Matt Strauss
Matt Strauss | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Kitchener South—Hespeler | |
| Assumed office April 28, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Valerie Bradford |
| Medical Officer of Health | |
| Acting September 14, 2021 – April 1, 2023 | |
| Constituency | Haldimand County Norfolk County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Matthew Steven Strauss 1985 or 1986 (age 39–40)[1] Kitchener, Ontario |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry (MD, 2008) |
Matthew Steven Strauss[2] MP (born 1985 or 1986) is a Canadian physician, public servant, and politician serving as the Member of Parliament for Kitchener South—Hespeler since 2025. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, Strauss is the first Conservative to represent the district.[3] From 2021 to 2023, he was the acting medical officer of health for Haldimand and Norfolk counties in southwestern Ontario.[4][5][6]
Early life and career
[edit]Strauss was born in Kitchener and raised in the community of Hespeler. He is descended from Romanian refugees from the Banat region in the former Yugoslavia.[7]
In 2008, Strauss received an MD from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He received certification to practice internal medicine in 2012 and critical care medicine in 2013. Strauss joined the faculty of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine in 2013, teaching medicine at the regional campus in Waterloo.[8] From 2019 to 2021, Strauss was also employed as an assistant professor of medicine at Queen's University.[9] Strauss served as chief of the ICU at Guelph General Hospital, and held privileges at Grand River Hospital and Kingston General Hospital.[8][9]
COVID-19 pandemic
[edit]Strauss has been a vocal opponent of lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine mandates from the onset of the pandemic. Strauss tweeted that he would "sooner give [his] children COVID-19 than a McDonald's happy meal," which was criticized when he was appointed the acting medical officer of health for Haldimand and Norfolk counties.[10] The Ontario Liberal Party called for his appointment to be vetoed by the Minister of Health. In his 16 months on the job, Haldimand-Norfolk went from being second last in the province for vaccination rates to the middle of the list.[11] Strauss ultimately resigned from his position for reasons unrelated to the controversy surrounding his appointment.[5]
Politics
[edit]In November 2023, Strauss was announced as the Conservative candidate for Kitchener South—Hespeler.[12] Strauss defeated the Liberal incumbent Valerie Bradford in the 2025 Canadian federal election.[13] He is the first Conservative to represent the district.[3]
Electoral record
[edit]| 2025 Canadian federal election: Kitchener South—Hespeler | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ** Preliminary results — Not yet official ** | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Matt Strauss | 28,973 | 47.95 | +12.41 | ||||
| Liberal | Valerie Bradford | 27,945 | 46.25 | +8.80 | ||||
| New Democratic | Lorne Bruce | 1,814 | 3.00 | –13.27 | ||||
| Green | Ethan Russell | 1,208 | 2.00 | –1.44 | ||||
| People's | Randall Williams | 386 | 0.64 | –6.11 | ||||
| United | Kathleen Dueck | 95 | 0.16 | N/A | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | ||||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 60,421 | 69.98 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 86,338 | |||||||
| Conservative notional gain from Liberal | Swing | +1.81 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14][15] | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ https://x.com/strauss_matt/status/1377625809347878919
- ^ "Matthew Steven Strauss - Physician Information".
- ^ a b "Matt Strauss becomes Kitchener South-Hespeler's first Conservative MP". The Waterloo Region Record. April 28, 2025.
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/strauss-1.6167194
- ^ a b https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/haldimand-norfolk-medical-officer-resigns-1.6709252
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/matt-strauss-queens-university-lawsuit-covid-response-1.6930567
- ^ https://x.com/strauss_matt/status/1608136827214663686.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b "About Matt Strauss". Kitchener South—Hespeler. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ a b Nickerson, Cara (January 11, 2023). "Controversial medical officer critical of mask mandates resigns from Haldimand-Norfolk job".
- ^ Sachem, Tamara Botting The (2021-09-03). "Haldimand Norfolk's new top doc has tweeted against lockdowns". The Hamilton Spectator. ISSN 1189-9417. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ^ D'Amato, Luisa (2025-04-29). "Dr. Matt Strauss, Conservative candidate, speaks out about COVID-19, Elon Musk and Happy Meals". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ https://x.com/strauss_matt/status/1726385841314857144.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Matt Strauss becomes Kitchener South-Hespeler's first Conservative MP".
- ^ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
- ^ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. 29 April 2025. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
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