# Catherine Fife

Catherine Eileen Fife (born 1968 or 1969) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who represents the riding of Waterloo. She has been a Member of Provincial Parliament since first winning her seat in the 2012 Kitchener—Waterloo byelection.

## Background

Prior to entering politics, she spent 10 years with the Toronto District School Board as an educational assistant, a school community advisor and a settlement worker for new immigrants. She was the research coordinator for the Partnerships for Children and Families Project at Wilfrid Laurier University. She lives in Kitchener-Waterloo with her husband Dale and their two children.

## Politics

Fife was elected to represent Waterloo/Wilmot as a trustee for the Waterloo Region District School Board in 2003, and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010.
In the 2007 provincial election, Fife ran as the New Democrat candidate in the riding of Kitchener—Waterloo. She came in third behind incumbent Progressive Conservative Elizabeth Witmer and Liberal candidate Louise Ervin.
After Witmer resigned to take a position with the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board, Fife ran in a by-election on September 6, 2012 to replace her. She defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Tracey Weiler by 3,748 votes. She was re-elected in the 2014 provincial election, defeating Liberal candidate Jamie Burton by 3,843 votes. She was subsequently re-elected in the 2018 and 2022 provincial elections.
She was the party's critic for Jobs, Employment, Research and Innovation and the Chair for Standing Committee on Public Accounts. As of September 7, 2024, she serves as the Official Opposition critic for Finance and Treasury Board.

## Election results

vte2025 Ontario general election: Waterloo :
| The 2025 general election will be held on February 27. |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Fife | | | |
| | Progressive Conservative | Peter Turkington | | | |
| | Liberal | Clayton Moore | | | |
| | Green | Shefaza Esmail | | | |
| | New Blue | Suja Biber | | | |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | |
vte2022 Ontario general election: Waterloo :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Fife | 20,615 | 45.89 | −4.65 | $79,926 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Andrew Aitken | 13,176 | 29.33 | −2.08 | $55,487 |
| | Liberal | Jennifer Tuck | 6,251 | 13.92 | +1.75 | $28,468 |
| | Green | Shefaza Esmail | 3,110 | 6.92 | +2.09 | $7,305 |
| | New Blue | Vladimir Voznyuk | 1,178 | 2.62 | | $4,970 |
| | Ontario Party | Benjamin Hufnagel | 359 | 0.80 | | $0 |
| | Communist | Christian Shingiro | 130 | 0.29 | | $0 |
| | Electoral Reform | Peter House | 103 | 0.23 | | $0 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 44,922 | 99.52 | +0.79 | $130,920 |
| Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked, and declined ballots | 216 | 0.48 | -0.79 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,138 | 48.41 | -13.39 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 93,522 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | −1.29 |
| Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-18."Statistical Summary by Electoral District" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. |||||||
vte2018 Ontario general election: Waterloo :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Fife | 27,315 | 50.54 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Dan Weber | 16,973 | 31.41 |
| | Liberal | Dorothy McCabe | 6,577 | 12.17 |
| | Green | Zdravko Gunjevic | 2,613 | 4.83 |
| | Libertarian | Andrew Allison | 566 | 1.05 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 54,097 | 100.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 64.5 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 83,924 |
| | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. | New Democratic pickup new district. |
| Source: Elections Ontario |||||||
vte2014 Ontario general election: Kitchener—Waterloo :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Fife | 20,536 | 37.43 | -2.44 |
| | Liberal | Jamie Burton | 16,534 | 30.14 | +6.15 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Tracey Weiler | 14,450 | 26.34 | -5.49 |
| | Green | Stacey Danckert | 2,859 | 5.21 | +1.94 |
| | Libertarian | James Schulz | 438 | 0.78 | +0.49 |
| | Freedom | Nicholas Roy | 43 | 0.07 | +0.05 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 54,860 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 623 | 1.12 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 55,483 | 54.95 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 100,972 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | -4.29 |
| Source(s) Elections Ontario (2014). "Official Returns from the Records, 039 Kitchener—Waterloo" (PDF). Retrieved 23 August 2015. |||||||
vteOntario provincial by-election, September 6, 2012: Kitchener—Waterloo Resignation of Elizabeth Witmer :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Fife | 18,599 | 39.87 | +23.20 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Tracey Weiler | 14,851 | 31.83 | -11.94 |
| | Liberal | Eric Davis | 11,194 | 23.99 | -12.05 |
| | Green | Stacey Danckert | 1,525 | 3.27 | +0.63 |
| | Libertarian | Allan Dettweiler | 156 | 0.33 | |
| | Freedom | David Driver | 95 | 0.20 | -0.05 |
| | Communist | Elizabeth Rowley | 85 | 0.18 | |
| | Independent | Garnet Bruce | 77 | 0.17 | |
| | People's Political Party | Kevin Clarke | 48 | 0.10 | |
| | Pauper | John Turmel | 23 | 0.05 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 46,653 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 128 | 0.27 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,781 | 47.00 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 99,544 |
| | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | +17.57 |
| Source(s) Elections Ontario (2012). "Official return from the records / Rapport des registres officiels - Kitchener—Waterloo by-election" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2014. |||||||
vte2007 Ontario general election: Kitchener—Waterloo :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Elizabeth Witmer | 20,748 | 40.84 | -2.24 |
| | Liberal | Louise Ervin | 15,848 | 31.20 | -9.18 |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Fife | 8,902 | 17.52 | +6.58 |
| | Green | Judy Greenwood-Speers | 4,707 | 9.27 | +6.08 |
| | Family Coalition | Louis Reitzel | 598 | 1.18 | -0.53 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 50,803 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 313 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,116 | 53.63 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 95,319 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +3.47 |