Rookie Conservative MP Ned Kuruc got up off the mat after election loss to win Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
Three new MPs were elected in the April 28 election.
•
John-Paul Danko (Liberal) Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas
• Ned Kuruc (Conservative) Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
•
Aslam Rana (Liberal) in Hamilton Centre
Ned Kuruc
grew up competing in martial arts from five years old, steeped in its ethos of discipline, hard work, and bouncing back when you hit the mat.
Growing up, he won plenty in sports, but in his adult life took it on the chin in the political arena.
Kuruc lost a municipal election bid in 2018, and in 2021 placed second to Liberal Chad Collins in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the pandemic federal election.
'Losing and failure are part of life,' said Kuruc. 'You pick yourself up and come back, keep moving forward … And when you put it all on the table, you can find peace in losing.'
But for his latest run federally, there was no need to dip into his reservoir of positive thinking. Voters took Kuruc over the top in a rematch with Collins, to become the riding's first Conservative MP.
He knows all about better late than never. He was the second child of Ilija and Ivanka Kuruc by eight years.
'I was the one that is like: 'Oh we have another child!'' he said, laughing.
His given name is Nenad, which is Serbian for unexpected — 'unexpected blessing,' he added.
Ned Kuruc, then 20, is pictured in August 2001, competing in discus at the Canada Summer Games in London. Kuruc was a star thrower all through high school at Orchard Park in Stoney Creek.
In elementary school, when his older brother, Robert, heard kids mispronouncing Nenad's name, he told him: 'From now on you are Ned.'
His parents immigrated to Canada in 1967 from then Yugoslavia, where his father had worked herding sheep.
In Hamilton, he said his parents worked extremely hard for years.
Ilija worked as a carpenter, and Ivanka in the former Levi Strauss jean-making plant on Barton Street East, and later at General Electric in Oakville.
Kuruc got his first job at 13, delivering newspapers and washing dishes at Liuna Gardens.
Ned Kuruc speaks to supporters after taking Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.
In his teens, he was a champion track and field thrower (discus, hammer, shot put); in Grade 13 he was six-foot-five, 220 pounds. At 22, he won a silver medal at the Canada Summer Games.
In his working life, he ran Attic Pizza sports bar in Stoney Creek with his brother, and embarked on starting other businesses related to sports media, and fighting sports, that frequently took him overseas.
He stayed home once he started having children with his wife Lisa, who runs a business and is an eyebrow technician.
Ned Kuruc with wife Lisa at his victory party after winning Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the federal election.
Their kids are five, nine, and 21.
'Lisa is a great wife and she loves being a mom. (Politics) is tough on her, and for me to do this it's a team effort. If you don't have your partner with you sharing your vision, it's not possible. She is selfless that way.'
He's a fan of documentaries ('I'm a database of mostly useless knowledge, my wife laughs about it') and not big on books, but cites Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' as one that sticks with him. It is
much quoted
for wisdom on winning battles in all walks of life.
He may well have drawn from the ancient Chinese philosopher, when he plotted his comeback from 2021. He learned that next time his campaign needed 'a bigger runway' to build support.
And so he did, connecting with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre two years ago, and meeting constituents early and often.
'Our team knocked on 100,000 doors by the end of it,' he said.
It culminated in a win on election night.
At his victory party, first he hugged Lisa, and then his father. His mother died 14 years ago.
'I'm close with my dad, and he was very emotional. He said congratulations, and I said: 'I love you. We did it.''
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