2025 CONFERENCE

A lifelong Kitchener resident, Stephen began studies at Wilfrid Laurier University from 1972 to 1974, and returned after fifty years to complete his Masters Degree in Applied Politics in 2022. Between those dates he obtained his Juris Doctor legal degree in 1978 from University of Western Ontario, completed the Ontario Bar Admission Course, and was certified as an Ontario Barrister, Solicitor and Notary Public in 1979. Elected as a Trustee for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board in 1994, he served until 2003. Following a distinguished legal career of almost thirty years, appearing in every Ontario Court, Stephen was elected as Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre in 2008, serving until 2015.

As a parliamentarian, Stephen became a long-serving Member of the Environment Committee (2007 to 2015). He also served for years on the Justice and Public Accounts Committees, and briefly on the Fisheries and Oceans Committee. In 2012 Stephen led two hours of debate on Motion 312 asking Parliament to study Canada’s false legal definition determining who is not a human being. In 2016, concerned about rising authoritarianism in Canada, he founded the Democracy Defence Initiative. He is the author of “Canada’s Political Structure” and “How to Make Your Voice Count” in “A Citizen’s Guide to Canadian Politics” (Western Standard, 2024).

Stephen and his wife of 49 years, Sharon, a former Justice of the Peace for 25 years, have three children and eight grandchildren. Stephen is an avid outdoorsman with a special interest in British history and legend.