Former MP Rudd dies
She ‘gave her time and talents to many causes’
One day last week, the X account of Kim Rudd — former member of Parliament for Northumberland Peter borough South—re tweeted support for the Women of Northumberland’s Interview Series on International Women’s Day.
The following day, her daughter Stefanie Rudd announced her mom was moving to hospice in Cobourg.
Kim Rudd died Tuesday at Ed’s House hospice in Cobourg.
Rudd, a former owner of both Cook’s Day School, Willis College, and Archer CPR Training, is being remembered as a true entrepreneur.
In 2011, she was awarded an RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur award, which specifically recognized her impact on the local economy. Jamie Simmons, a Cobourgbased marketing specialist, said Rudd’s impact on our community was far greater than this.
“She was a dedicated leader who gave her time and talents to the many causes in which she believed,” Simmons said.
“Kim was involved in numerous local charitable organizations, including serving as the president of the Northumberland Central Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee of Northumberland.”
She was also a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Cobourg and actively involved with local sports groups, including baseball and hockey.
In 2015, Rudd was elected the first MP in the then newly created riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South.
During her time in office, Rudd was also appointed parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She also served on the standing committee on finance. She lost the seat in 2019.
Ahead of the last federal election in 2021, Rudd confirmed she wouldn’t be running again.
“While I absolutely loved my role as your member of Parliament and
am very proud of the work I and my team did for those four years and beyond, sometimes life throws curve balls and mine is no exception,” she said at the time.
“I was diagnosed with cancer last year, and while I feel great and have no intention of slowing down, I have re-evaluated my priorities and like I expect for each and every one of you, it is all about my time with my family.”
Even beyond the Northumberland community, Rudd had an extensive career in public service.
She served as vice-chair of the Ontario Training Completion Assurance Fund Secretariat (TCAF), vice-president of the Association of Career Colleges, and she was the founding executive director of the Association of Private Colleges.
Most recently, she served as a consultant to the Canadian Nuclear Association.
As MP for Northumberland Peter borough South, she was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, and served as chair of the Parliamentary Health Research Caucus.
She was also a member of the Federal Standing Committees of both Finance and Natural Resources.
“Her life was governed by her strong desire to give back to all those she possibly could,” Simmons added.
Rudd is lovingly remembered and will be deeply missed by her beloved husband Tom Rudd, daughter Alison Rudd and her wife Kathy Johnson, daughter Stefanie Rudd and her husband Ziyad Sidawi, grandchildren Morgan Johnson, Avery Koehn, Hobie Johnson-Rudd and his wife Ridhi Sharma, and Amira Sidawi.