Mayor Kathryn McGarry is a community builder with a history of advocating for Cambridge and its residents.
As a Registered Nurse for over 35 years, she has provided care to patients in the Emergency and Intensive Care units and has been a Care Coordinator for the Local Health Integrated Network.
Continuous engagement as a volunteer allowed her to contribute to many community Boards, Task Forces and Committees, in social services, heritage, environmental, health care, crime prevention and planning related sectors. For example, noting the lack of palliative care services, Kathryn was one of the founding members of Hospice of Waterloo Region (now in its’ 25th year). In late 2010 while working at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Kathryn arranged a critical meeting between the Minister of Infrastructure and the CEO which ultimately led to the successful Provincial approval to expand the Hospital.
She was elected as MPP for Cambridge in 2014 and appointed as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, handling the reform of public transportation projects and strengthening provincial legislation for cycling and road safety.
In June 2016, Kathryn was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF). During her tenure, she led the passage of two important pieces of legislation modernizing aggregate resources and Conservation Authorities, and advocated for Ontario producers in the Softwood Lumber trade dispute with the United States.
Kathryn was appointed as Ontario’s Minister of Transportation in January 2018. She secured funding for a study as the first step in establishing a new option to connect Cambridge to the GO train network through Guelph. She also ensured that Cambridge received funds for improved cycling routes.
In October 2018, Kathryn was elected as the Mayor of Cambridge.
Kathryn received the Cambridge YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2009 and the Bernice Adam’s Special Trustee Award in 2011.