Kim Craitor

Kim Craitor
Member of Provincial Parliament for Niagara Falls
Incumbent
Assumed office October 02, 2003
Preceded by	Bart Maves
Niagara Falls Alderman
In office 1990–2003
Personal details
Born	September 22, 1946 Hamilton
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Helen Craitor
Residence	Niagara Falls, Ontario
Profession	Human resource development

Kim Craitor is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the constituency of Niagara Falls for the Ontario Liberal Party.

Early life

Craitor grew up in the foster care system as a child before being adopted. This is evidenced in Hansard where on March 24, 2008, he is quoted as saying "One personal story-and I think I should share mine. You know, politics is a funny world. People sometimes think we do everything because it's politically what we do. I never knew my parents. I was raised through the children's aid society. Somehow, while I was going through that system, these two elderly people, for whatever reason, took me in, kept me and raised me."

Craitor worked in human resource development before entering politics. He was Executive Director of the Niagara Falls Employment Help Centre, and was a Human Relations Officer and Investigation and Control Officer at Human Resources Development Canada for 26 years.

Alderman

Craitor was elected as an alderman to the Niagara Falls city council in 1990, and served in that capacity until 2003, often quarrelling with Mayor Wayne Thomson. He also served for ten years on the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce.

Provincial politics

Prior to the 2003 provincial election, Craitor defeated former party candidate Selena Volpatti for the Liberal nomination in Niagara Falls. He was successful in the general election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Bart Maves by about 3,500 votes. Craitor is currently a backbench supporter of Dalton McGuinty's government. In March 2006, Kim Craitor was named Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

He has served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministers of Community Safety and Correctional Services and Energy and Infrastructure. Craitor is the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Culture (Tourism).

As a member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly Mr. Craitor has advocated for a Transparent and Open Government Policy for public bodies, the right of GrandParents to have reasonable access to their grand children and right of the public to access to shoreline beaches along the Great Lake coastline.

Craitor was re-elected for a third time as Member for Niagara Falls during the 2011 Ontario Election, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate George Lepp by 551 votes.

Electoral record

Ontario general election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Liberal	Kim Craitor	16,721	35.95
	Progressive Conservative	George Lepp	16,170	34.76
	New Democratic	Wayne Redekop	12,233	26.30
	Green	Byrne Smith	754	1.62
	Libertarian	Adam Hyde	214	0.46
	Family Coalition	John Jankovic	191	0.41
	Independent	Jeannette Tossounian	120	0.26
	Independent	Tim Tredwell	111	0.24

Ontario general election, 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Liberal	Kim Craitor	22,178	47.51	+0.64
	Progressive Conservative	Bart Maves	14,573	31.22	-6.86
	Green	Melanie Mullen	5,337	11.43	+8.61
	New Democratic	Mike Piché	4,591	9.84	-2.50
Total valid votes			46,679	100.00

Ontario general election, 2003
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Liberal	Kim Craitor	18,904	46.86	+4.66
	Progressive Conservative	Bart Maves	15,353	38.06	-7.64
	New Democratic	Claude Sonier	4,962	12.30	+2.45
	Green	Ryan McLaughlin	1,124	2.79	+2.05
Total valid votes			40,343	100.00

External links

• Kim Craitor's official MPP Site
• Kim Craitor's Ontario Liberal Party biography
• Ontario Legislative Assembly Parliamentarian History