Secretary Fuhr was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia. He attended Trinity Western University, earning an aviation technology diploma before joining the Canadian Forces.
As a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Secretary Fuhr held multiple roles, including A2 flight instructor, standards officer, CF-18 fighter pilot, and fleet manager at 1 Canadian Air Division. He was a qualified NORAD and NATO operations evaluation officer. Following his military retirement, Secretary Fuhr transitioned to the civilian aviation industry.
He served as Vice President and Director of Business Development, and later the President and CEO of SkyTrac Systems, an aerospace and satellite communications company, from 2009 to 2012. From 2013 to 2015, Secretary Fuhr was qualified as an aircraft captain on several different transport category aircraft for a private part 91 operator, and was a Transport Canada pilot examiner, with delegated authority to issue and renew pilot instrument ratings.
Secretary Fuhr served as the Member of Parliament for Kelowna in the House of Commons from 2015 to 2019, and as Chair of the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on National Defence from 2016 to 2019. Secretary Fuhr was subsequently re-elected in the last federal election, and on May 13, 2025, Secretary Fuhr was appointed Secretary of State for Defence Procurement by Prime Minister Mark Carney.
