# Irek Kusmierczyk

Irek Kusmierczyk MP (born January 16, 1978) is a Polish-Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Windsor—Tecumseh in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election. Prior to his election in the House of Commons, he was a city councillor for the Windsor City Council representing Ward 7.
He received his PhD in political science from Vanderbilt University,an MA in Central and Eastern European Studies from Jagiellonian University an MSc in government from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University. He worked in government at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Atlantic Council of Canada Fellow and published a book chapter on cross-border environmental cooperation between local governments around the Great Lakes basin. He worked on Species-at-Risk remediation around Ojibway Park as part of the Windsor Essex Parkway Project.
He was born in Kraśnik, Poland. His family arrived in Canada in 1983 as political refugees after his father was imprisoned as a member of the Solidarity movement, which opposed the communist dictatorship and established the first free and independent trade union in communist Eastern Europe. They immediately settled in Windsor where his father worked as an engineer in the automotive industry.

## Electoral record
### Federal

vte2021 Canadian federal election: Windsor—Tecumseh :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Irek Kusmierczyk | 18,134 | 31.8 | -1.6 | $87,942.33 |
| | New Democratic | Cheryl Hardcastle | 17,465 | 30.7 | -1.6 | $84,009.14 |
| | Conservative | Kathy Borrelli | 14,605 | 25.6 | -2.2 | $19,138.69 |
| | People's | Victor Green | 5,927 | 10.4 | +8.1 | none listed |
| | Green | Henry Oulevey | 682 | 1.2 | -2.6 | $0.00 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Laura Chesnik | 164 | 0.3 | ±0.0 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 56,977 | 99.1 | – | $112,129.36 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 500 | 0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,477 | 60.9 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 94,424 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | ±0.0 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2019 Canadian federal election: Windsor—Tecumseh :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Irek Kusmierczyk | 19,046 | 33.44 | +6.86 | $88,762.63 |
| | New Democratic | Cheryl Hardcastle | 18,417 | 32.33 | -11.18 | $73,796.66 |
| | Conservative | Leo Demarce | 15,851 | 27.83 | +0.36 | $52,162.20 |
| | Green | Giovanni Abati | 2,177 | 3.82 | +1.86 | $4,227.38 |
| | People's | Dan Burr | 1,279 | 2.25 | - | $4,172.76 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Laura Chesnik | 187 | 0.33 | -0.14 | none listed |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 56,957 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 539 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,496 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 95,668 |
| | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +9.02 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Joe Comartin | 22,235 | 49.92 | +1.22 | $72,370 |
| | Conservative | Denise Ghanam | 14,945 | 33.55 | +9.63 | – |
| | Liberal | Irek Kusmierczyk | 5,764 | 12.94 | -8.02 | – |
| | Green | Kyle Prestanski | 1,354 | 3.04 | -3.36 | – |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Laura Chesnik | 242 | 0.54 | – | – |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 44,540 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 232 | 0.52 | -0.06 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,772 | 53.46 | + 2.81 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 83,748 | – | – |

### Municipal

2018 Ward 7, Windsor municipal election :
| Council Candidate | Vote | % |
| Irek Kusmierczyk | 4,745 | 69.85 |
| Angelo Marignani | 982 | 14.46 |
| Barbara Holland | 658 | 9.69 |
| Albert Saba | 408 | 6.01 |
2014 Ward 7, Windsor municipal election :
| Council Candidate | Vote | % |
| Irek Kusmierczyk | 3,761 | 50.76 |
| Angelo Marignani | 2,539 | 34.27 |
| Daniel William Speal | 909 | 12.27 |
| Jeffery Kocsis | 200 | 2.70 |
2013 Ward 7, Windsor municipal by-election :
| Council Candidate | Vote | % |
| Irek Kusmierczyk | 1,140 | 31.39 |
| Angelo Marignani | 1,088 | 29.87 |
| Tom Wilson | 639 | 17.55 |
| Robin L. Fortier | 262 | 7.19 |
| Tosin Bello | 231 | 6.34 |
| Laurie Komon | 112 | 3.08 |
| Steve Gavrilidis | 67 | 1.84 |
| Steve Farrell | 40 | 1.10 |
| Ernie the Baconman | 33 | 0.91 |
| Mitchell Bialkowski | 21 | 0.58 |
| Clint Weir | 9 | 0.25 |