# Judi Longfield

Judi Longfield, PC (born April 23, 1947) is a former Canadian politician. She was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2006, representing the riding of Whitby—Oshawa as a member of the Liberal Party. She has also campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

## Background

Longfield was born in Timmins, Ontario. She graduated from North Bay Teacher's College, and worked as a community college teacher before taking time off to raise a family. She was a governor of the Trafalgar Castle School for Girls. Longfield began working for the Liberal Party in 1965 as an organizer, and was an executive assistant to Ontario Liberal Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) Allan Furlong and Steve Mahoney. She was a field organizer in Jean Chrétien's 1990 leadership campaign, and co-managed Dalton McGuinty's bid to become provincial leader in 1996.

## Politics

Longfield was elected to the Whitby municipal council in 1991, winning a close victory in the city's second ward. She was re-elected in 1994. Longfield was involved with the local government division of the National Democratic Institute in this period, and represented Canada on delegations to Romania and Guyana.
Longfield was designated as the Liberal candidate for Whitby—Ajax in the 1997 federal election, as part of an effort by Prime Minister Chrétien to increase the number of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Liberal caucus. She won a convincing victory, and was returned in the 2000 and 2004 elections, fending off a strong challenge from the Conservative Party on the latter occasion.
Longfield served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Labour from 1999 to 2001 under Chrétien, and was parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Labour and Housing in Paul Martin's government from 2004 to 2006. She also remained active with the Ontario Liberal Party, co-chairing that party's campaign in the 1999 provincial election. Initially associated with the Chrétien wing of the Liberal Party, Longfield sided with supporters of Chrétien's rival Paul Martin during a key procedural vote in 2002.
Longfield was a supporter of pay equity policies, and criticized her own government for appealing a Supreme Court decision on the issue in 1998. She was also a vocal proponent of affordable housing.
Longfield was defeated in the 2006 federal election by Conservative candidate Jim Flaherty, a former cabinet minister from the provincial government of Mike Harris. Shortly thereafter, she was chosen as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for Flaherty's vacated provincial seat in a provincial by-election held on March 30, 2006. She finished a close second against Progressive Conservative candidate Christine Elliott, Flaherty's wife.

## Electoral record

vteOntario provincial by-election, March 30, 2006: Whitby—Ajax Resignation of Jim Flaherty :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Christine Elliott | 15,843 | 46.23 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal | Judi Longfield | 14,529 | 42.40 | +2.2 |
| | New Democratic | Julie Gladman | 3,204 | 9.35 | +0.2 |
| | Green | Nick Boileau | 307 | 0.90 | −1.5 |
| | Freedom | Paul McKeever | 197 | 0.57 | – |
| | Family Coalition | Victor Carvalho | 102 | 0.30 | – |
| | Libertarian | Marty Gobin | 87 | 0.25 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 34,269 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 107 | 0.31 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,376 | 32.42 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 106,028 |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | |
| Source(s) "SUMMARY OF VALID BALLOTS CAST FOR EACH CANDIDATE - Whitby—Ajax" (PDF). Elections Ontario. 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2015. |||||||
vte2006 Canadian federal election: Whitby—Oshawa :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Jim Flaherty | 29,294 | 43.86 | +7.80 | $ 88,591.06 |
| | Liberal | Judi Longfield | 25,882 | 38.75 | −6.29 | 78,783.33 |
| | New Democratic | Maret Sadem-Thompson | 8,716 | 13.05 | −1.00 | 9,898.30 |
| | Green | Ajay Krishnan | 2,407 | 3.60 | −1.25 | 238.56 |
| | Libertarian | Marty Gobin | 274 | 0.41 | | 258.75 |
| | Canadian Action | Tom Cochrane | 217 | 0.32 | | 120.18 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 66,790 | 100.0 | +17.30 | $ 88,730.91 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 237 | 0.35 | −0.14 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 67,027 | 70.60 | +6.52 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 94,938 | | +6.32 |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada |||||||
vte2004 Canadian federal election: Whitby—Oshawa :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Judi Longfield | 25,649 | 45.04 | $80,842 |
| | Conservative | Ian MacNeil | 20,531 | 36.06 | $30,004 |
| | New Democratic | Maret Sadem-Thompson | 8,002 | 14.05 | $13,477 |
| | Green | Michael MacDonald | 2,759 | 4.85 | $0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 56,941 | 100.00 | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 283 | 0.49 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,224 | 64.08 | |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 89,296 | | |
| Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000. |||||||
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
vte2000 Canadian federal election: Whitby—Ajax :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Judi Longfield | 25,693 | 52.68 | $68,465.75 |
| | Alliance | Shaun Gillespie | 13,159 | 26.98 | $28,304.89 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Rob Chopowick | 7,563 | 15.51 | $12,247.43 |
| | New Democratic | Vic Perroni | 2,359 | 4.84 | $2,493.06 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 48,774 | 100.00 | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 153 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,927 | 58.64 | |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 83,443 | | |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
vte1997 Canadian federal election: Whitby—Ajax :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Judi Longfield | 23,551 | 47.69 | $43,611 |
| | Reform | Bill Serjeantson | 11,977 | 24.25 | $157 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Frank Snyder | 10,107 | 20.47 | $44,118 |
| | New Democratic | Karen Dolan | 3,354 | 6.79 | $30,424 |
| | Canadian Action | Robert Charles Radford | 394 | 0.80 | $1,904 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 49,383 | 100.00 | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 248 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,631 | 66.83 | |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 74,268 | | |
| Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada. |||||||
1994 Whitby municipal election: Council, Ward Two :
| Candidate | Result |
| Judi Longfield | acclaimed |
1991 Whitby municipal election: Council, Ward Two :
| Candidate | Result |
| Judi Longfield | elected |
| David Wall | - |
All federal electoral information is taken from Elections Canada. Italicized expenditures from elections after 1997 refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available. Expenditures from 1997 refer to submitted totals.