# Wendy Byrne

Wendy Elizabeth Byrne (born 1957) is a Canadian lawyer and politician from Ottawa, Ontario. She is a former Ottawa-Carleton Regional Councillor.
Byrne ran for political office twice in 1997. In June of that year, she ran for the New Democratic Party in the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean, but only received 7.6% of the vote. In November however, she was elected in the Ottawa-Carleton regional elections in the seat of Bay Ward. She ran on a platform of preserving green space, opposing downloading taxes to property owners and opposed the expansion of the Champlain Bridge. She also supported the preservation of non-profit housing and a transit strategy of smaller buses and light rail. She had defeated her closest rival by less than 200 votes in close 4-way race. While on council, she served as vice-chair of the region's Community Services Committee and as a member of the Regional Transit Commission. She served just one term, as the Region was abolished upon the amalgamation of Ottawa in 2000.
Byrne was the Ontario New Democratic Party candidate in Ottawa West—Nepean for the 2011 provincial election. Byrne received 14.8% of the vote, an increase of 6.3% over the previous by-election results in 2010.
Before being elected, Byrne was a community organizer and was a director and vice president at a credit union. She practised law in Ottawa, Ontario from 1995 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2008 and 2011 to 2016, and practised law in Calgary, Alberta from 2008 to 2011. Byrne now resides in Victoria, British Columbia where she works for the Government of British Columbia.

## Electoral record

vte2011 Ontario general election: Ottawa West—Nepean :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Bob Chiarelli | 18,492 | 41.62 | −1.83 | $ 93,241.85 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Randall Denley | 17,483 | 39.35 | +0.36 | 80,950.00 |
| | New Democratic | Wendy Byrne | 6,576 | 14.80 | +6.35 | 13,936.09 |
| | Green | Alex Hill | 1,485 | 3.34 | −4.96 | 3,113.29 |
| | Family Coalition | John Pacheco | 396 | 0.89 | | 8,382.66 |
| Total valid votes / expense limit | Total valid votes / expense limit | Total valid votes / expense limit | 44,432 | 100.00 | +56.27 | $ 97,809.67 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 174 | 0.39 | −0.18 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,606 | 54.27 | +21.33 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 82,187 | | −5.32 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | −1.10 |
| Source(s) "Summary of Valid Votes Cast for Each Candidate – October 6, 2011 General Election" (PDF)."Statistical Summary – General Elections 2011" ( XLS Spreadsheet (71KB)). Elections Ontario."2011 Candidate Campaign Returns (CR-1)". Retrieved May 31, 2014. |||||||
1997 Ottawa-Carleton Regional Municipality Elections: Bay Ward :
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Wendy Byrne | 3,199 | 29.43 |
| Peter Harris | 3,017 | 27.75 |
| Frank Dalton | 2,041 | 18.77 |
| David Morrow | 1,871 | 17.21 |
| Victoria Manson | 595 | 5.47 |
| Douglas Besharah | 148 | 1.36 |
1997 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Marlene Catterall | 29,511 | 54.02 |
| | Reform | Barry Yeates | 11,601 | 21.23 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Margret Kopala | 8,489 | 15.54 |
| | New Democratic | Wendy Byrne | 4,163 | 7.62 |
| | Green | Stuart Langstaff | 416 | 0.76 |
| | Independent | John Turmel | 211 | 0.39 |
| | Natural Law | Stan Lamothe | 153 | 0.28 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Marsha Fine | 90 | 0.16 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 54,634 | 100.00 |