Kanata—Carleton

Kanata—Carleton was a new riding born from the 2012 redistribution, combining the Ottawa suburb of Kanata with the rural West Carleton-March ward to the west and north. Covering approximately 806 square kilometres, it ranged from the dense subdivisions and technology campuses of Kanata North and Kanata South to the farming hamlets of Carp, Constance Bay, Dunrobin, Fitzroy Harbour, and Kinburn along the Ottawa River. The riding drew territory from the former districts of Carleton—Mississippi Mills, Nepean—Carleton, and Ottawa West—Nepean.

Candidates

Karen McCrimmon (Liberal) retired as a lieutenant-colonel after a 31-year career in the Canadian Forces, during which she became the first woman to command a Canadian Forces flying squadron when she took charge of 429 Transport Squadron in 1998. She completed a tour in Afghanistan in 2004, coordinating NATO airlift operations, and retired from the military in 2006. She first sought federal office as a Liberal candidate in 2011.

Walter Pamic (Conservative) was a small business owner and longtime Kanata resident who ran Power-Tek Electrical Services, an electrical contracting firm. He also served as chairman of Merit Ontario, an organization representing non-unionized construction companies.

John Hansen (NDP) was an engineer working in the technology sector and a Kanata resident who carried the NDP standard in the riding.

Andrew West (Green Party) rounded out the slate of major-party candidates.

About the Riding

Kanata's identity is inseparable from its technology sector. The Kanata North Business Park, Canada's largest technology park, hosts more than 500 companies in fields ranging from telecommunications to software to autonomous vehicles. The park's roots trace to the Mitel and Nortel campuses that anchored the area's growth from the 1970s onward; after Nortel's collapse in 2009, the ecosystem reconstituted itself as former employees launched startups and global firms such as BlackBerry QNX, Ciena, and Ericsson absorbed portions of the business. By 2015, the park contributed billions of dollars annually to national GDP. The rural western portion of the riding presents a contrasting character, with agricultural operations, the Ottawa River waterfront, and small-village life predominating. Federal issues during the 2015 campaign included funding for rural broadband to connect the riding's more remote communities, support for the technology sector and innovation policy, and commuter transit linking suburban Kanata to downtown Ottawa. As a new riding with no incumbent, the race attracted significant attention in the Ottawa region.