| Chris Bittle | |
| Riding: | St. Catharines |
| Parliament: | Canadian |
| Term Start: | October 19, 2015 |
| Predecessor: | Rick Dykstra |
| Office2: | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport |
| Primeminister2: | Justin Trudeau |
| Term Start2: | December 12, 2019 |
| Term End2: | March 19, 2021 |
| Predecessor2: | Arnold Chan |
| Successor2: | Kirsty Duncan |
| Birth Date: | 17 February 1979 |
| Birth Place: | Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada[1] |
| Birth Name: | Christopher Joseph Bittle |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Alma Mater: | |
| Party: | Liberal |
| Residence: | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| Office1: | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change |
| Primeminister1: | Justin Trudeau |
| Term Start1: | March 19, 2021 |
| Predecessor1: | Peter Schiefke |
| Office3: | Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons |
| Termstart3: | September 19, 2017 |
| Termend3: | September 11, 2019 |
Christopher Joseph Bittle (born February 17, 1979) is a Canadian Liberal politician who was elected to represent the riding of St. Catharines in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.[2] He currently serves as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change,[3] sitting on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.[4] He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and as Deputy House Leader of the Government.[5] Bittle is the youngest MP to hold the Deputy House Leader position in the House of Commons.[6]
Born in Niagara Falls, Bittle graduated from St. Paul Catholic Secondary School[7] before attending Queen's University where he graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. He then attended law school at the University of Windsor where he received a Bachelor of Laws.[8] [9] Before he was elected Member of Parliament, he worked at Lancaster, Brooks and Welch LLP,[10] as a civil litigator focusing in matters like commercial disputes, real state litigation defamation, and landlord tenant matters. In addition to practicing law Bittle also served as Chair of Quest Community Health Centre, a not-for-profit Community Health Centre in St. Catharines.[11] Bittle also worked as an instructor in the Department of Continuing Education at Niagara College and as seminar leader at Brock University.[12]
Bittle was elected as a first time Member of Parliament in October 2015. He received 24,870 votes and defeated incumbent Rick Dykstra.
In September 2017, Bittle was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, the youngest Member of Parliament to hold that position.[13] In December 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, where he worked alongside Minister Marc Garneau and Minister Omar Alghabra to invest in public transit and particularly on safe travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]
In March 2021, Bittle was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson.[15] Bittle is also a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.[16]
Bittle was re-elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2021 Canadian federal election but with a decreased share of the vote.[17]
In August 2022 Bittle apologized to University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist for accusing Geist of racism during a twitter dispute.[18] [19]