Chris Bradshaw
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Christopher John (Chris) Bradshaw (born 1944 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian politician. He served as interim leader of the Green Party of Canada from 2001 to 2003, and has sought public office as a candidate of the Green Party of Canada and the Green Party of Ontario.
Bradshaw has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and worked for General Motors of Canada following his graduation. He subsequently moved to Ottawa, Ontario and became a public servant, retiring in 1995. He is currently the owner and co-manager of Virtucar, an environmentally-friendly car-sharing rental service in Ottawa.
Bradshaw is also a strong promoter of walking as an alternate form of transportation. In 1988, he started Ottawalk as the first pedestrian advocacy group in the continent. He was recognized by America Walks in 2001 as the "father of pedestrian advocacy in North America."
He has been active in the Green Party for many years. In 2001, after Joan Russow resigned as leader of the federal Green Party, Bradshaw was appointed as interim leader. Bradshaw helped organize the 2003 Green Party Leadership Convention in Ottawa, and was responsible for moving the party's central office to Ottawa from Toronto. In 2003, he was succeeded by current federal Green Party leader Jim Harris.
Bradshaw first ran for public office in the Ontario provincial election of 1999, receiving 1,231 votes in the riding of Ottawa Centre. In the 2003 election, he received 3,821 votes (7.75% of the total) in the same riding, the highest vote percentage of any Green Party candidate in the province.
Federally, Bradshaw first ran for office in the general election of 2000. Again campaigning in Ottawa Centre, he received 1529 votes for a fifth-place finish. In 2002, while serving as party leader, he contested a by-election in Bonavista—Trinity—Conception, Newfoundland but received only 139 votes. It may be noted that there was division between the Newfoundland and federal Green Parties during this period.
In the Canadian federal election, 2004, Bradshaw campaigned in the rural Ottawa Valley riding of Leeds—Grenville, replacing Jerry Heath who unexpectedly declined to run. Despite the last-minute substitution, Bradshaw received 5.5% of the votes cast (2,722), a significant improvement over the Green Party's 1.73% showing in previous election.
Bradshaw remains active in Green Party politics and affairs.
| Preceded by: Joan Russow | Green Party of Canada leaders 2001-2003 | Succeeded by: Jim Harris |