Hedy Fry

The Honourable Hedy Fry PC MP
Fry in 2017
Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office October 25, 1993
Preceded by	Kim Campbell
Chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
Incumbent
Assumed office February 4, 2016
Minister	Mélanie Joly
Preceded by	Gord Brown
Chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Status of Women
In office 5 February 2009 – 20 June 2011
Minister	Rona Ambrose
Preceded by	Yasmin Ratansi
Succeeded by	Niki Ashton
Personal details
Born	(1941-08-06) August 6, 1941 (age 80) San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
Political party	Liberal
Relations	Pete Fry
Residence	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Profession	Physician

Hedy Madeleine Fry, PC MP (born August 6, 1941) is a Trinidadian-Canadian politician and physician who is currently the longest-serving female Member of Parliament,^[1] winning nine consecutive elections in the constituency of Vancouver Centre including the 1993 election, when she defeated incumbent Prime Minister Kim Campbell.

Early life and career[]

Fry was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. She is of Scottish, Spanish, Indian, and Chinese ancestry.^[2] After declining an English Literature scholarship to Oxford, Fry earned her equivalent of a BA in Science in one year and then went on to receive her medical training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland.^[1] She immigrated to Canada in 1970 and established a practice in Vancouver.

Fry worked at St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) for 23 years. She served as president of the British Columbia Federation of Medical Women in 1977. She was president of the Vancouver Medical Association in 1988–89, the BC Medical Association in 1990–91, and chaired the Canadian Medical Association's Multiculturalism Committee in 1992–9. She volunteered as a Tawny Owl as a member of the Girl Guides of Canada, leading a Brownie group.^[3] Fry was also a host on the nationally televised CBC show Doctor Doctor.

Federal politics[]

Fry sought and won the Liberal Party nomination for Vancouver Centre for the 1993 federal election over lawyer David Varty and college lecturer John Lang in March 1993. She was elected to the House of Commons of Canada, defeating Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Kim Campbell. Fry was only the fifth person to unseat a sitting prime minister, and the first to do so on his or her first try for office. Fry has been re-elected in every subsequent election (1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2019 ).

Chretien and Martin governments[]

She served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Health and Welfare from 1993 until 1996 when she was appointed to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Status of Women. Fry apologized to the people of Prince George, B.C. after she said in the House of Commons that “crosses are being burned on lawns as we speak”.^[4] Fry did not remain a minister after cabinet was shuffled in 2002.

When Paul Martin became Prime Minister of Canada at the end of 2003, he made her Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration with special emphasis on Foreign Credentials. After the 2004 election, she was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development with special emphasis on the Internationally Trained Workers Initiative.

In opposition[]

In 2006, she beat high-profile NDP activist and former MP Svend Robinson and in 2008 she defeated high-profile Conservative Lorne Mayencourt. On May 4, 2006, Fry became the 11th person, 3rd woman, and the only Westerner to officially enter the Liberal party leadership race. Fry launched her leadership campaign saying that Canada's diversity is its greatest competitive advantage - "our weapon of mass inclusion" - and called for a "non-ideological" approach to problem solving. She withdrew from the contest on September 25 and announced her support for Bob Rae.

Re-elected in Vancouver Centre for a sixth term in 2008, Fry was appointed the Official Opposition Critic for Canadian Heritage. On November 21, 2008, Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae announced that Fry would serve as his Campaign Co-Chair in British Columbia.

Fry was re-elected in 2011 by a margin of approximately 2,000 votes.^[5] When the Liberals lost power in 2006, Fry was named as Critic for Sport Canada in the Liberal shadow cabinet. In 2011, as the Liberals lost their designation as Official Opposition, Fry was named Liberal Critic for Health.

Trudeau government[]

In the 2015 election, Fry won her riding once more, becoming the oldest Canadian MP and the longest serving female MP. During the 42nd Parliament, she was appointed to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which provides oversight to Canada's security services and requires a Top Secret security clearance.^[6]

In the 2019 Election, Fry once again won her riding for a 9th consecutive term.^[7] She currently serves as the Special Representative for Gender Issues at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, a role she has held since 2010. Fry is also a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic. ^[8]

Family[]

Fry has three adult sons and four grandchildren. Her eldest son, Pete Fry, was elected to Vancouver City Council in the 2018 municipal election.

Electoral record[]

hide2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	18,260	31.03	-3.47
	New Democratic	Karen Shillington	15,325	26.04	+4.73
	Conservative	Jennifer Clarke	15,323	26.04	+0.95
	Green	Adriane Carr	9,089	15.44	-2.87
	Libertarian	John Clarke	313	0.53	-0.07
	Progressive Canadian	Michael Huenefeld	285	0.48	–
	Pirate	Travis McCrea	192	0.33	–
	Marxist–Leninist	Michael Hill	62	0.11	-0.05
Total valid votes			58,849	100.0
Total rejected ballots			134	0.23
Turnout			58,983	59.23
Eligible voters			99,527
	Liberal hold		Swing		-4.10

hide v t 2008 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	19,506	34.50	-9.37	$80,974
	Conservative	Lorne Mayencourt	14,188	25.09	+4.73	$91,239
	New Democratic	Michael Byers	12,047	21.31	-7.34	$85,957
	Green	Adriane Carr	10,354	18.31	+12.43	$82,713
	Libertarian	John Clarke	340	0.60	+0.07	$0
	Marxist–Leninist	Michael Hill	94	0.16
Total valid votes/Expense limit			56,529	100.0		$94,404
	Liberal hold		Swing		-7.05

hide v t 2006 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	25,013	43.80	+3.50	$77,826
	New Democratic	Svend Robinson	16,374	28.67	-3.62	$84,170
	Conservative	Tony Fogarassy	11,684	20.46	+1.26	$86,591
	Green	Jared Evans	3,340	5.84	-0.94	$1,008
	Libertarian	John Clarke	304	0.53	-0.04
	Marijuana	HeathCliff Dion Campbell	259	0.45	–	$115
	Christian Heritage	Joe Pal	130	0.22	-0.24	$389
Total valid votes			57,104	100.0
Total rejected ballots			163	0.28	-0.15
Turnout			57,267	62.06	+0.59
	Liberal hold		Swing		+3.56

hide v t 2004 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	21,280	40.30	-2.00	$66,619
	New Democratic	Kennedy Stewart	17,050	32.29	+20.25	$57,675
	Conservative	Gary Mitchell	10,139	19.20	-18.70	$73,789
	Green	Robbie Mattu	3,580	6.78	+2.85	$2,440
	Libertarian	John Clarke	304	0.57	–	$60
	Christian Heritage	Joe Pal	243	0.46	–	$389
	Canadian Action	Alexander Frei	101	0.19	-1.08	$100
	Communist	Kimball Cariou	96	0.18	+0.01	$389
Total valid votes			52,793	100.0
Total rejected ballots			226	0.43	-0.05
Turnout			53,019	61.47	0.97
	Liberal hold		Swing		-11.12
Change for the Conservatives is based on the combined totals of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives.

hide v t 2000 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	24,553	42.30	+1.54	$69,017
	Alliance	John Mortimer	15,176	26.14	+3.56	$68,158
	New Democratic	Scott Robertson	6,993	12.04	-8.83	$8,841
	Progressive Conservative	Lee Johnson	6,828	11.76	+2.52	$4,047
	Green	Jamie Lee Hamilton	2,285	3.93	+0.93	$3,945
	Marijuana	Marc Emery	1,116	1.92	–
	Canadian Action	Jeff Jewell	742	1.27	+0.24	$547
	Natural Law	Valerie Laporte	177	0.30	-0.12	$40
	Communist	Kimball Cariou	99	0.17	–	$189
	Marxist–Leninist	Joseph Theriault	75	0.12	-0.10	$364
Total valid votes			58,044	100.0
Total rejected ballots			280	0.48	-0.05
Turnout			58,324	60.50	-4.22
	Liberal hold		Swing		-1.01
Change for the Canadian Alliance is based on the Reform Party.

hide v t 1997 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	20,878	40.76	+9.57	$54,905
	Reform	Richard Farbridge	11,567	22.58	+5.12	$24,846
	New Democratic	Bill Siksay	10,690	20.87	+5.69	$27,133
	Progressive Conservative	Victoria Minnes	4,736	9.24	-15.81	$43,121
	Green	Paul Alexander	1,541	3.00	+2.05	$2,154
	Independent	Joseph Roberts	728	1.42	–	$6,163
	Canadian Action	Connie Fogal	528	1.03	–	$12,986
	Natural Law	John Cowhig	217	0.42	-0.62
	Independent	John Clarke	125	0.24	–	$2,687
	Marxist–Leninist	Joseph Theriault	116	0.22	–	$559
	Independent	Elvis Flostrand	92	0.17	–	$699
Total valid votes			51,218	100.0
Total rejected ballots			272	0.53
Turnout			51,490	64.72
	Liberal hold		Swing		+2.22

hide v t 1993 Canadian federal election: Vancouver Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Hedy Fry	19,310	31.19	+8.38
	Progressive Conservative	Kim Campbell	15,510	25.05	-12.19
	Reform	Ian Isbister	10,808	17.46	+16.08
	New Democratic	Betty Baxter	9,397	15.18	-21.63
	National	Thorsten Ewald	4,949	7.99	–
	Natural Law	John Cowhig	643	1.04	–
	Green	Imtiaz Popat	586	0.95	+0.14
	Christian Heritage	Darren Lowe	242	0.39	–
	Libertarian	Tunya Audain	220	0.36	+0.11
	Independent	Brian Godzilla Gnu Salmi	114	0.18	–
	Independent	Scott Adams	83	0.13	-0.07
	Commonwealth of Canada	Lucille Boikoff	25	0.04	–
	Independent	Peter C. Nuthall	24	0.04	–
Total valid votes			61,911	100.0
	Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		+10.28

References[]

External links[]

• Official site
• How'd They Vote?: Hedy Fry's voting history and quotes
• Hedy Fry – Parliament of Canada biography

26th Ministry – Cabinet of Jean Chrétien
Sub-Cabinet Post
Predecessor	Title	Successor
Sheila Finestone	Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women) (1996–2002)	Jean Augustine