Quick Facts
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Kerry Thomas Diotte, MP was born February 26, 1956. He was elected to represent the riding of Edmonton Griesbach in the House of Commons of Canada in the Canadian federal election, 2015. He is a former member of the Edmonton City Council.
Biography
He was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada and educated at Carleton University in Ottawa.
On November 18, 2004, seven members of the Edmonton Police Service targeted Diotte along with then-police commission chairman Martin Ignasiak in a controversial undercover drunk-driving operation at an Edmonton bar, the Overtime Broiler & Taproom. Police were staked out in anticipation of catching the two men driving home drunk, but both took cabs home.
Subsequent legal proceedings produced evidence, including police radio conversations from that night, showing officers set up the operation because they were upset by Diotte's newspaper columns about policing, including criticism of photo radar operations.
After an internal police investigation exonerated the officers involved in the unwarranted would-be sting, then-police chief Fred Rayner was fired from his position by the Edmonton Police Commission.
In September 2008, Alberta's Law Enforcement Review Board ruled a senior police officer abused his power by targeting Diotte because the law enforcement official was frustrated by the columnist's viewpoints on police matters.
The panel decided there was "no credible evidence" to suggest Diotte would drive drunk when leaving the November 18, 2004 function and noted the journalist has no criminal record.
In the decision, the panel chair wrote: "Mr. Diotte had the right, without fear of police reprisal, to freedom of speech, which includes the freedom to write critical articles about policing in his community."
Diotte had been employed at the Edmonton Sun from 1985 until October 2009 where he had previously been Legislature bureau chief, a copy editor, reporter and assignment editor.
Prior to that, he worked for the Calgary Sun and newsmagazines, including Alberta Report and Maclean's. As well, he has worked for a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation affiliate where he was an on-camera television reporter.
For many years, Diotte was president of the Edmonton chapter of the Canadian Association of Journalists and a national director of the organization. He resigned those positions to campaign for a city council seat in the Edmonton municipal election, 2010, winning Ward 11 with 44.3% of the vote.
On May 16, 2013, Diotte announced his candidacy for Mayor of Edmonton. He lost with 15% of the vote.
On February 26, 2014, Diotte announced his intention to seek the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in the new federal riding of Edmonton Griesbach. Diotte won the nomination election on December 6, 2014. In the 2015 election, Diotte won the seat, defeating his closest opponent by almost 3,000 votes.
On February 23, 2016, Diotte apologized for participating in a "juvenile" game of Bingo during Question Period.
Electoral history
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Don Iveson | 132,162 | 62.2 |
| Karen Leibovici | 41,182 | 19.4 |
| Kerry Diotte | 32,917 | 15.5 |
| Joshua Semotiuk | 2,596 | 1.2 |
| Gordon Ward | 2,248 | 1.1 |
| Kristine Acielo | 1,292 | 0.6 |
| Canadian federal election, 2015: Edmonton Griesbach | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Kerry Diotte | 19,157 | 39.96 | –12.55 | – | |||
| New Democratic | Janis Irwin | 16,309 | 34.02 | –3.45 | – | |||
| Liberal | Brian Gold | 10,397 | 21.69 | +15.11 | – | |||
| Green | Heather Workman | 1,129 | 2.35 | –1.08 | – | |||
| Libertarian | Maryna Goncharenko | 415 | 0.87 | – | – | |||
| Marijuana | Linda Northcott | 279 | 0.58 | – | – | |||
| Rhinoceros | Bun Bun Thompson | 144 | 0.30 | – | – | |||
| Marxist–Leninist | Mary Joyce | 112 | 0.23 | – | – | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 47,942 | 100.00 | $213,523.35 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 289 | 0.60 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 48,231 | 60.03 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 79,980 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | –4.55 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada | ||||||||