Barry Devolin

Barry Devolin
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
In office 2004–2015
Preceded by	John O'Reilly
Succeeded by	TBD
Chair of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs
In office 13 November 2007 – 2 February 2009
Minister	Chuck Strahl
Preceded by	Colin Mayes
Succeeded by	Bruce Stanton
Personal details
Born	(1963-03-10) March 10, 1963 Peterborough, Ontario
Political party	Conservative (2003–present)
Other political affiliations	Reform Party (1987–1997)
Residence	Haliburton, Ontario

Barry Devolin, (born March 10, 1963) is a Canadian politician. He was the Member of Parliament serving the riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock from 2004 until 2015.

Early life and education

Devolin was born in Peterborough and grew up in Haliburton. While in high school Devolin was selected as an international exchange student by the Haliburton Rotary Club to spend a year in the Netherlands. After his year abroad, Devolin wanted to become a diplomat and decided to move to Ottawa to study political science at Carleton University, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1985. Two years later he received a master's degree in political science from the Stony Brook University.

Political career

Devolin previously ran in the 1993 federal election as a member of the Reform Party in the riding of Victoria—Haliburton. Devolin placed second in the election, losing to John O'Reilly of the Liberals. Following the 1993 election, Devolin served as the director of research for the parliamentary caucus of the Reform Party. He spent time working in British Columbia and Korea, and in 1994 returned to Canada to assist Chris Hodgson to seek election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Haliburton—Victoria—Brock. After this, he served as Hodgson's chief of staff for a number of years, and then became a political consultant in Toronto.

Devolin did not seek the nomination in Haliburton—Victoria—Brock in the 1997 and 2000 elections. In 2004 he became the candidate for the new Conservative Party of Canada, and was elected in the 2004 election to represent the newly redistributed riding of Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, which largely overlaps his former riding. He received 44% of the popular vote, defeating O'Reilly. In the 2006 election Devolin was re-elected with 49% of the vote.

After being elected to Parliament Devolin created a non-partisan Farm Council in his riding to advise and inform him on agricultural issues. He also launched "The Capital Experience", a program that takes one or two students from each of the area’s seven high schools to Ottawa for three days to learn about career opportunities in public life.

Following his reelection in the 2008 election, he was named assistant deputy chairman of the Committees of the Whole, which makes him one of three presiding officers who may take over for the Speaker in the event of his absence.

In 2013, Barry Devolin announced that he will not be seeking re-election in the 2015 federal election. His former executive assistant, Jamie Schmale, is running in his place as the Conservative candidate for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2011: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	Conservative	Barry Devolin	35,192	60.0	+4.0
	New Democratic	Lyn Edwards	12,934	22.1	+7.5
	Liberal	Laura Redman	7,539	12.9	−7.5
	Green	Susanne Lauten	2,963	5.1	−3.2
Total valid votes			58,628
Total rejected ballots			163	0.27	−0.06
Turnout			58,791	63.72
Eligible Voters			92,201

Canadian federal election, 2008: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Barry Devolin	30,391	55.95	+6.95	$80,504
	Liberal	Marlene White	11,093	20.42	−8.33	$41,469
	New Democratic	Stephen Yardy	7,952	14.64	−2.58	$14,201
	Green	Michael Bell	4,505	8.29	+3.27	$2
	Christian Heritage	Dave Switzer	374	0.69		$1,702
Total valid votes/Expense Limit			54,315	100.00
Total rejected ballots			181
Turnout			54,496	60.10	−7.47
Electors on the lists			90,680

Canadian federal election, 2006: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Barry Devolin	29,427	49.00	+4.77	$72,620
	Liberal	Greg Walling	17,266	28.75	−5.76	$73,312
	New Democratic	Anne MacDermid	10,340	17.22	+2.15	$17,989
	Green	Andy Harjula	3,017	5.02	+0.30	$1,787
Total valid votes/Expense Limit			60,050	100.00
Total rejected ballots			196
Turnout			60,246	67.57	+3.35
Electors on the lists			89,166
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

Canadian federal election, 2004: Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Barry Devolin	24,731	44.23	$62,433
	Liberal	John O'Reilly	19,294	34.51	$32,357
	New Democratic	Gil McElroy	8,427	15.07	$16,515
	Green	Tim Holland	2,637	4.72	$150
	Christian Heritage	Peter Vogel	493	0.88	$2,345
	Independent	Charles Olito	330	0.59	$8,276
Total valid votes/Expense Limit			55,912	100.00	$86,102
Total rejected ballots			199
Turnout			56,111	64.22
Electors on the lists			87,371
Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000.
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

External links

• Barry Devolin
• How'd They Vote?: Barry Devolin's voting history and quotes
• Barry Devolin – Parliament of Canada biography

• [1]
• http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/politics/inside-politics-blog/2013/11/ontario-mp-barry-devolin-announces-he-wont-run-in-2015.html