Chris Bittle

Christopher Joseph Bittle MP (born February 17, 1979) is a Canadian Liberal politician who was elected to represent the riding of St. Catharines in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[2] He currently serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change,[3] sitting on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.[4] He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and as Deputy House Leader of the Government.[5] Bittle is the youngest MP to hold the Deputy House Leader position in the House of Commons.[6]

Chris Bittle
MP
Member of Parliament
for St. Catharines
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byRick Dykstra
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Assumed office
March 19, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byPeter Schiefke
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
In office
December 12, 2019 – March 19, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byArnold Chan
Succeeded byKirsty Duncan
Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
In office
September 19, 2017 – September 11, 2019
Personal details
Born
Christopher Joseph Bittle

(1979-02-17) February 17, 1979
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada[1]
Political partyLiberal
Residence(s)St. Catharines, Ontario[1]
Alma mater
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and career

Born in Niagara Falls, Bittle graduated from St. Paul Catholic Secondary School[7] before attending Queen's University where he graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. He then attended law school at the University of Windsor where he received a Bachelor of Laws.[8][9] Before he was elected Member of Parliament, he worked at Lancaster, Brooks and Welch LLP,[10] as a civil litigator focusing in matters like commercial disputes, real state litigation defamation, and landlord tenant matters. In addition to practicing law Bittle also served as Chair of Quest Community Health Centre, a not-for-profit Community Health Centre in St. Catharines.[11] Bittle also worked as an instructor in the Department of Continuing Education at Niagara College and as seminar leader at Brock University.[12]

Political career

Bittle was elected as a first time Member of Parliament in October 2015. He received 24,870 votes and defeated incumbent Rick Dykstra.

In September 2017, Bittle was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, the youngest Member of Parliament to hold that position.[13] In December 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, where he worked alongside Minister Marc Garneau and Minister Omar Alghabra to invest in public transit and particularly on safe travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

In March 2021, Bittle was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson.[15] Bittle is also a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.[16]

Bittle was re-elected as an Member of Parliament in the 2021 Canadian federal election but with a decreased share of the vote.[17]

In August 2022 Bittle apologized to University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist for accusing Geist of racism during a twitter dispute.[18][19]

Electoral record
2021 Canadian federal election: St. Catharines
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalChris Bittle22,06937.59-2.64
ConservativeKrystina Waler19,01832.39+0.82
New DemocraticTrecia McLennon12,29420.94+0.26
People'sRebecca Hahn3,8606.57+5.20
GreenCatharine Rhodes1,0911.86-4.29
Total valid votes/expense limit 58,33299.36
Total rejected ballots 3770.64+0.19
Turnout 58,70964.51-1.95
Eligible voters 91,010
Liberal hold Swing -1.70
Source: Elections Canada[20]

[21]

2019 Canadian federal election: St. Catharines
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalChris Bittle24,18340.23-2.95$87,246.25
ConservativeKrystina Waler18,97831.57-6.00$114,133.28
New DemocraticDennis Van Meer12,43120.68+4.16none listed
GreenTravis Mason3,6956.15+3.56$5,554.85
People'sAllan deRoo8261.37none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 60,11399.17
Total rejected ballots 5060.83+0.41
Turnout 60,61966.46-1.28
Eligible voters 91,215
Liberal hold Swing +1.52
Source: Elections Canada[22][23]
2015 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalChris Bittle24,87043.2+22.6–
ConservativeRick Dykstra21,63737.6-13.3–
New DemocraticSusan Erskine-Fournier9,51116.5-7.3–
GreenJim Fannon1,4882.6-1.2–
CommunistSaleh Waziruddin850.1-0.1–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 57,591100.0 $221,576.61
Total rejected ballots 243––
Turnout 57,834––
Eligible voters 84,474
Source: Elections Canada[24][25][26]

References
  1. "Biography". Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. "Elections Canada - Election results since 2015: St. Catharines, Ontario". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 11, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "ST. CATHARINES' MP APPOINTED TO NEW ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ROLE". iHeartRadio. March 20, 2021. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  4. "OurCommons - Members of Parliament: Chris Bittle". May 11, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2019.
  5. "OurCommons - Chris Bittle: Roles, Current and Past". OurCommons.ca. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  6. "Bittle Named Parliamentary Secretary to Transportation Minister". iHeartRadio. December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021.
  7. "Home". Spchs.ca. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  8. "Biography - Chris Bittle - Your member of parliament for St. Catharines". Cbittle.liberal.ca. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  9. Cheevers, Melinda (October 20, 2015). "'We did it, eh'". Niagarathisweek.com. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  10. "History - Lancaster Brooks & Welch LLP". Lbwlawyers.com. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  11. "QUEST COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE - Annual Report 2014-2015" (PDF). Quest Community Health Care. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  12. "Government Members key contacts - Research Canada". Rc-rc.ca. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  13. "Chris Bittle appointed deputy government house leader". NiagaraThisWeek.com. September 19, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  14. "ST. CATHARINES' MP APPOINTED TO NEW ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE ROLE". iHeartRadio. March 20, 2021. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  15. "Bittle appointed to environment role". The St. Catharines Standard. March 20, 2021. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  16. "Our Commons - Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development: WORK". OurCommons.ca. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  17. Edwards, Luke; Green, Abby (September 21, 2021). "Liberal Chris Bittle re-elected in tight St. Catharines race". St. Catharines Standard. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  18. title=Liberal MP apologizes for tweet implying professor was racist |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-mp-apologizes-implying-racist-1.6563450 |website=CBC News
  19. "Bittle apologizes for 'unfounded and inappropriate' tweet after online feud with law professor". August 30, 2022.
  20. "Election results since 2015". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  21. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  22. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  23. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  24. "Voter Information Service - Who are the candidates in my electoral district?". Elections.ca. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  25. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived August 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  26. "Election Night Results - Elections Canada". p. Ontario, St. Catharines. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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