Scott Aitchison

Scott Aitchison MP (born January 14, 1973[1]) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Parry Sound—Muskoka in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.[4] Prior to his election, he served as mayor of Huntsville from 2014 until 2019.[5] Aitchison ran in the 2022 leadership election for the Conservative Party of Canada, coming in last with 1% of the vote.[6]

Scott Aitchison
MP
Aitchison in 2022
Member of Parliament
for Parry Sound—Muskoka
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byTony Clement
Mayor of Huntsville
In office
December 1, 2014 – October 28, 2019
Preceded byClaude Doughty
Succeeded byKarin Terziano
Personal details
Born (1973-01-14) January 14, 1973[1]
Huntsville, Ontario, Canada
Political partyConservative
ResidenceHuntsville[2]
Alma materYork University[3]
ProfessionRealtor, Mayor, Politician
Websitewww.votescott.ca

Early career

In his early years, Aitchison worked in sales with Coldwell Banker Thompson Real Estate,[7] and Fowler Construction. He was also previously a consultant with Enterprise Canada Group from 1998-2004.

He was a co-chair of the organizing committee for the 2012 Ontario Para Winter Games in Huntsville.[8]

Municipal politics

Aitchison was first elected to the Huntsville Town Council in 1994 at the age of 21, where he served for three terms. At the time, he was the youngest individual ever elected to Huntsville Town Council and Muskoka District Council. He was elected again as a District and Town Councilor in 2010 and was Deputy Mayor for the next four years. He was elected mayor in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. He served the office until October 28, 2019.[9]

Federal politics

Aitchison won the Conservative nomination in 2019, defeating three other candidates,[10] and subsequently won the general election in October of the same year. After winning re-election in 2021, Aitchison was appointed to the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Minister for Labour.[11]

In December 2021, Aitchison worked directly with Liberal Minister Seamus O'Regan to include in Government Bill C-3 an extension of bereavement leave for grieving parents who work in federally regulated industries. This change thereby incorporated a previously tabled private member’s bill from Conservative MP Tom Kmiec into the government’s legislation. O'Regan said that the display of cross-party support was a rarity.[12]

On March 3, 2022, it was reported that Aitchison was preparing a bid for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada with a campaign focused around character and tone.[13] Aitchison officially launched his campaign on March 20 at a rally in Huntsville.[14] On September 10, it was announced that Pierre Poilievre won the leadership on the first ballot.[15]

Political positions

Political polarization

During the Canada convoy protest, Aitchison expressed his concern with what he describes as the “growing divide in Canada” and has accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of not talking to Canadians he disagrees with.[16] While delivering a speech in the House of Commons, Aitchison stated his desire to see politicians find compromise and “disagree without hating each other.”[17]

Housing

Aitchison started his leadership campaign by releasing a detailed plan to address what he believes to be a Canadian housing crisis. His plan, "YIMBY: A Plan to Build More Homes for Canadians", has four main aims: ending exclusionary zoning, increasing the number of tradespeople through education and immigration, increasing affordable and social housing, and cracking down on money laundering in Canadian real-estate.[18]

Bill 21

Aitchison has spoken out against the 2019 Quebec Act respecting the laicity of the State, also known as Bill 21. In his launch speech for the Conservative Party leadership, Aitchison said, "Our Party has a proud tradition of being a voice for freedom of religion around the world. We need to have the courage of our convictions to do the same here at home, in every province and territory. Freedom of religion is a charter right. This includes the right of every single Canadian to proudly wear a cross, hijab, turban or a kippah at their place of work. Bill 21 is wrong, and I will stand against it."[19]

CANZUK

Aitchison is supportive of CANZUK, a proposed alliance of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom to increase trade, foreign policy, and military co-operation. He was named to lead two cross-party working groups aimed to facilitate discussions on freer movement and trade within the partner countries.[20]

Rural broadband

In his first intervention in the House of Commons, Aitchison raised concern about rural internet service in his riding. He believes there needs to be more competition in the market and federal investment in underserviced areas.[21]

Environment

Aitchison is an advocate for what he describes as a credible federal climate change plan that would permit industry to find innovative methods of reducing emissions. He is opposed to a carbon tax, stating that it "disproportionally hurts lower-income Canadians living in rural areas".[22]

Electoral record

Federal
2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership results by ballot
First round (points allocated)
Poilievre
 
 68.15%
Charest
 
 16.07%
Lewis
 
 9.69%
Baber
 
 5.03%
Aitchison
 
 1.06%
First round (votes cast)
Poilievre
 
 70.7%
Charest
 
 11.6%
Lewis
 
 11.1%
Baber
 
 5.4%
Aitchison
 
 1.2%
2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
ConservativeScott Aitchison26,60047.9+6.1
LiberalJovanie Nicoyishakiye12,01421.6-8.8
New DemocraticHeather Hay9,33916.8+5.1
People'sJames Tole4,1847.5
GreenMarc Mantha3,0995.6-9.8
IndependentDaniel Predie Jr1690.3-0.4
National Citizens AllianceJames Fawcett950.2
Total valid votes 55,500
Total rejected ballots 299
Turnout 55,79965.01
Eligible voters 85,831
Source: Elections Canada[23]
2019 Canadian federal election: Parry Sound—Muskoka
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeScott Aitchison22,84541.8-1.50$77,914.80
LiberalTrisha Cowie16,61530.4-8.48$71,267.46
GreenGord Miller8,40915.4+8.18$55,284.74
New DemocraticTom Young6,41711.7+1.59none listed
IndependentDaniel Predie Jr3770.7–none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 54,663100.0
Total rejected ballots 392
Turnout 55,05566.4
Eligible voters 82,930
Conservative hold Swing +3.49
Source: Elections Canada[24][25]

Municipal
2014 Huntsville mayoral election
Candidate [26] Vote  %
Scott Aitchison3,70845.39
Hugh Mackenzie2,26427.71
Tim Withey2,19826.90
2018 Huntsville mayoral election
Candidate [27] Vote  %
Scott Aitchison5,31881.83
Peggy Peterson1,18118.17

References
  1. "Scott Mr. Scott Aitchison, M.P." House of Commons of Canada. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  2. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  3. Scott Aitchison on LinkedIn
  4. "Canada election results: Parry Sound—Muskoka". October 21, 2019. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  5. "Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison is ready to hit the campaign trail". MuskotaRegion.com. April 2, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  6. Tasker, John Paul (2022-09-09). "Conservative members pick MP Pierre Poilievre to be their new leader | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  7. "Scott-Aitchison". Coldwell Banker.
  8. "Bidding on Games". p80.ca. Archived from the original on 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  9. "Past Mayors of Huntsville". huntsville.ca. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  10. Crosse, Doug (2019-07-08). "Aitchison takes conservative nomination for Parry Sound-Muskoka". My Parry Sound Now. Archived from the original on 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  11. Bay 88.7FM, The. "MP Scott Aitchison Announced as Conservative Shadow Minister of Labour". The Bay 88.7FM. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  12. Woolf, Marie (December 21, 2021). "Liberals, Tories co-operate on extending leave for grieving parents". CTVNews. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  13. "Conservative MP Scott Aitchison preparing a bid for party leadership - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  14. Pamela, Steel. "Scott Aitchison launches Conservative leadership campaign at Huntsville microbrewery". Toronto Star. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  15. Tasker, John Paul (September 10, 2022). "Conservative members pick MP Pierre Poilievre to be their new leader". CBC News. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  16. "I have never seen our country more divided: MP Scott Aitchison". February 10, 2022. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  17. "Publication Search". www.ourcommons.ca. Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  18. "YIMBY: A Plan to Build More Homes for Canadians". votescott.ca. April 12, 2022.
  19. Aitchison, Scott. "Launching my Campaign for Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada". YouTube.
  20. Sitler, Matthew. "MP Scott Aitchison Named Lead on CANZUK Working Groups". Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  21. "The current state of rural internet service is unacceptable: MP Scott Aitchison". September 18, 2020. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  22. "We must protect the natural environment locally and do our part globally: MP Scott Aitchison". April 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  23. "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  24. "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  25. "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  26. "List of Candidates (Non-Certified)". huntsville.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-09-13.
  27. "2018 Certified Municipal Election Results". huntsville.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
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