband, Brian Charlton (whom she married in 1992), was a cabinet minister. When the Progressive Conservatives defeated Rae's government in the 1995 provincial election.

Politics

At the time the Hamilton Mountain New Democrats held their nomination meeting to declare a candidate to run against Beth Phinney in 1997, Charlton had become a Teaching Assistant at U of T and had nearly completed her studies. Though only 33 at the time, she had already served as an advisor to Bob Rae's government, and went unopposed in the nomination. On election night, she placed 4th out of 6 candidates, which would be the lowest she would ever poll in an election campaign.