# Chris Bradshaw

Christopher John Bradshaw (May 20, 1944 – November 3, 2018) was a Canadian politician and businessman. He served as interim leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2001 to 2003, and sought public office as a candidate of the Green Party of Canada and the Green Party of Ontario.

## Business

Bradshaw has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, and worked for General Motors of Canada following his graduation. He subsequently moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he worked in a low-income community with the Company of Young Canadians, then as executive director of the CMHC-funded Canadian Organization of Public Housing Tenants, and then for 22 years as community relations specialist for the Planning Department of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa–Carleton, retiring in 1995. He then co-founded Vrtucar, a car-sharing service in Ottawa, in May 2000, but sold his share to his partner in late 2006. The company continues to grow.

## Advocacy

In 1988, he started Ottawalk, the first pedestrian advocacy group in the continent. He was recognized by America Walks in 2001 as the "father of pedestrian advocacy in North America."

## Politics

In February 2001, Bradshaw was appointed interim leader of the federal Green Party, via election by the board. Bradshaw helped organize the 2003 Green Party Leadership Convention in Ottawa, and was responsible for moving the party's central office to Ottawa from Toronto. In February 2003, he was succeeded as party leader by Jim Harris. At the 2002 national convention in Montreal, he was elected leader, with the understanding that the post would be filled on a more permanent basis in early 2003 via mail-in ballots.
Bradshaw ran for public office in the Ontario provincial election of 1999, receiving 1,231 votes in Ottawa Centre. In the 2003 election, he finished fourth with 3,821 votes (7.75%) in the same riding, the highest vote percentage of any Green Party candidate in the province.
Federally, Bradshaw first ran for office in the general election of 2000. Again campaigning in Ottawa Centre, he received 1529 votes for a fifth-place finish. In 2002, while serving as party leader, he contested a by-election in Bonavista—Trinity—Conception, Newfoundland but received only 139 votes. Bradshaw ran in Newfoundland in an effort to foster a genuinely national party: there has been a history of division between the Terra Nova Green Party, which is the Newfoundland & Labrador Green Party Association, and the federal Green Party.
In the 2004 federal election, Bradshaw campaigned in the rural St. Lawrence Valley riding of Leeds—Grenville, replacing Jerry Heath who unexpectedly declined to run. Despite the last-minute substitution, Bradshaw received 5.5% of the votes cast (2,722), a significant improvement over the Green Party's previous 1.73%.

## Electoral record

2004 Canadian federal election: Leeds—Grenville :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Gord Brown | 26,002 | 50.46 | -5.80 | $69,173 |
| | Liberal | Joe Jordan | 16,967 | 32.93 | -6.58 | $60,373 |
| | New Democratic | Steve Armstrong | 5,834 | 11.32 | +9.22 | $10,009 |
| | Green | Chris Bradshaw | 2,722 | 5.28 | +3.55 | $532 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 51,525 | 100.00 |
| | Conservative notional hold | Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | +0.39 |
vte2003 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Richard Patten | 22,295 | 45.10 | +6.93 | $ 72,458.74 |
| | New Democratic | Jeff Atkinson | 11,362 | 22.98 | −2.48 | 49,598.63 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Joe Varner | 11,217 | 22.69 | −10.05 | 17,112.70 |
| | Green | Chris Bradshaw | 3,821 | 7.73 | +5.11 | 9,283.05 |
| | Communist | Stuart Ryan | 306 | 0.62 | +0.25 | 878.30 |
| | Freedom | Matt Szymanowicz | 218 | 0.44 | | 0.00 |
| | Independent | Fakhry Guirguis | 214 | 0.43 | | 1,094.74 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 49,433 | 100.0 | +5.08 | $ 85,928.64 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 360 | 0.72 | −0.11 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,793 | 55.63 | +2.67 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 89,509 | | −0.07 |
| Source(s) "General Election of October 2, 2003 — Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 28, 2014."General Election of October 2, 2003 — Statistical Summary". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 28, 2014."2003 Candidate and Constituency Association Returns — Candidate Campaign Returns (CR-1)". Retrieved May 28, 2014. |||||||
Canadian federal by-election, May 13, 2002: Bonavista-Trinity-Conception Resignation of Brian Tobin :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | John Efford | 18,665 | 74.82 | 20.44 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Michelle Brazil | 5,281 | 21.17 | -5.93 |
| | New Democratic | Jim Gill | 588 | 2.36 | -13.57 |
| | Alliance | David Tulett | 166 | 0.67 | -1.92 |
| | Green | Chris Bradshaw | 139 | 0.56 | – |
| | Independent | Brent Rockwood | 106 | 0.42 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 24,945 | 100.0 |
2000 Canadian federal election: Ottawa Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Mac Harb | 22,710 | 40.00 | -5.19 |
| | New Democratic | Heather-Jane Robertson | 13,516 | 23.81 | +0.08 |
| | Alliance | David Brown | 10,167 | 17.91 | +6.34 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Beverly Mitchell | 7,505 | 13.22 | -3.11 |
| | Green | Chris Bradshaw | 1,531 | 2.70 | +1.21 |
| | Marijuana | Brad Powers | 813 | 1.43 | |
| | Canadian Action | Carla Marie Dancey | 210 | 0.37 | -0.04 |
| | Communist | Marvin Glass | 139 | 0.24 | |
| | Natural Law | Neil Paterson | 111 | 0.20 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Mistahi Corkill | 66 | 0.12 | -0.14 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 56,768 | 100.00 |
vte1999 Ontario general election: Ottawa Centre :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Richard Patten | 17,956 | 38.17 | −1.09 | $ 48,983.01 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ray Kostuch | 15,403 | 32.74 | +9.10 | 54,104.81 |
| | New Democratic | Elisabeth Arnold | 11,977 | 25.46 | −7.77 | 58,863.46 |
| | Green | Chris Bradshaw | 1,231 | 2.62 | +1.39 | 4,119.65 |
| | Communist | Marvin Glass | 174 | 0.37 | −0.37 | 1,384.26 |
| | Natural Law | Wayne Foster | 170 | 0.36 | −0.93 | 0.00 |
| | Independent | Mistahi Corkill | 132 | 0.28 | | 0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 47,043 | 100.0 | +65.64 | $ 85,987.20 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 395 | 0.83 | −0.27 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,438 | 52.96 | −10.92 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 89,570 | | +99.23 |
| Source(s) "General Election of June 3 1999 — Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 28, 2014."General Election of June 3 1999 — Statistical Summary". Elections Ontario. Retrieved May 28, 2014."1999 Summary of Income and Campaign Expenses – Candidate Campaign Returns (CR-1)". Retrieved May 28, 2014. |||||||