Prior to the 2015 election, Waugh defeated incumbent Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister Lynne Yelich, who had previously served as the Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification and Minister of State in the nomination race for the newly-created riding of Saskatoon-Grasswood, which was replacing the former riding of Blackstrap. Waugh stated at the time that "Lynne was a great M.P., I have no issues with her" and that "we haven't had a Saskatoon MP from the city for a long time". Waugh had previously served as President of the Blackstrap Conservative Association while Yelich was the Member of Parliament for the riding.
Member of Parliament
In the 2015 election, Waugh was elected by a margin of nearly 5,000 votes over his closest opponent, Scott Bell of the New Democratic Party. Following the selection of Rona Ambrose as interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Waugh was appointed as the Deputy Critic for Canadian Heritage. Waugh was also appointed to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. In 2016, at a sports award ceremony, Waugh claimed that female athletes are treated as good or better than their male counterparts. That comment received heavy criticism from female and male athletes alike, and concern given that Waugh's spot on the Canadian parliamentary committee examining women and girls in sport. On February 26, 2016, Waugh introduced Bill C-241: An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act. This legislation would have increased the goods and services tax rebate that schools and school boards received from 68% to 100%, effectively exempting schools from paying the tax. Despite support from members of his own Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois, the bill was defeated at second reading by the Liberal majority. Upon the election of Andrew Scheer as leader of the Conservative Party in May 2017, Waugh was named Deputy Shadow Minister for Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, Indigenous Services, and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. In this role, Waugh served on the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. Waugh was re-elected with an increased vote count and vote share in the 2019 Canadian Federal Election, receiving more than twice as many votes as his closest challenger. On December 4, 2019, Waugh was elected as the Chair of the Conservative Party's Saskatchewan Regional Caucus. This position is responsible for chairing meetings of the regional caucus and presenting the results and decisions of those meetings to party leadership.
Personal Life
Kevin Waugh lives in Saskatoon with his wife Ann, with whom he has two children and one granddaughter.
