Catherine J. Bell

Catherine J. Bell
Catherine J. Bell
Member of Parliament; for Vancouver Island North
	In office; 2006–2008
Preceded by	John Duncan
Succeeded by	John Duncan
Personal details
Born	October 25, 1954; Comox, British Columbia
Party	New Democratic Party
Spouse	Roger Kishi
Profession	Administrator, cook, labour and social activist

Catherine J. Bell (born October 25, 1954, in Comox, British Columbia) is a Canadian trade unionist and politician. She was elected as the New Democratic Party's candidate in the 2006 federal election in the riding of Vancouver Island North, serving for one term. While in Parliament, she served as the NDP's critic for natural resources.

Bell lives with her husband, Roger Kishi, in Cumberland, British Columbia. She previously served as vice-president of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union. She is a member of the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. and she has served on the social justice committee of the B.C. Federation of Labour. She is also a member and volunteer with the World Community Development Education Society, Co-Development Canada, the Comox Valley Coalition to Save Social Programs and the Comox Valley Women to Women Global Strategies.

Bell has continued with electoral reform work in parliament championed by Ed Broadbent in the 38th Canadian Parliament through a defeated bill ^[1] and petition.^[2]

In the 2004 federal election, she finished second in Vancouver Island North, losing to Conservative Party of Canada incumbent John Duncan by 483 votes. In the 2006 federal election she defeated Duncan by 616 votes (23552 to 22936). However, in the 2008 election, she was unseated by Duncan by over 2400 votes.

In 2026, Bell endorsed Avi Lewis in that year's federal NDP leadership race.^[3]

A record of Bell's statements in the House is available.^[4]

Election results

2008 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	John Duncan	26,166	45.78	+5.17	$76,173
	New Democratic	Catherine J. Bell	23,681	41.43	-0.29	$80,622
	Green	Philip Stone	4,563	7.98	+3.14	$12,309
	Liberal	Geoff Fleischer	2,391	4.18	-8.65	$2,026
	Independent	Jason Draper	361	0.63	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			57,162	100.0		$171,130
	Conservative gain from New Democratic		Swing		+2.73

2006 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Catherine J. Bell	23,561	41.72	+7.23	$80,265
	Conservative	John Duncan	22,931	40.61	+5.20	$91,651
	Liberal	Jim Mitchell	7,243	12.83	-8.62	$28,226
	Green	Michael Mascall	2,735	4.84	-3.58	$8,685
Total valid votes			56,470	100.0
	New Democratic gain from Conservative		Swing		+1.02

2004 Canadian federal election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	John Duncan	18,733	35.41	-15.62	$47,274
	New Democratic	Catherine J. Bell	18,250	34.49	+22.78	$43,372
	Liberal	Noor Ahmed	11,352	21.45	-3.39	$78,890
	Green	Pam Munroe	4,456	8.42	+3.22	$26,376
	Marxist–Leninist	Jack East	111	0.20	+0.02
Total valid votes			52,902	100.0
Total rejected ballots			136	0.26	+0.01
Turnout			53,038	65.79	+1.31
	Conservative hold		Swing		-19.20
Change for the Conservatives is based on the combined total of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives.

Candidate	Residence	March 7
New Democratic Party
Catherine J. Bell	Cumberland	X
Erik Eriksson	Courtenay
Monica Judd	Campbell River

References

↑ IN THE MEDIA: Bell undeterred after bill defeated in Parliament vote | NDP Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Everyone Matters, Every Vote Counts - The Campaign for Voter Equality | NDP Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "Endorsements". lewisisleader.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
↑ "Catherine Bell". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2013-02-22.

External links

Catherine J. Bell – Parliament of Canada biography

[1] IN THE MEDIA: Bell undeterred after bill defeated in Parliament vote | NDP Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

[2] Everyone Matters, Every Vote Counts - The Campaign for Voter Equality | NDP Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "Endorsements". lewisisleader.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-17.

[4] "Catherine Bell". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2013-02-22.

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