Kanata–Carleton
Liberal
First elected in 2015 in the riding of Kanata–Carleton, Karen McCrimmon, is a retired Lieutenant-Colonel who served for more than 30 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force. She serves as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport.
McCrimmon joined the Canadian Forces as a reservist before transferring the regular forces after completing a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor. In 1981 she became the first female Air Navigator in forces history. She was also the first woman to command a Canadian Forces flying squadron after being named Commanding Officer of 429 Transport Squadron at CFB Trenton. In 2004 McCrimmon did a tour of duty in Afghanistan and was responsible for NATO airlift coordination.
She retired from the forces in 2006 and became an entrepreneur, offering mediation services. She is a member of the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Women’s Executive Network.
McCrimmon was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Carleton-Mississippi Mills in 2011, and ran in the 2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election, conceding the victory to Justin Trudeau.
McCrimmon has a pilot’s license and also has a goal of getting more women involved in aviation.
She is married and has two grown children. McCrimmon’s father, Charles Martin, was a metallurgic technician who was at one point employed by A.V. Roe and worked on the AVRO Arrow CF105.