Chuck Cadman - Definition and Overview

Chuck Cadman (born February 21, 1948) is a Canadian politician. Cadman has been a member of Parliament since 1997, representing the riding of Surrey North in Surrey, British Columbia.

Cadman's 16-year-old son Jesse was murdered on October 18, 1992. He and his wife Dona later founded a group to lobby the government to increase sentences in criminal cases, particularly for young offenders. He was first elected to Parliament for Surrey North in the 1997 election as a member of the Reform Party of Canada. He was reelected under the banner of the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 election, and was appointed Justice Critic.

Cadman was again reelected in the 2004 election and was the only candidate not affiliated with a party to win a seat. Cadman had lost the nomination for the Conservative Party to Jasbir Singh Cheema, former televison news anchor.

As the only independent in an unusually-stacked minority government, Cadman holds a heightened degree of power. Should a vote break strictly along party lines, and the Liberal and New Democratic MPs vote one way (154 votes) and the Tories and Bloc Québécois MPs the other (153 votes), Cadman could make the difference between the vote being deadlocked or the vote going in favor of the Liberals/NDP. His history with the right-wing Reform/Alliance suggests he would vote to deadlock, but as he no longer is affiliated, this is not guaranteed.

Cadman was diagnosed with cancer in early May 2004 and underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his groin. He heard about the election call from his hospital bed.